Breakfast and Brunch

Elvis’ Favorite Waffle Dunkers {& a Giveaway!!!!!}

May 13, 2015

I savor every day that is nice out. In fact our windows and doors are open now so I can enjoy the breeze and warm afternoon temps. We’ll just ignore the fact that I just let a ton of flies in, shall we…

My Dad rented a house on Cape Cod or all of our families to go to for a week in August for his 75th birthday. I can’t wait!! It will be awesome to have everyone together to hang for the week. The cousins will all get play and swim at the beach and in the pool, which is going to be so much fun for all of them. Plus, it will just be so nice for the family to be together. I think it’s been 15 years since my bother, sister, and I all took a vacation together. I am really looking forward to that lazy week in August.

And I swear I am going to pack my waffle irons so I can make all the cousins breakfast every morning. No really, I propably will. ha!!

I am just so hooked on waffles!!! And why shouldn’t I be?!?!? They are so awesome!!!

Exclamation points!!!! LOTS OF THEM!!!!

I think all the kids are gonna love when I bring my Mini Babycakes Waffle Sticks Maker since it makes fun waffle sticks that they can dunk into syrup. They are fun for kids of all ages as Autumn can easily grab them with her little toddler hands. And I swear the biger boys will enjoy that they are perfect for an on-the-go breakfast so they can play outside.

Plain waffle strips getting dunked in maple syrup us awesome, but I wanted to create a jazzed up, super fun recipe so I created this Banana and Bacon Waffle with a Peanut Butter Sauce for dunking.

Yep! I was inspired by Elvis’ favorite sandwich! He loved peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwiches. So I made these waffles sticks using those ingredients. I think The King would approve of these sweet, and yet slightly smokey, waffles with the luscious peanut butter sauce. Oh man, that peanut butter sauce is to die for.

The waffles sticks come out stuck together, but you just need to snip them apart with your kitchen shears to break apart the 4 waffle sticks. As well, they will come out a wee bit soft from the waffle maker, but they crisp up in just a few minutes when you place them on a wire baking rack.

Now don’t freight if you don’t have this awesome waffle sticks maker, you can use a square or circular waffle iron and just stack up your waffles and drizzle the peanut butter sauce over the waffles when serving them. But I think the Mini Babycakes Waffle Sticks Maker makes for the cutest waffle dunkers.

If The King was still alive I swear he would be singing the praises of these waffles. Definitely not singing the blues here!

Elvis’ Favorite Waffle Dunkers

Makes 48 Waffle Dunkers/12 waffles

Ingredients

For the waffles

6 ounces bacon
12 ounces butter
3 large very ripe bananas
1/2 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Cups flour
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 Cups buttermilk

For the peanut butter dunking sauce

3/4 Cup heavy cream
3/4 Cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup light corn syrup
pinch of salt

Process

Cut up the bacon into small pieces, no bigger than 1/4″ wide. Cook until golden brown. Remove from the skillet and place on paper towels.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Beat together the bananas and sugar. Once combined add the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract, beat well.
Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the banana mixture, gently mix. Add half of the milk and mix to incorporate. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk. Add in cooked bacon and mix to thoroughly incorporated.
Cook in your preheated Mini Babycakes Waffle Sticks Maker until golden brown and crisp. Place on a wire rack to cool and crisp up.
Prepare the peanut butter dunking sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it has reached a boil. Turn down the heat slightly and mix thoroughly. Let simmer for 3 minutes to thicken. Serve warm with the waffle sticks.

____________________

While I received the waffle maker from Select Brands, all opinions are my own.

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And now the GIVEWAY!!!!

I am kicking off my awesome partnership with Select Brands by giving away a Mini Babycakes Waffle Sticks Maker. In fact, for the next 2 weeks I am sharing fun dunkable waffle recipes and will be giving away waffle makers then as well. Three awesome recipes, three awesome giveaways in the month of May. Awesome!!

So let’s kick things off this week with this Select Brands Mini Babycakes Waffle Sticks Maker giveaway!

Follow the instructions HERE!!

Bacon Chocolate Chip Waffles

April 15, 2015

I have a new addiction. Oh baby, it’s a good one!

I can’t stop watching “Married At First Sight”. I just discovered it a few weeks ago so I am so into now. I am watching the latest episode as I write this. I know it’s going to take me 5x longer to write this post as I will be so distracted watching it.

ummm, 5 minutes just passed as my fingers rested on the keys as I watched…

It’s so interesting! It’s so weird. It’s so amazing. I mean, these 3 couples met each other at the alter. For real, they learned their names then. That’s insane, but cool.

I can’t figure out which couple I like the most. Or which one will actually continue on by committing to stay married after the ‘experiment’ phase.

All I do know is that I love to watch the current season and watching last season.

Anyway, I made these Bacon Chocolate Waffles a few years (ago and shared it then but I wanted to share it again as I had make some tweaks over the years. Mainly more bacon and more chocolate, obviously.

They do such a good job of combining the salty and sweet flavors. Every bite gets a bit of bacon and chocolate. I’ve made them with both regular semi-sweet chocolate chips and mini chips. It’s good both ways. When you make it with regular chips you get bigger bursts of chocolate in each bite, but with the mini chips you get more chocolate coverage. You can’t go wrong either way.

I insist that you make these! Plus, you gotta binge watch “Married at First Sight” so that we can catch up and dish on your favorite couple!!

Bacon Chocolate Waffles

Makes 12-14 (4″ Square) waffles

Ingredients

1/2 pound of bacon
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups of buttermilk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Process

Cut the bacon into small pieces. I suggest using a scissor. In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove and place on paper towels to drain away the excess fat.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
Whisk together the egg, oil, vanilla and buttermilk in a small bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips and crumbled bacon.
Preheat your waffle iron. When ready, scoop a 1/3 Cup of batter into your waffle iron. Cook until the steam has finished escaping out the sides and the waffles are golden brown. Serve with syrup & fresh fruit.

*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can make your own with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar for every cup of milk and let it sit for 5 minutes

Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles with a Maple Cream Cream Cheese Drizzle

April 1, 2015

I feel so out of the loop with things at times.

I’m out of the loop with movies, books, shows, news. You name it. But the thing I am most out of the loop with is movies. The last movie I saw in theaters was Flight… back in November of 2012. Lame.

This weekend Price binge watched a whole bunch of the Fast and Furious movies after Autumn went to sleep. I had no idea what was going on. I think I stopped watching the F&F movies after the second one. It was cool to watch the action scenes but I had no idea who was who or what was going on while I edited photos and drafted up blog posts.

He had seen them before so he schooled me on the movies but it was like in one ear and out the other. I did kinda understand what he was saying about the different movie names, although they still do sound the same to me. Like the first one was The Fast and The Furious and the fourth one was Fast and Furious. Not confusing at all guys…

I would like to actually watch all of the F&F movies at some point. But I think I’ll just be super sad watching so much Paul Walker. 🙁

Anyway, today Price and I are starting Whole30 again for the month of April. I’m excited to be doing it again as we really enjoyed the results of our first Whole30. Plus, my friend Kellie is joining in on the action! Yes, it’s strict but it’s so worth the effort. I am going to miss having waffles for the month but absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?!?

So while I won’t be enjoying these waffles this month, you should. They will make for the best start for Easter morning.

I swear that even the Easter Bunny will enjoy these waffles.

They are such a great flavor and texture. I love carrot cake so I loved these waffles.

But the thing that makes this breakfast so incredible is the drizzle. It has a cream cheese base, which is reminiscent of the cream cheese frosting you get on carrot cake. BUT it also has maple cream in it. It is the perfect mash up of cream cheese frosting and maple syrup.

A few weeks ago I met Carrie for brunch and she generously gifted some homemade maple cream to me and Liz. I had never had maple cream before so I was so excited to try it. Of course, I immediately fell in love with it. I use some in the drizzle for these waffles but if you don’t have some then use some maple syrup. But I think that you need to try some maple cream as it’s so, so good.

I hope that you enjoy these waffles as much as we did. xox

Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles with a Maple Cream Cream Cheese Drizzle

Makes

Ingredients

For the waffles

1 Cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 Cup milk
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots

For the Maple Cream Cream Cheese Drizzle

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons Maple Cream or maple syrup
1 Cup powdered sugar
approximately 2-3 Tablespoons milk

Process

To make the Waffles

Preheat your waffle iron per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.
In a separate bowl whisk together the the egg, sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Fold in the shredded carrots.
Laddle 1/4- 1/3 Cup of batter into your hot waffle iron. Cook until the

To make the drizzle

Beat the 4 oz of cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
Add the maple cream and continue to mix.
Add the powdered sugar and beat until creamy.
Starting with 2 Tablespoons slowly add the milk until you have reached the desired consistency.

Waffles adapted from Bakeaholic Mama,

Banana Buttermilk Waffles

March 18, 2015

I’m going to Seattle tomorrow!! And I am so freaking excited!!! SO EXCITED!!!

I am going there to visit my best friend Emily, who moved out there just about 2 summers ago. I haven’t seen her since last Christmas (’13) when she was back visiting family in CT and came up to Boston for an overnight so we could hang and she could meet Autumn. So it’s been far too long since I’ve seen her.

I’ve had this trip planned for months and months. I’m packed and ready to head to the airport from work. Autumn is staying home with dad so this is the longest time that I will be away from her. That will be hard but I think the trip would be tough on he/us. Plus, they get to have a funny Daddy & Daughter weekend together.

Emily and I have been planning fun things to see and do. And, of course, delicious things to eat and drink.

I’m looking forward to checking out Pike Place Market, Gas Works Park, and taking a Ferry Ride. Plus, I think I kinda have to check out the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat. Oooh, maybe even the Grey’s Anatomy House. I’m such a dork.

We have been sending back a “Seattle Restaurant Tread” email for the past few weeks that is stuffed full of restaurants and bars that we could check out. The plan is so eat, walk, eat walk, and repeat all day. I can’t wait to check out places like Revel, Local 360, Toulouse Petit, and Marination in Ma Kai. So good!!!

I’ve posted a few banana enhanced waffle recipes recently, so I was not too sure about posting these Banana Buttermilk Waffles now, but I couldn’t resist.

Buttermilk waffles are always a great waffle. A family favorite! And with the added banana it just knocks the flavor out of the park. Plus, it just enhances the texture.

We always have bananas on hand and sometimes they get too brown and soft to eat, I’m sure the same happens in your house, so whip up these waffles with those brown bananas.

So, while you are enjoying these waffles this weekend I’ll be enjoying Seattle. I think it will be a great weekend!

Banana Buttermilk Waffles

Makes approximately 16 waffles, depending on waffle maker

Ingredients

2 bananas, mashed
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/3 Cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Process

Preheat your waffle iron according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, melted butter, and the vanilla extract. Pour into dry mixture, and combine.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into batter.
Ladle about 1/4-1/3 cup batter, depending on your waffle iron, onto each section of the waffle grid; spread batter almost to the edges. Close lid, and bake until steam no long emerges from waffle iron, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Transfer the cooked waffles to a cooking rack lined baking sheet; place in an oven set to low heat, about 200 degrees, while you finish making the rest of the waffles.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Lemon Ricotta Waffles with a Fresh Blueberry Sauce

March 11, 2015

We are in wedding crunch time. It is fast approaching with just 93 days between now and then. Gah!

One moment I feel great about it and then the next I think about the 80+ favors I need to make, the post-wedding breakfast that needs to be nailed down, flowers to order, gifts to pick out, shoes to pick and get dyed (do I want them dyed? I think I do?), and get a dress. Oh crap, the dress…

…

Quick and Easy Cinnamon Roll Waffles

March 4, 2015

So funny story…I wrote the whole post to the recipe that I was going to post today. And then I tossed it.

Yep. Yep, I just wiped it clean. Ugh!

I had written about how I was dedicating the recipe to my blogging buddy Amanda and how she is so amazing and inspiring. We often make each other’s recipes, like how I recently made her Paleo Coconut Flour Waffles and she has made my Waffled Hashbrowns. In addition to Amanda trying them as directed, she also tried them with Sweet Potatoes and it was a bust! Twice!

I felt bad about that and wanted to figure it out so I go to work!

But I couldn’t consistently make them work well enough to share. I had amazing waffles and then ones that completely fell apart and stuck to the waffle iron. I just didn’t feel confident enough to share the recipe for the “Sweet Potato Waffles with a Triple Berry Sauce” that I had been working so hard on.

So, I said, “EFF IT!!!! LET’S MAKE CINNAMON ROLL WAFFLES!!!”

Yep, I went from homemade Sweet Potato Waffles with warm sauce made of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries to these 1 ingredient Cinnamon Roll Waffles. Ha! It might be lazy but it’s damn delicious!

It’s exactly what you think it is…
Open up the package> put cinnamon roll on waffle iron> close> cook> drizzle frosting

Thankfully, Amanda NAILED a waffle using sweet potatoes this week. I cracked up as soon as I saw the post because it felt like ‘great minds think alike’ moments. You seriously have to check out her Paleo Sweet Potato Waffles.

Quick and Easy Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Makes 5-8 waffles, depending on the can of cinnamon rolls you purchase

Ingredients

1 Can of cinnamon rolls ( I used the Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls)

Process

Preheat your waffle iron.
Spray with non stick cooking spray then put down 2-4 cinnamon rolls, depending on the size of your waffle iron.
Cook for 2 to 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Remove from waffle iron and drizzle the icing immediately over the waffled cinnamon rolls.

Gluten Free Banana Bread Waffles

February 25, 2015

Can we talk about how freaking cute waffle irons are?

Oh, man, my Amazon wish list is insane with waffle irons. Big Belgian beauties. This one makes bubbled shaped waffles. Or how about a Mini Waffle Maker. And this one that makes hearts. Adorable! Oh, and this one makes Waffle Sticks– perfect for dunking!

This is gonna be a problem. A delicious problem.

Price gifted me some fun goodies from Sperry for Valentine’s Day, but when we were out shopping I gifted myself Heart Waffle Iron that I picked up from Crate and Barrel. I couldn’t resist a sale. Score!!!

We always have bananas in the house as Autumn loves them, but she will eat anywhere from 1 bite to a whole banana in a sitting so sometimes we run out or have a bunch of super ripe ones left, depending on her mood that week. And sure enough, we had a bunch of bananas when I was trying to figure out what waffle t make up next. It was like they were calling my name, I just had to use them. But since I recently did a Banana Bread Waffle, I wanted to change it up so I made these gluten free.

These waffles are great if you are gluten free or not. The texture is light from the whipped egg whites. Plus the flavor is reminiscent of banana bread from the banana, vanilla, and cinnamon in the batter.

A real winner for your next waffle breakfast.

Gluten Free Banana Bread Waffles

Makes 7 heart waffles

Ingredients

1/2 Cup melted coconut oil
1 1/2 Cups almond flour
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 large very ripe bananas
1/2 Cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
butter, chopped nuts, fruit, and syrup for serving

Process

Melt enough coconut oil to equal 1/2 Cup.
Combine the almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Beat together the bananas and sugar until fluffy. Add the 3 egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Add in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Fold in the egg whites until there are no more streaks
Preheat you waffles iron. Spray with non-stick cooking spray or rub with papertowel that has coconut oil on it. Scoop a 1/2 Cup of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to the waffle maker’s instructions.
Serve warm with butter and syrup and your choice of nuts and fruit.

Post contains affiliate links.

Paleo Waffled Breakfast Sandwiches

February 18, 2015

Boston is breaking snow records left and right. Boom goes the dynamite.

It’s been snow storm after snow storm. The snow just keeps on staking up. We have broken the record for most snow in a 40 day period, expect we did it in 18 days. Fun. And then we broke the record for most snow in February. Super. Most recently we broke the record for the most snow in a month. Awesome.

Oh, did you catch the sarcasm?

Well, we are about a storm or two away from breaking the record for the snowiest season on record. We’ll see if we beat it. At least it will feel like all the snow was for something… some awful record!

In the mean time we will be eating these Paleo Waffled Breakfast Sandwiches. I actually got the idea from 2 differnt things. First, the waffled hashbrowns I shared last week for my Waffle Wednesday post. Then for when I was gluten free for about a year and would make gluten free waffles and use them as bread. So I merged those ideas and made these Paleo Waffled Breakfast Sandwiches with those waffled hashbrowns as buns. yum!!!

The waffled potato buns do take a bit of time to prepare so just keep that in mind. You have to stuff the the waffle iron with the shredded potato so that they are sturdy enough to be buns. Each pair tool my waffle iron about 10-12 minutes to cook. This actually works well as it allows you to get ready in the morning. Just get the potatoes in the waffle iron and go about your morning and check on the potatoes again after a bit. Perfection.

Give these a try if you are living a Paleo diet, are going Whole30, or if you just like awesome breakfast sandwiches.

Paleo Waffled Breakfast Sandwiches

Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

For the Waffled Potato ‘Buns’

2 1/5 pounds potatoes, such as russet
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
olive oil or vegetable oil spray

For the sandwiches

8 eggs
8 sausage patties or 8 slices bacon (make sure it’s Whole30 compliant, if needed!)
1 Cup guacamole

Process

To make the waffled potato buns, shred the potatoes in a food processor (I used a medium shred blade). Place all of the shredded potato in a bowl lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze as much water out of the potatoes as possible.
Preheat your waffle
Place the waffled ‘buns’ on a wire rack placed on a baking sheet in an oven set to 200 degrees to keep them warm and crisp until you are ready to use them.
To make the sandwiches, cook your sausage or bacon.
Cook the eggs them in a sprayed skillet over medium-low heat, flip them once the white is almost set up. Continue to cook to reach ‘over well’ doneness, until the yolk has just set.
Place 2 eggs on a shredded potato bun, and then top with the sausage or bacon. Spread 1/4 Cup of guacamole on the top ‘bun’, and then place the bun on the egg sandwich. Cut in half, if you would like.

Homemade Paleo Breakfast Sausage (Whole30 Approved!)

February 17, 2015

We are half way through our Whole30 and it’s been going really well.

The biggest struggle is breakfast. Oh man, some days I just can’t figure out what to make!

It just feels so repetitive. Eggs, eggs, and more eggs. Gah!! Plus, finding breakfast meats is so dang difficult as 99.9% of store-bought bacon have sugar in them, as well as ham and breakfast sausage. Oh, dang you sugar!

But if you make your own breakfast sausage you can make it Paleo friendly, or even Whole30 friendly. When making it Paleo friendly you can use maple syrup, but you can make it more smokey when you are making it Whole30 friendly.

Either way, it’s so freaking good as you get to customize it exactly to your preferences. I am not a fan of fennel seed so I skipped it, although it’s often in sausage. But you can use it, or other spices, as you wish.

Now that I made this homemade breakfast sausage I am really doubting that I can go back to store-bought sausage. The fresh flavors in this sausage has me hooked. Plus, making your own gives you the opportunity to jazz it up to make it your own.

I really enjoyed the subtle smokey flavor from the liquid smoke that I used. I plan on trying other liquid smoke flavors to see how the different woods impact the flavor of the sausage. It’s really so fun thinking about how to playing around with the different spices will effect the flavors of the breakfast sausage.

You definitely can’t get bored when you are making your own homemade sausage!

Homemade Paleo Breakfast Sausage

Makes 8 patties

Ingredients

1 pound of ground pork
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (add more if you like it spicy)
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (I used hickory)

Process

Put the pork in a large bowl, add all of the spices and mix thoroughly.
Divide the pork into 8 portions, then form into flat patties. If you are not going to cook right away, freeze individually on a baking sheet prior to storing in a container or plastic bag.
If cooking immediately, add a bit of oil to a nonstick skillet. Cook the patties over medium heat until both sides are browned and are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.

Inspired by Nutmeg Nanny

Waffled Hashbrowns

February 11, 2015

Here I am 10 days into Whole30.

It’s awesome. It sucks. I feel inspired to jazz up our meals. I hate cooking.

Basically, I just want to bake some damn chocolate chip cookies.

I started to question doing Whole30 when I realized I couldn’t have waffles. What? Huh? Jk! But really, the foods I miss the most are breakfast foods. Sure, eggs are breakfast foods, but so are pancakes, bagels, and waffles. But it’s only a month.

Besides, I can figure out other fun ways to use the waffle iron to bust out some delightfully delicious food.

In this case, I used the waffle iron to make hashbrowns because hashbrowns are great but Waffled Hashbrowns are even better. It makes them extra crunchier.

And it’s super simple too! I used fresh potatoes that I just tossed in my food processor (fine shred), but post Whole30 if I’m feeling chill I will just grab a big bag of frozen shredded potatoes and have at it.

And of course #putaneggonit.

Waffled Hashbrowns

Make 4 Hashbrowns

Ingredients

4 Large Potatoes/ 4 Cups frozen shredded potatoes
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
vegetable oil/olive oil (I used a Misto sprayer, but cooking spray works well too)

Process

If using fresh whole potatoes, shred the potatoes in a food processor or on a box grater.
Season the potatoes with the season salt and black pepper, mix to evenly distribute.
Preheat the waffle iron according to your manufacturer’s directions.
Once preheated, generiously spray it the bottom piece with oil. Add 1/4 of the potatoes to the waffle iron, spray the potatoes and top of the waffle iron with oil, and close. Cook until there is no more steam coming from the waffle iron and it is golden brown and crunchy. Repeat until you have made 4 hashbrowns.

Paleo Coconut Waffles

February 4, 2015

Oh, what a crummy, crummy week!!!

Let’s start with Sunday night with the Seahawks losing the Superbowl. Such a big fat bummer. Yes, I’m in Patriots’ country but I’m a Giants fan so whatever’s to the Pats.

Then more snow on Monday so I stayed home as commuting would have been a nightmare potentially taking up too much of my already limited day at work. That wasn’t the issue, it was just the snow. I’m over it, so over it. With the snow from Linus and Juno’s 26.4″ the previous week and some snow just before that Boston set a record of 46+” for the most snow fall in a 10 day period. UGH

And work is just crazy now with a lot of deadlines and travel. It’s like everything is scheduled to the minute to get it done. I was going to go back to work last night to work for a few more hours but the traffic was insane, absolutely insane because the snow on the side of the roads is impeding visibility and lanes of traffic. So going back to work was out of the question throwing my week off schedule.

It’s just stupid stuff like that that is bugging me and putting me in a funk.

Yes, in general my life is pretty awesome- great fiance, daughter, dog, and grumpy rabbit, awesome family, a nice townhouse, pretty sweet job, etc. But there are just times when things are annoying and you just have to have a vent session. So thanks for that!

But thank goodness it’s WAFFLE WEDNESDAY!!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

As I’m doing Whole 30 from Feb 2- Mar 3, I am going to focus on paleo or Whole 30 approved recipes. Waffles aren’t approved on the Whole 30 diet but I’d say that the Paleo diet is the closest ‘thing’ to the Whole 30 diet so I’m going to share some paleo waffle recipes this month.

But don’t freight!! Paleo waffles are still knock your socks off awesome. The texture is definitely different than a regular waffle. Different but so good.

Plus this recipe is loaded with coconut. Just loaded with it so it’s so tasty. It’s tropical, in a way. At least I think of pina coladas, sunblock, and the tropics when it comes to delicious coconut things.

And now for some tips and tricks for the recipe!

I had only used coconut oil as a replacement to lotion prior to this recipe. It was fun to try it in the recipe. I really suggest that you scoop out some coconut oil and microwave it to warm it up so it’s a liquid. Then you measure that. When I first scooped it out I measured out 4 tablespoons, or so I thought I did. It turns it was more than that. So I really suggest that you melt it and measure the melted amount- it is oil isn’t it!?!

The recipe calls for the egg whites to be beaten until you get soft peaks. This is really important as it really gives the waffles great texture. Plus if you didn’t do this you’d probably just make 2 waffles as it really gives the recipe it’s substance. Or is it volume. Or whatever. So beat the bejesus out of the eggs and you’ll be all set.

Change things up! Try something that is Paleo today!

Paleo Coconut Waffles

Makes 5-6 6″ round waffles

Ingredients

8 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup almond milk or coconut milk
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour

Process

Beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until you get stiff peaks. Set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, stir together the egg yolks, melted coconut oil, vanilla, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, almond milk, and sifted coconut flour. Stir until almost all lumps are gone. Gently fold in beaten egg whites.
Cook according to your waffle maker’s instructions to produce golden waffles.
Serve with maple syrup, some shredded coconut, and fruit. yum!

Sourced from Fake Ginger

Waffled French Toast

January 28, 2015

Oh, here we go with me waffling things.

Sure, sure, waffling already is a verb but I’m changing it up and I’m adding a new definition to it.

It was only a matter of time before I took the waffle iron to make something other than waffles in there. I feel like Kathy of Panini Happy with her Panini centric blog. She uses just a Panini to make all these awesome recipes. Or like Allie from Inspralized who makes delicious healthy recipes using a spiralizer. Only Allie is famous and now has a cookbook in the works and I just fiddle away with my waffle iron.

Anyway, I slapped some French Toast in the waffle iron and, as expected, it was great.

Here is the biggest tip I have for you…

Don’t use thick bread!! I used a pretty thick slice at first- I’d say about a 1/2″- and it didn’t work at all! Well it did but I had to hold the waffle iron closed the whole time. The slice puffed right up and popped my waffle iron open and wouldn’t stay closed since the eggy coating expands as it cooks. Duh!

So I reworked it and used thinner slices and huzzah! We have a winner!

The Waffled French Toast is just like regular French Toast but cooler as it has all the awesome peaks and valleys that waffles have.

I used homemade sandwich bread but you can use store-bought bread, just make sure the slices aren’t too thick. 1/4″ Max! Or just expect that your waffle iron might pop open.

Other than that, soak you bread in that egg mixture and get that waffle iron ready!!

Waffled French Toast

Makes 8 slices

Ingredients

4 eggs
2 Cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
8 slices of thinly sliced bread (I used homemade sandwich bread)

Process

Combine the eggs, milk, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a shallow bowl.
Preheat your waffle iron.
Dip 2 slices of bread in the egg mixture until completely coated.
Right before you put the slices on, spray the waffle iron with not stick cooking spray, or wipe with melted butter.
Cook the french toast slices until your waffle iron timer goes off and they slices are golden brown. Repeat with all the slices.
Serve with your favorite toppings like butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, nuts, and fruit.