Bacon-Onion Belgian Waffles

I grew up eating homemade waffles. That's all we knew. If it was Dad's night to cook, we had the option of pancakes or waffles, and I always opted for waffles. Waffles with butter and maple syrup was just how it was. As an adult, I branched out a little, but not far. My waffles were always sweet. Typically some sort of berry, but always with butter. Sometimes Nutella, sometimes syrup. It never crossed my mind all those years that we were having waffles for dinner, that waffles could be savoury. Until I walked into West Coast Waffles in Victoria BC, upon the recommendation of friends. They hadn't said anything about the menu, other than it was a must try place. When I walked in and looked at their list of waffle choices, I of course was drawn to all their sweet-tooth choices. As I started to think about it however, I decided to branch out. After all, why not try something different that I didn't make at home. I could always put strawberries on my waffles at home. And that's how I tried the most amazing waffle, that changed how I look now look at waffles.

It was off their savoury menu, and my goodness it was savoury. A perfect waffle, with bits of bacon and onion baked right into the batter, and topped with salsa. I don't remember what else was in it, but it doesn't matter. When I recreated this at home, it didn't need anything more than this to be amazing.

Looking back, it all makes sense. I'm one of those people (probably one of the few), that is not a big fan of eggs. Please don't serve me scrambled eggs, or poached eggs, or sunny side up eggs for breakfast. So when I go out for brunch, it always seems to me that at least half of the menu is a no go. No thank you to Eggs Bennie, Omelettes, or breakfast platters that revolve around eggs. I'll go for the Pancakes, Waffles or French Toast, so I can eat everything on my plate. The only problem with this is, I A) love Hollandaise Sauce, and B) love bacon. None of which come with these sweeter menu options. So enter in this recipe. The best of all worlds (and hence my substition from Salsa to Hollandaise Sauce).

Ingredients

Waffle Batter
Green Onions, chopped
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Tomatoes, sliced
Hollandaise Sauce
Salt and Pepper

Directions

~Make waffle batter according to recipe

~Stir in bacon bits and half to he green onion, reserving the rest for later

~Cook waffles according to waffle maker manufacture instructions

~Plate cooked waffles

~Top with tomato slices, Hollandaise Sauce, green onions, and salt and pepper

~Enjoy

Enchilada Soup

I've always made this recipe in a stock pot, following the directions listed below. But recently I tried it in the crock pot, and found that this recipe doubled still fits (only barely) into the crockpot, and is a lot easier.

Recipe adapted from Homemade By Holman

Ingredients

Soup:

1 Tbsp. Butter

1 Yellow Onion, diced

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

3 C. Chicken Stock

2 Chicken Breasts, cubed

2 Tsp. Cumin

2 Tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp. Hot Sauce (I use Frank's)

1 - 796 mL can, Diced Tomates with Juices

1 - 177 mL can, Tomato Paste

1 - 341 mL can, Corn, drained

1 - 540 mL can, Black Beans, drained

1 Bell Pepper, diced

1-2 Jalapeno Peppers (optional for additional spice)

2 C. Cheese, grated (I like a combination of Pepper Jack and Old Cheddar)

*1-2 Flour Tortillas, cut in strips (optional)

***Edit: Add scoop of dry white rice, as soup is starting to cook

Toppings:

Tortilla Chips, crumbled

Cheese, grated

Cilantro

Directions

~In stock pot, add butter, onions and garlic. Sauté on medium heat until soft and golden

~Add chicken stock, chicken cubes, cumin, chilli powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and hot sauce

~Simmer until chicken is cooked, then with slotted spoon, remove chicken and set aside for later

~Add tomatoes and juices, beans, corn, peppers, and tomato paste, stir and simmer until tomatoes soften and break down

~Return cooked chicken to soup, and stir in cheese, allow to heat through. If a thicker soup is desired, add strips of flour tortillas and allow to dissolve 

~Serve into bowls and top with additional grated cheese, cilantro & tortilla chip crumbles

~Enjoy

Crockpot Method

~Place all soup ingredients except for cheese and flour tortillas into crock pot

~Cook until tomatoes and onions have cooked down, and chicken is cooked through

~Add in cheese and optional flour tortilla strips (to thicken), and heat until desired thickness

~Enjoy

Easy Food Processor Biscuits

Just a couple of notes for this one. When it says don't over handle, it really means it. Sure they look just as good, and taste fine, but if you compare an overly handled biscuit with one that hasn't been, from the same batch it's an incredible difference. So, when you pat these out and use your cookie cutter for the first time, make sure you get as many out of that first try as possible, because when you clump the dough up again and pat it out for a second time, they are distinctly different.

If you're using salted butter or margarine, in a recipe instead of unsalted butter, typically I eliminate the added salt, but for this one don't. You may be able to reduce it a little from the 1 Tsp, but don't forgo it all together.

When baking, the original recipe called for the rounds to be placed on a cookie sheet for baking. I always place them in my two very thick bottomed, oven safe fry pans because you can nestle them really close together and the heat comes off of the sides of the pan as well. Try push the rounds right next to each other, and then for some, leave some space in between. It makes for a completely different biscuit whichever way you choose.

Of course this recipe would work just fine if you did not use a food processor and instead went about things the old fashioned way aka cutting in the butter, keeping your hands cold, etc. However, the food processor is very easy, and helps you avoid over handling and heating up the dough which needs to be kept as cold as possible.

I typically double the batch and they don't last anymore than 24 hours.

Recipe from Southern Food.

Ingredients:

2 C. Flour
1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Salt
6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, cold
1 C. Buttermilk

Directions:

~Preheat oven to 450 F
~Place dry ingredients into food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine
~Place butter into food processor and pulse until mixture becomes course meal
~Add buttermilk and mix only until combined, mixture is very wet so if it appears too dry, add a bit more buttermilk
~Place dough onto a floured surface and gently fold it approximately 5 times, then pat until it is 1" thick, do not roll
~Use a round cookie cutter to cut out rounds
~Can knead the scraps together and pat again to get more rounds, but won't be as good as the original
~Place biscuits onto a cookie sheet
~Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden
~Enjoy!

Honey Mustard

This recipe tastes almost identical to the little packages that you get at fast food places with your chicken strips, but doesn't have any of the nasty long list of things in it. It's so simple to make, and uses ingredients almost everyone has at home, so why not make it from scratch.

Recipe courtesy of the Food Network.

Ingredients

1/2 C. Mustard
1/2 C. Honey
2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Directions

~Mix all ingredients in a small dish and whisk to smooth out all clumps. Salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Instant Noodle Cups

This is one of the greatest finds of a long time. A friend made them for a group of us and I was hooked. I've been eating these lately like they're going out of style. If you're making them and eating them right away, a jar isn't necessary, just throw everything in a large enough bowl. But if you want to use this recipe for it's greatness (it's take-and-go ability), get yourself a case of 500mL mason jars and make a whole batch. The recipe calls for optional tom yum paste, but as of this point I can't find it anywhere, even though my friend swears she found it at one of the stores, but they don't carry it now. I'll keep looking because it does make a difference if you can find it, but is still good without.

Recipe from The Londoner, and is for one serving in one, 500mL jar.

Ingredients

1 Sheet of Rice Noodles
Assorted Vegetables (I like broccoli florets, small cubes of carrot, green onion and bok choi)
Cooked Meat (chicken, pork, beef, seafood), cut in small pieces

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tsp. Hot Sauce
1 Tsp. Coriander
1 Tsp. Bouillon Powder
1 Tsp. Miso Paste (soybean paste)

Directions

~Bend sheet of rice noodles and slide into jar

~Fill remaining spaces with vegetables and meat

~In a small dish combine soy sauce, hot sauce, coriander, bouillon and miso paste, and mix until smooth

~Add sauce into jar

~Put lid on jar and store in fridge until ready to eat.

~Fill jar with boiling water to the top, screw lid on (careful lid gets hot) and invert jar a couple of time to dissolve sauce.

~Allow to sit for a couple of minutes, then

Enjoy!

White Bread

I don't usually eat white bread, but I haven't been making bread lately and my whole wheat flour turned and I wasn't going to replace it until I knew I had time to warrant buying another sack, so I made white bread. It was good as far as white bread goes. A good crust, dense yet fluffy inside, but kinda of lacking in the flavour that I'm so used to with whole wheat. But the great thing about this bread is how nicely it cuts. A lot of fresh bread just ends up a mess, or you have to cut thick slices in order to cut it, but this cut beautifully and thinly.

Recipe from Robin Hood

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

7 Tsp. Sugar

1 C. Water, warm

2 1/4 Tsp. Instant Yeast

1 C. Milk, warm

2 Tbsp. Butter

1 1/2 Tsp. Salt

5 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour

Directions

~Combine all ingredients, reserving 3 1/2 C. of flour, in the bowl of your electric mixer. Mix until well combined.

~Gradually stir in remaining flour as needed until you get a dough that forms a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl. 

~Knead for 5 minutes with electric mixer, adding more flour as needed

~Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning the dough around to coat all sides.

~Grease one side of a sheet of plastic wrap and place that side down over the bowl. 

~Cover with a tea towel and let sit in a warm place and allow to rise for 1 hr

~Flip out onto a greased surface and punch down.

~Divide into two balls and roll each out with a rolling pin and then roll to form the loaf.

~Place in greased bread pans

~Cover with greased plastic wrap and a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for another hour

~Preheat oven to 400 F

~Bake for 25-30 minutes (or until internal temperature reads 190 F)

Enjoy

Mississippi Mud Bars

I think I have about a dozen different Mississippi Mud Recipes saved to my computer. I don't think one of those recipes is similar to the next one, so I honestly don't know what the 'true' Mississippi Mud Bar recipe is. All I know is these are good. Quite good really and really worth making again.

When I made these, I didn't have pecans and as an afterthought I added chopped cashews to the top, but the frosting had kind of set and so I had to squish them down to keep them from rolling away, so it's best to put them between the marshmallow and frosting so they stay in place.

Recipe from Real Mom Kitchen.

Ingredients

1 C. Butter
1/2 C. Semisweet Chocolate Chips
2 C. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
4 Eggs
1 Tsp. Vanilla
3/4 Tsp. Salt

1 Bag (10.5oz) Mini Marshmallows

1 C. chopped pecans (optional), or any other desired nuts

Frosting:
1/4 C. Butter
2 1/2 Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa
2 1/2 Tbsp. Milk
2 C. Icing Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla

Directions

~Preheat oven to 350 F

~Melt butter and chocolate chips in a large pot over low heat, stirring until smooth

~Remove from heat and add in sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs, vanilla and salt. Stir to combine

~Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan

~Bake for 20 minutes

~Remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows over and return to bake for 5 minutes until marshmallows have puffed

~Remove from oven and sprinkle with nuts if desired

~In a large saucepan, combine butter, cocoa and milk, and heat until combined

~Beat in icing sugar and vanilla until smooth

~Spoon into a piping bag or freezer bag (snipping the corner) and pipe over bars (while marshmallows are still warm (but not right out of the oven, wait approximately 10 minutes)

~Cut into squares

Enjoy!