Sticky Chili Chicken

I'm on a sweet and spicy kick this week and once again I know exactly what I WANT to eat....crispy, juicy 'nuggets' of chicken tossed in a sweet, spicy sticky sauce...so that the chicken is almost candied! Mmmm...

The Half Moon Drive In

It's summer and I want a hot dog!   And not just a hot dog....a Half Moon Drive In hot dog!

Shaun has been talking about the half moon for a year now ever since a trip there last summer so off we went to Lockport for a hotdog and fries.

Here we are pulling up...

Doesn't Shaun look impressed.....

How Retro is this?

Orange Ginger Garlic Chicken Stir Fry

Shaun and I wanted something a little lighter for dinner today and after getting a PILE of chicken breasts from a friend that was moving (yay!) I thought a spicy chicken stir fry was in order. My chicken breasts were frozen and defrosted in the marinade which I have a feeling added a bit more liquid to the final product. If you are using fresh chicken you might need to add a bit of water or broth to the final marinade so you have more sauce for your rice.

Cinnamon Sugar Butter Cookies

I wanted to make cookies and had an image in my mind of what I wanted to make....a buttery sugar cookie, rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. I found this recipe..but didn't have the required amount of brown sugar called for.

A few substitutions and we have these...

The Naked Burger

I came across an argument on Burger Lab that stated a perfectly wonderful burger could be made with nothing but good ol'beef and S&P. No egg, no crumbs, no fancy seasoning...nothing.

The article says a lot of other stuff too, great stuff, like grinding your own meat....um...not only do I not have a meat grinder...oh wait...yes I do...but still..who has the TIME? Oh.....me? Well...yes, but still......there is a certain lazy factor in place here...so I used plain old ground beef for these burgers. Please feel free to grind your own! or use supermarket fare...either way, this makes a great burger!

Start with ground beef -- no particular amount here because, well...there's no real recipe! (I think I used about a pound for three burgers).  Salt your patties liberally before grilling (and not before) for a delicious, no fuss, no muss, all around delicious burger.

One more note -- the Burger Lab also says to form your patties with a slight divot in the centre to prevent "meatball burger".  I've done this and it works every time!

Chicken Pot Pie

This is my favourite pie crust/pastry recipe. I use this pie crust recipe for sweet and savoury pies as well as individual chicken pocket pies!

Start this recipe by making the pastry as it needs to chill for a while. The pastry can even be made the night before and allowed to chill over night.

This pie crust is made easier by a food processor, if you don't have one it can be done by hand too with the aid of a fork or pastry cutter.

Filled with an easy chicken stew this makes a warm, comforting winter - or anytime - meal!

Black Bottom Cupcakes

It's Shaun's birthday and that means he gets to take cupcakes to work! Now, light fluffy cake and pouffy icing doesn't a manly cupcake make; and Shaun would insist it's bad enough to carry a cupcake carrier to work with him without there being frou-frou cupcakes inside....a serious insult to his manhood I'm sure.

So here we are...the manliest cupcakes in the world. Even their name screams of manliness...the Black Bottom Cupcake...sounds sinister doesn't it?

What we have is dark Devils food cake, no icing on these cupcakes...(real men don't eat icing)...and a little dollop..oh, excuse me...a robust blob(!) of cream cheese filling (cream cheese is ok apparently being the stuff many a chip-dip is made from). Just don't tell him there are mini chocolate chips mixed in...if he asks I'll tell him it's poison. Manly Poison.