Sunday, February 23, 2014

Waffles


I'm typing this while listening to Spanish Polka music, by no means of my own choice. I would love to open the doors and windows on this beautiful day but the little Spanish market across the street believes today is the day to blast the polka as loudly as they can. I do have my own soundtrack going own but I can't really hear it over the um-papa um-papa. Anyhow, these are the fastest, yummiest waffles I've made yet. Husband approved too, even though he doesn't like breakfast foods. I made them for a party and someone told me they tasted like churros so I was pretty pleased with myself. 




Waffles

1 3/4 cup Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Eggs
8 Tbsp Butter, melted (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla


Toppings:

Fruit
Maple Syrup
Butter
Powdered Sugar
Nutella
Peanut Butter
Whipped Cream
Chopped Nuts
Jam
Salsa and a fried egg (if your my dad)




Whisk together all dry ingredients. In a separate, microwave bowl melt the butter. Let cool slightly, then add in the vanilla, milk and eggs and whisk together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Place about 1/3 cup of the mixture on the waffle iron and cook until ready. Top with your favorites and enjoy.




Notes:
  1. With my in-law's fancy Belgian waffle maker I get about 6 waffles out of this recipe.
  2. You could easily change up the flavors by taking out the cinnamon, add chocolate chips, shredded apple, rolled oats, coconut oil instead of just butter, mash up a banana and toss it in; the list is never ending.
  3. Keep the extras in a ziplock bag in the fridge. The next morning toss them in the toaster and they're as good as new. 
  4. They freeze very nicely and you can pop them in the toaster as well.
  5. This recipe works well if you need to double, triple or even quadruple-yes, I've done a quadruple batch. 





Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Leek and Bacon Pasta

I had never cooked with leeks before but I'm always up to trying a new ingredient. I was shocked at how huge they are! They taste good too. I got the recipe idea from The Chiappa Sisters: thechiappas.com 






Leek and Bacon Pasta

1 pagk pasta noodles

1/4 cup Bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 Tbps Butter
2 cloves Garlic, finely diced
1 Leek, diced
1/4 cup Cream Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste


Cook the noodles according to package directions. Cook bacon, leaving fat in the pan once it is finished cooking. Add the butter, garlic and leeks to the bacon fat and crumble or dice up the bacon. When the leeks are tender, add the cream cheese and melt. Toss in the drained pasta noodles and bacon. Add more cheese and/or pasta water if you feel it needs more sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. About 6 servings. 





Notes:

  1. You can change up this recipe by adding whatever you like; different noodles, different veggies, different cheese, different meat
  2. A little fresh grated parmesan cheese on top is heaven
  3. The next combination I want to try is pasta shells, basil, chicken with mozzarella and parmesan. 




Saturday, February 1, 2014

Baked Spaghetti Garlic Bread

I finally ticked off one of my Pinterest 'Make' items. I made this yummy looking spaghetti in homemade garlic bread. Yep, you read that right. The spaghetti is inside the bread. It's pretty good and quickly becoming one of Matt's favorites. 



I made my own bread from my pizza dough recipe and added a lot more sauce than it called for. The next time I made them, I decided to make a bunch of smaller loaves and freeze some uncooked for later. I did everything save bake them before I popped them in the freezer on a cookie sheet. After a couple hours I  took them off the trays and put them in ziplock bags.



Baked Spaghetti Garlic Bread

1 pkg spaghetti noodles
1 16oz jar tomato sauce
1 12 oz pkg sausage/ground beef
1 loaf dough
butter, softened
garlic powder
parsley
parmesan cheese


Heat oven to 400. Make your traditional spaghetti and set aside. Roll out bread dough to desired thickness. Place spaghetti mixture down center of dough, leaving at least three inches on each side and two inches on top and bottom. Slice even lines down the sides of the bread. Begin braiding the loaf by pulling the top and bottom pieces of dough to cover up the spaghetti. Continue by alternating laying the sliced strips over one another until you reach the bottom. Next brush the dough with butter, sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley and parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.


Here are some of the smaller ones I froze, then cooked later


Notes:
  1. It is much easier to transfer the dough to the baking sheet if you first roll out the dough on a sheet of parchment paper. 
  2. You can freeze the loaf before baking. To cook it after freezing, let it come to room temperature and then cook as normal. 
  3. If you feel you need more sauce, you can always serve additional sauce on the side for dunking. 
  4. Mini loaves are great for an individual lunch.
  5. Use whatever meat you like, or no meat at all. Thats the beauty of this dish; you can make it just as you prefer it.