Buttermilk Waffles

Man oh man there has been a waffle craze around here lately. I don't know about where you live but here in Utah we have Waffle Love. Delicious liege waffles with the most amazing decadent toppings! It was love at first bite.

Now I realize that buttermilk waffles are completely different, but still delicious in their own light.  Many of you know my love for pancakes.  I've made probably thousands and don't even need a recipe.  I grew up in a house where my mom often made us both pancakes and waffles.  I have obviously carried pancakes with me over the years, but I don't know where the waffles fell off.  Since starting to make these, both my kids and husband prefer them over pancakes.  So I suck it up every once in a while and make a big batch.  I like to throw the leftovers in the freezer because they keep so well.  Just pop them in the toaster right from the freezer and they come out nice and warm and crispy--not soggy!

Buttermilk Waffles
3 large eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks with buttermilk, vanilla, butter and sugar.  Sift together dry ingredients and add them to the wet.  Whisk to incorporate.

In a mixing bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium or high speed, until stiff peaks form. Gently fold them into the batter.  Cover batter loosely with plastic wrap about 10-15 minutes, while waffle iron heats up.

Cook waffles on preheated waffle iron according to package directions.

Serve warm with toppings of your choice: syrup, whipped cream, fruit, etc.


SOURCE: Just a Taste

Italian Meatball Sliders

So, I don't know where it came from, but I've had this mad craving for some Italian meatballs for months!! Unfortunately lately I haven't been able to knock off many new meals from my ever-growing list.  My kids are in this picky rut and I hate it!! I also refuse to feed them mac and cheese from a box every single day so I am rotating a few boring simple meals until they start eating more variety.  I'll often make something else for me and the hubbs, that we can eat off for a few days, but that never lasts long to photograph.

So, I finally put my foot down and made these Italian meatballs the other night...and then made everyone eat them.  And to my and their surprise, they all liked them!  Whaddya know ha!  I actually had my toddler help me make these.   Her favorite part was grinding the fennel in the mortar and pestle.  The meat mixture smelled AMAZING while we were getting it together. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth in.

I decided to make these meatballs slider size, using my muffin scoop to portion them out, and serve them on whole wheat dinner rolls because we have little mouths in this house and I knew they wouldn't eat more than that.  You can definitely make them bigger or smaller and serve them on larger rolls if desired.  Anyway you make them, they'll be a new favorite. They are nice and moist with just the right amount of seasoning.


Italian Meatball Sliders
for the meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
3/4-1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fennel seed (if you have a mortar and pestle crush them a bit but don't pulverize them)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk
1 egg

for the sauce:
1 recipe Easy No-Cook Pizza Sauce 

for the sliders:
shredded mozzarella
shredded parmesan
chopped fresh basil or parsley for garnish (optional)
12 whole wheat dinner rolls


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl add all meatball ingredients.  Use your hands to mix everything together until ingredients are well-incorporated.

Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat.  Using a muffin scoop, scoop out meat mixture and place onto cookie sheet.  Flatten slightly, if desired, so they will will not roll off your bun. Continue until all meat mixture us used up.  Makes about 12 meatballs.

Bake meatballs for 15 minutes.  In the meantime, make sauce.  Pour sauce into large skillet and heat over medium heat.  Once meatballs are cooked, remove from cookie sheet and place them in the skillet with the sauce.  Simmer, covered about 10 minutes.

To assemble sliders, cut buns in half and place under broiler for 2-3 minutes or until they just start to get golden.  Place a meatball on one half of each of the buns, a pinch of mozzarella and parmesan then put it back under the broiler until the cheese is melted.  Remove from oven garnish with fresh basil or parsley and serve warm.  Use any extra sauce left in the pan to dip the sliders.

Egg Nog Muffins

I absolutely LOVE egg nog and usually try to get as much of it as I can while it's around during the holidays.  Thankfully I'm doing a health and fitness challenge right now, otherwise I'd probably have gone through more than my share.

So I had a lonely quart left in my fridge that needed to be used up before it expired.  I didn't want to "cheat" and just drink it so I made these lovely muffins for breakfast and they were totally devoured.  I think I may need to make them again.

Egg Nog Muffins
Makes 1 dozen

1 cup good quality egg nog
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 /4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup if your egg nog is pretty sweet)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg nog, eggs, sour cream, butter and sugar, until well combined.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.

Line muffin tin with liners and divide batter evenly between muffin wells.

Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.  Store in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days.