Cooking in Pajamas

5 c. Semi-sweet chocolate chips 4 c. Chow mein noodles (approx. 200) 1 c. Unsweeten coconut flakes 3 c. Rice Krispies Mini M&Ms Spider Legs : Melt 3 cups of chocolate chips using a double-boiler (1 cup at a time). Stir in 6-8 chow mein noodles, gently coat with chocolate and place the noodles on wax paper. Repeat until all the noodles are coated. Place the spider legs in the freezer to solidify the chocolate. Arrange the spider legs on waxed paper in sets of 4 before preparing for the bodies. Spider Bodies : Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips. Stir in ½ of the coconut and ½ of the Rice Krispies. Drop teaspoonful of chocolate mixture on the center of the 4 legs. Add 2 mini M&Ms for the eyes. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Place the spiders in freezer to solidify the chocolate. [Make 4 dozen cookies] My comments: I found this recipe online and all the reviews said it was easy to do. Well, it wasn't as easy as I had expected. The legs were actually a lot of work. My bigges...

4 lbs Lean hamburger 2/3 c. Ketchup 2 Eggs 1 c. Onion, minced 2 c. Bread crumbs 1 tbsp Salt 1 tsp Ground pepper 2 tbsp Garlic, minced Combine all the ingredients. Shape into meatballs (approximately 1.5” in diameter). Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Cooked meatballs can be served with sauce: Stove top - Heat the meatballs with sauce until the sauce is hot. Slowcooker - Cover the meatballs with sauce and cook for 4-8 hours. Served with rice or in meatball sandwiches. Red Current Meatball Sauce 1 c. Red current jam 1 c. Ketchup 1-2 tbsp Vinegar 1 Onion, chopped small Splash of Worcestershire sauce Combine the jam and ketchup in saucepan and melt over medium heat. Stir regularly. Add rest of ingredients once jam is melted. Cook until the onion is soft. My comments: The meatballs are absolutely delicious. They are soft and full of flavours. They are great for meatball sandwiches or serve on rice. The red current meatball sauce is probably the best meatball sauce I've ever had. However,...

½ c. All-purpose flour ½ c. Wheat germ 1 c. Oats (rolled or cereal) 1 tsp Baking soda 1 tsp Baking powder ½ tsp Salt ½ tsp Cinnamon ½ tsp Nutmeg 2/3 c. Vegetable oil 1 c. Brown sugar 2 Eggs 1 tsp Vanilla extract ½ c. Milk 1 c. Mashed bananas (about 3 large bananas) 1 c. Frozen berries (do not thaw) Preheat oven to 375˚F. Lay down paper liners in muffin pan. Sift together the flour, wheat germ, oats , baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the oil and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and milk. Fold in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Add in the mashed bananas. Fill 2/3 of the muffin cups with the batter. If you want to add berries to the muffins, push the frozen berries into the center after you have filled the muffin cups. You can also add the berries on top for garnishing. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out cle...

10 c. Water 1 c. Yellow split pea 1 c. Green split pea 3 Onions, medium size, chopped 4 Celery stalks 3 Cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp. Garlic powder 4 tsp. Chicken stock powder 1 tbsp. Parsley Salt & fresh ground pepper Wash the peas and add to boiling water. Bring water to a boil again, turn down the heat and cover (leave a crack to let the steam out). Simmer for 1.5 – 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Water may slowly boil down. Add more water as needed, bring the soup to a boil again and turn down the heat. About 30 min. before the soup is done, add rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. My comments: This is the vegetarian version of my Split Pea & Ham Soup ; it is just as delicious as its carnivorous counterpart but it's healthier since it has a lot less salt. This is an easy recipe to do but it does take a little while to cook. This soup is pretty filling too, so it makes a great lunch that will keep you going for the rest of the day. :) This time, I...

3-4 lb. Whole chicken 4 Carrots 6 Potatoes 3-4 Onions 1.5 c. Red wine 1.5 c. Water Cut 1 onion into 4 large pieces. Clean the chicken and stuff the cavity with the onion. Place the chicken in the center of a metal tray (approx. 1.5" high). Cut the rest of the vegetables into large pieces and put them around the chicken. Pour the wine and water over the chicken and the vegetables. Turn on one side of the burner only and heat the BBQ to about 250-350°F. Put the tray on the burner side, close the lid and cook for 15 min. Move the tray to the other side to bake. The liquids should be boiling by now. Total cook time: 1 hour + 5 min per pound of chicken. Bast the chicken and the vegetables with the liquids occasionally to keep the food moist. Tinfoil can be used to cover the chicken if is is browning too quickly. My comments: This was our first time BBQ-ing a whole chicken and I dare say our experiment worked very well. The chicken smelled very good and the meat was moist and flavourful...

2 c. Brown sugar 1/2 c. Ketchup 1/2 c. Dijion mustard 4 tbsp Worchester sauce 5 lb. Chicken wings 1 Onion, chopped Cut the wings into 3 pieces. Throw away the tips. Place the chicken wings in the slowcooker. Sprinkle the onions on top. Mix the brown sugar, ketchup, mustard and worchester sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken wings. Cook for 4-6 hours. Stiring occasionally. My comments: These were absolutely delicious!! It's a simple and cheap recipe with ingredients you can easily find at home. We cooked the wings on high for 6 hours and it was perfect. The meat readily fell off the bones but the bones were not so soft that they break apart. I think next time, we'll add a bit of hot sauce or jalapeno peppers into the sauce to spice it up a little.

2 Onions, sliced 3 Cloves garlic, minced 1-2 Jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced 2 Tomatoes, chopped 1 can Tomato juice (2L) Dried parsley Dried Basil Ground peppercorn 8 Flour Tortilla (large size) Shredded Chicken 1 c. Green onion, chopped 3 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded Place a layer of vegetables and herbs on the bottom of the slow cooker: onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes. Sprinkled with parsley, basil and ground pepper. Cover the bottom with a bit of tomato juice. Pour tomato juice into a large bowl. Dip a tortilla in the juice, turning to moisten all parts of the tortilla. Lay the tortilla on a plate and spread with shredded chicken, green onion and cheese. Fold the ends over and roll up. Lay the stuffed tortilla in the slow cooker. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Between the layers of tortillas, add a layer of vegetable and herbs mixture. Finally, place the remaining vegetables on the top tortilla layer. Pour in the remaining tomato juice into the slow cooker. C...