Recipes

Lemon Meringue Pie Waffles

May 6, 2015

37 Days until our wedding!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!

It’s so exciting and nerve-racking as we still have so many little things to figure out. Sure, Price’s suit and my dress are all set but we have to nail down a bunch of things still. Like we’ve been shopping for the Out of Town Bags we are going to hand out at our reception dinner, and then started to assemble them the other night, and now we have to decorate them with some ribbon next. Nothing too time consuming but just stuff like that.

It’s fun to plan it all out and do it to. It’s just that the time is getting squeezed, but it will all get done, right?!?! Okay, I know it will, but still ahhhhh!!!

Anyway, I’ll have some more in depth wedding planning posts soon.

In the mean time, I have this delightfully sweet and tart waffle recipe for ya. It’s finger licking good. Like chicken, but 10x better.

Ever since I saw these Lemon Meringue Cupcakes I couldn’t stop thinking of them. For real, they were haunting my dreams.

Granted, I was doing Whole30 then and some days I could have killed someone for some sugar. But in reality, they just looked awesome and I wanted them so badly.

Obviously, I had to make them, but with a twist. I had to make them into waffles.

Waffles are my everything right now. They are so awesome. I think about them all the time. You know, in the mix of toddle things, wedding things, work things, etc, etc. My brain is a jumble of delightful things.

These Lemon Meringue Pie Waffles are perfectly tart and sweet. It’s a great combination of flavors. I love lemon. It’s so refreshing. And lemon Meringue pie is so lemony. It’s the best.

Sure, pie is great. I love pie. And I know, I made over 50 last year when I did my Year of Pie posts. But waffles are so much easier to make. Plus, you’re basically having pie for breakfast. So that’s awesome.

Right now the most important thing is to make these. And for me to write vows, make favors, and order babies breath wholesale. Oh yeah, all that.

Don’t mind me as I stress eat these waffles while sitting on my kitchen counter going ‘la-la-la’ in my head. Care to join in?

Lemon Meringue Pie Waffles

Makes 20 mini waffles, 10 waffle sandwiches

Ingredients

For the Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

For the Lemon Curd

1 batch of Lemon Curd (3 Cups) or store bought lemon curd/lemon pudding

For the Meringue

1 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar

Process

To make the waffles, start by preheating your waffle iron.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Vigorously whisk the eggs in large bowl until fluffy. Add the milk, vegetable oil, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until just combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Some small lumps are okay.
Ladle 1/4-1/3 cup of the batter the onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Remove to a baking rack on a cookie sheet in an oven warmed to 200 degrees.
While the waffles are cooking, make the meringue.
Set a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water (don’t let the water touch the bottom of the bowl) to create a double boiler. Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar, until egg whites are warm to the touch, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is frothy. Remove from heat.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat until glossy and stiff peaks have formed. Add the vanilla in during last 30 seconds.
Serve by plating a waffle , scooping a generous amount of the lemon curd on the warm waffle, and then scooping the meringue on top. Using a kitchen torch, or your broiler, brown the meringue. Top off with another waffle with making sandwiches. Dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Waffle recipe by I am a Honey Bee, meringue from Baked By Rachel

Whole30 #2: Day 25-27 Recap

May 5, 2015

I am documenting my second Whole 30 journey to help me see how far I’ve come from my first Whole30 (Feb 2015) to this one (April 2015). Plus, I don’t want to fall into any food ruts. Hopefully this will keep me inspired through the whole process. I’m looking forward to the transformation in how I approach food, cook with it, and enjoy it. Check out all my Whole30 related posts HERE from why I did my first Whole30, why I am doing this one, and food diaries.

{Day 25}

Saturday, April 25th, 2015

It was a really busy day so our normal eating was all thrown off. From timing to what we ate to amount. All over the place. But life is life and it’s busy and you just gotta make it work.

Breakfast

Black Coffee, Fresh Coconut

Autumn and I were running errands in the morning, mainly going to Haymarket so I grabbed a black coffee for me and a blueberry muffin for her. I miss muffins.

I grabbed the coconut while shopping at our next stop, Whole Foods. Really good. Autumn liked it too.

Lunch

Burger Salad topped off with avocado with Baked Sweet Potato Fries, served with homemade mayo

This was a late lunch as both Price and I were buys doing out own things running around for the day. We only met back up at home after his errands and our Boston Terrier Meet Up. My eyes were bigger than my stomach as I didn’t finish this, but it was damn good.

Dinner

Fruit (no pic)

Basically skipped dinner from having a big lunch.

{Day 26}

Sunday, April 26th, 2015

Today was a bit better than the day before as there we ate lunch and dinner normally, lunch was just a little off. But I’m just happy with how much we got done. Days that are really productive, even if really busy and stressful, feel good.

Breakfast

Pulled pork with plantains 1 with over-easy egg

I burned some of the plantains, which was a bummer, but the ones I had were still good. I really like plantains. Def don’t make them enough. And pulled pork for breakfast was good too. Nice change up from the reg breakfast meats.

Lunch

Banana and potato salad

Another day spent running around so another late lunch. This time it was less organized than the burger from the day before, but still good. I made the potato salad for my SRC post so it I was so excited to inhale some once I photographed it. ha!

Dinner

Roasted Chicken Breast with Garlicky Roasted Fennel and Onions and Green Beans

I picked up the air-chilled chicken breasts from Whole Foods because they were having a big stock up sale. I bought 3 big packages. I should have bought 10! Damn, air-chilled chicken is good.

I like making a nice Sunday dinner for all of us to sit down to. Plus, it gives me a chance to do some meal prep for the week as I can use leftovers for lunches and dinners.

{Day 27}

Monday, April 27th, 2015

Another new workweek begins. Just a few days to go.

It was a really good food day. Yummy food and smart eating. I do wish I didn’t snack so much this time around, but I can only learn from my bad snacking habits this time around.

Breakfast

Veggie loaded Sweet Potato Hash with 2 over-easy eggs

Inspired by The Pioneer Woman’s potato hash that we just saw her make this weekend. I thought it sounded really good to add zucchini to it so I gave it a try. We both enjoyed it so I’ll be doing it again.

I’m over eggs.

Lunch

Salad with Chicken (leftovers) with Tessemae’s Cracked Pepper Dressing

When I was a Whole Foods I found Tessemae’s dressing and they even had a complaint one there too! There are a few complaint dressings and condiments so I was excited to get one. I didn’t find their ketchup, so I was bummed, but glad to get the yummy dressing. Loved to try something new.

Snack

Almonds (TJ’s packet) and Apple Pie Mini Larabar

I have snacked too much during this and Whole30. booooooo

Dinner

Steak with Potato Salad and Roasted Veggies (mix of leftovers and new zucchini)

What can I say, I just love steak. I do miss steak sauce but the seasoning (Goya’s Sazonador Total) is really flavorful so it doesn’t need it.

____________________

What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Homemade Lemon Curd

May 4, 2015

I am seriously in the mood to bake.

To bake everything. Cookies. Brownies. Cakes. Pies. You name it.

I think it has to do with the fact that I just spent the last month avoiding any form of sugar. I did do some baking during both of my Whole30 adventures, which was nice. I didn’t even really mind the fact that I was baking and not eating the stuff. But the absolute KILLER part was that I couldn’t just lick the spatula or my fingers. Ugh the worst.

So I am coming out of my baking and sugar dry spell and I’m on fire!

ON FIRE!!!!!!!

In the last few days I made a chocolate zucchini bundt cake, cookies, brownies, and now this lemon curd. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, lemon… hmmm…

Yes, the lemon throws the chocolate trend off but I knew that I had big plans for it. Delightfully delicious plans for it. What could those plans be? If you guessed that I’d use it in a fan-freaking-tastic waffle recipe, then you guessed correctly!! Woo Hoo!!

Yep, I used this lemon curd in such an amazing waffle recipe. It will have you begging for more. It just is the perfect combination of tartness and sweetness. Oh love.

I’ll be sharing the waffle recipe on Wednesday for my #WaffleWednesday post, but in the mean time you should get started on making your own lemon curd so you are prepared.

It really was super easy and the end result is incredible!

I used Ina Garten’s recipe but just changed up the process a bit. Ina calls for the lemon peel to be removed using a veggie peeler and then put in a food processor. But I was feeling lazy about dirtying my big food processor, my stand mixer, and a pot too. So I just used my super fine microplane and got to work on those lemons. It look just a few minutes more but I enjoyed the process.

Just look at that happy yellow color, I mean, come on! Yum!!!

Homemade Lemon Curd

Makes 3 Cups

Ingredients

3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs/5 large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Process

Zest the 3 lemons using a microplane. Set aside.
Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and zest, beat again to combine.
Add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add the lemon juice and salt, mix again.
Pour the mixture until a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer.
Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

Adapted from Ina Garten, via Food Network

Whole30 #2: Days 22-24 Recap

April 30, 2015

{Day 22}

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015

Did Hump Day translate to Hungry Day?

Breakfast

Boloco Shake: Strawbana (omitted the frozen yogurt)

We got out of the house quickly this morning so that I could get into work a bit earlier as I had a busy day ahead of me. Because of that I didn’t have time to make breakfast so I ran into Boloco for something. I wanted to make a burrito into just a bowl, but I asked about their eggs and was informed they add milk to the eggs. Bummer but the smoothie was really good.

Mid-morning Snack

Trader Joe’s Apple and Banana Fruit Bar

No protein for breakfast = hungry a short time later. Duh.

Lunch

Homemade California Chicken Salad over Organic Mixed Greens

On Monday night I roasted chicken breasts so I could make chicken salad that we would enjoy throughout the week. It was a definite win.

Dinner

1/2 Spaghetti Squash with Rao’s Marinara Sauce

I finished off the spaghetti squash for dinner before running back to work.

Price had buffalo wings. He loves them.

Late Night Snack

Package of salted cashews (Trader Joe’s), the rest of the dried Rambutan (4 pieces)

I needed a snack to get me through the long work day. I like being back at work to get a lot of stuff done, especially before presentation meetings or deadlines, but it makes me more active and snackish at night. booo…

{Day 23}

Thursday, April 23rd, 2015

OMG! I was like a bottomless pit today. So hungry. I don’t like when I give into cravings/impulses but there are just days when you need the extra energy. At least it felt like that today.

Breakfast

2 eggs over-easy with potato hash, served with guac and salsa verde (Trader Joe’s)

Autumn was really hungry this morning so she eat breakfast at home. She kept pointing at my guac on my plate after finishing off her own so she eat most of mine. Nothing is sacred anymore! ha!

And eggs… I hate you.

Lunch

Homemade California Chicken Salad over Organic Mixed Greens; strawberries and honeydew melon

I love that I get to eat Chicken Salad while doing this ‘diet’. The best part about doing Whole30 is that it doesn’t feel like it’s such a hardship. Sure at times I struggle and get bored with the food, but overall it works for me because it’s not so restrictive.

Afternoon Snack

Package of Raw Almonds (Trader Joe’s)

I wish you were chips. Or cheez-it’s. But nuts will do. Sorta.

Dinner

Stir Fry with Chicken and Bok Choy, served with cauliflower rice and a drizzle of sesame oil

I was so bummed when I realized that I had grabbed the wrong item at the grocery store- I grabbed the roasted red chili paste instead of the red curry paste. Oh well, I improvised a sauce and made it work.

Dessert

Strawberry and banana slices with coconut whipped cream topped off with some chopped walnuts

The strawberries were on their last leg so we I just whipped this up to finish them off before they went bad. It was good but I’m still a fan of ‘regular’ whipped cream. Plus, it just made me wish it was a strawberry shortcake.

{Day 24}

Friday, April 24th, 2015

It was a busy day, but a great one. I love when I get a lot of things done from a punch list walk through, an oil change, hitting up the container store, and then more work at home in the afternoon. It was a great way to end the work week.

Plus, less than a week to go!!!

Breakfast

Black Coffee (not pictured!)

I had to get out of the house earlier than usual to drive to my project’s site so I didn’t have time to make breakfast. Oh well.

Lunch

Salad with organic mixed greens and veggies topped off with buffalo shrimp and homemade ranch dressing

Since I was out and about in the morning I worked at home for the rest of the day, which let me make lunch for myself at home. I freaking love when I have the opportunity. I was super hungry since I didn’t have breakfast so I felt like treating myself to the big salad and topping it off with some shrimp. Awesome.

Dinner

Oven fried fish with roasted platains and baby zucchini, with a cilantro sauce (based on the Cilantro Vinaigrette from What’s Gaby Cooking)

I joked on Instragram that food on whole30 is so boring… ha!

This dinner kicked some major ass. I loved the cilantro sauce and the plantains. I am going to make this dressing/sauce all the time now. Plus, plantains are always awesome.

Dessert

Apple with almond butter

Should have skipped it but I am just so happy that an apple is a dessert now. Progress!

____________________

What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Churro Waffles with Dulce De Leche Whipped Cream

April 29, 2015

Churro Waffles with Dulce De Leche Whipped Cream – a mash up of a Mexican Style treat with a waffle topped with Mexican Style sweet dipping sauce

My Bachelorette Party is this upcoming weekend. Whoohoo!!!!

That just means that the wedding will be here before I know it!

…

Whole30#2: Days 19-21 Recap

April 28, 2015

{Day 19}

Sunday, April 19th, 2015

This was the last full day with my mom visiting us. And it was a busy day too! The biggest thing was that we went to my dress fitting. Oh the drama!!! But the best thing was that the sash that was too small before fit. WOOHOO!!

Breakfast

2 eggs over-easy, potato hash, and homemade bacon

The original intent was to get up early and to get to Target to shop the Lilly For Target sale but I got too eger about breakafst and made it for us and we ended up missing the sale because we showed up at 8.04 and kthe racks were clear at 8.01. Big fucking bummer, Good Job Target…

But at least we had bacon!

Lunch

Salad with leftover chicken (from dinner the night before)

I was so freaking hungry when we got home after my (long ass) dress fitting so this salad was a must. I threw it together for the 3 of us as quickly as possible. And then I topped it off with leftover chicken from the night before. We all grabbed some seconds!

Dinner

Steak Tenderloin with roasted tiny potatoes and asparagus

I wanted to send Mom off with a ‘Bang!’ so I made steak for us. She doesn’t cook to much for herself at home so I enjoyed cooking for her while she was here. And I think she enjoyed it too 🙂

Dessert

Banana with almond butter

OMG! I was starving. Strange, but I was.

{Day 20}

Monday, April 20th, 2015

It was Patriot’s Day so daycare was closed, so I had Autumn home with me. And it was the last day my mom was visiting. After I dropped her off at the airport I then went to work so I could introduce Autumn to my coworkers there. She had a blast there and then enjoyed a nap while I tried on clothes at Loft. The best is that I got a shirt in size Small (!) and shorts in size 2 (!!!!). FUCK YA!!

Breakfast

2 egg omelet filled with potato hash, guac, and salsa

This was my sad attempt at a Whole30 complaint breakfast burrito. It would have been great had I wrapped it up properly. I am not discouraged! I will try again and it will be awesome.

Lunch

Salad with romaine, broccoli slaw, red onion, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and avocado with homemade ranch dressing

I quickly inhaled this after I dropped Mom off at the airport and before Autumn and I left to head into work to say hi to everyone. It was awesome. Plus, it was awesome that I got to make mom a salad too to bring to the airport. Worked out well that she had a healthy lunch for her day of travel.

Later on, when I was at work, I shared a mini Chery Larabar with Autumn. I grabbed it for myself but she decided to eat it to. So I basically had a bite. ha!

Dinner

Spaghetti Squash with sauteed chicken with Rao’s Marinara Sauce

Rao’s Sauce is made with just Italian tomatoes, olive oil, fresh onions, salt, fresh garlic, fresh basil, black pepper, oregano… so it’s Whole30 Complaint. Woohoo!!!

I was so excited to have a ‘pasta’ dinner. So craving this.

{Day 21}

Tuesday, April 21st, 2015

3 weeks… here we go!!!

This last stretch is getting tough. I’m happy with doing Whole30 again but I just want to enjoy some normal food again. I feel like I only think about food related to what to eat, what not to eat, what I don’t want to eat, what I can’t wait to eat, etc. It’s all about food, I just wish it was all about Oreos and Cheez-it’s!

Breakfast

1 over-easy egg with 1/2 avocado

Boring.

Lunch

Homemade California Chicken Salad over Organic Mixed Greens

I roasted chicken breasts on Monday night to make this so we would have lunch for the week. I love doing a lot of meal prep all at once and then just whipping things together at meal time. This works well for this. And I honestly like Chicken Salad more on greens than in a sandwich, or maybe I’m just so used to not having bread….

Snack

Organic Dried Rambutan from Organic Living Superfoods

I picked this packet of Organic Dried Rambutan because I had never heard of Rambutan before and wanted to try it out. They are basically lychees. They were awesome! I ate about 2/3 of the 4 oz package.

Dinner

Aidells’ Chicken and Apple Sausage with Roasted Broccolini, served with mustard

Cut up sausage, throw on sheet pan with broccolini, toss with some olive oil, roast in oven. My kind of lazy meal.

Dessert

Berries with coconut whipped cream

We had angel food cake at home from mom visiting. So hard not to grab a piece. Ugh.

Also, watching Married at First Sight is the best.

____________________

What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

New Potato & Radish Salad in a Creamy Truffle Oil Dressing

April 27, 2015

Holy smokes guys, I bought a new bathing suit!!

I am so freaking ready for summer. It hurts me so much that it’s not yet warm.

…

Whole30 #2: Days 16-18 Recap

April 25, 2015

{Day 16}

Thursday, April 16th, 2015

I can’t think of anything special to report about today related to cravings or victories or whatever. I am still craving chocolate chip cookies. I’d like to eat a slice of pizza or a plate of nachos, but that seems like a constant.

BUT! my skin seems so much clearer, especially my forehead. Victory!

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs with 1/2 of a baked sweet potato, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

I used to love scrambled eggs as a kid, but I really don’t care for them anymore, especially without cream. ha! But the sweet potato was nice for breakfast.

Lunch

Curried and Grilled Avocado Kale Salad from B.Good

My friend Megan and I went out to lunch to talk over wedding music. We went to B.Good, which has AWESOME burgers and baked sweet potato fries. I probably could have made a burger on a lettuce bun work for me but I just decided to go for a salad. I talked to the staff about the ingredients and they were so helpful. I picked the Curried and Grilled Avocado Kale & Grain bowl. I omitted the quinoa (sad face), peas, and the mint- yogurt sauce, but added tomatoes. I was tempted to add chicken or steak but I didn’t want to risk any non-compliant issues related to oils, which might have been an issue with the veggies but I did the best I could.

Snack

Cashew Cookie Lara Bar

Big Surprise…

Dinner

Steak with roasted vegetables- fennel, baby zucchini, grape tomatoes

Mom came for a weekend visit so this was an introduction to the Whole30 foods that we eat. Thankfully she loved it. Steak is always a winner.

Dessert

Banana, Apple, Almond Butter

“I’m pretending this is an ice cream sundae”- Price. HAHAHAHAHA!!!

We shared this plate of fruit and almond butter. It was yummy.

{Day 17}

Friday, April 17th, 2015

It was a busy day with work in the morning in Burlington and then working more at home. It was nice to have mom around though at home for the day. Plus, it’s nice getting to cook for more than just me and Price. And show her that Whole30 is great.

Lunch

Banana with almond butter

I was so hungry as I skipped breakfast to get to my project site so this banana was awesome. It feels good to enjoy bananas, really enjoy them, not just eat it. Not sure if that makes sense, but it does for me.

Dinner

Pork Cutlets with Roasted Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Mom was really excited about the brussels sprouts that we got at Haymarket so I made them for dinner. I used to be so nervous about cooking pork but now I feel more confident about not drying it out. Plus, I’m actually enjoying eating it now too.

{Day 18}

Saturday, April 18th, 2015

Today was busy and our eating routine was off- didn’t do breakfast at home, late lunch, etc. I was really jealous that Autumn had a croissant for breakfast. I really miss weekend breakfasts. Damn, I miss it a lot.

Breakfast

Kale Storm- banana, mango, spinach, kale, lemon juice, apple juice

Mom and I were out running errands early in the morning, so I didn’t make breakfast at home. I grabbed this smoothie from The Juicery and shared some with with Autumn.

Lunch

Salad- romaine, broccoli slaw, sprouts, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, toasted slivered almonds, homemade ranch, prosciutto

It’s nice having my mom visit as she compliments all of my cooking, even if it’s just a big salad. ha! But I do agree, it was awesome.

Snack

Trader Joe’s Apple and Coconut Fruit Bar

I ate this at the end of the check out. I have no shame. My favorite Trader Joe’s Fruit bar. I am going to skip getting the others as this was so good.

Dinner

Grilled chicken breasts and grilled veggies, topped off with mustard

Price grilled our dinner. I love when we work together to make dinner, I did the prep & he did the grilling.

Dessert

Fresh Berries with vanilla coconut cream

I just got vanilla beans (from Amazon) so I scraped half of one and put that in the coconut cream. The berries were so fresh and so good. Loved it.

____________________

What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Waffle Iron Grilled Cheese

April 22, 2015

My mom was up from Florida visiting this past long weekend. It was such a blast. The last time I saw her was in January when we were staying with my dad after we went on our cruise. And the next time I will see her is in June when we get married. So we had a lot of catching up to do. As well as things to get done!

We did plenty of shopping for the wedding to get our DIY decorations and the goodie bags we are handing out at the rehearsal dinner started. I got my dress fitted on Sunday which was an ordeal but I think it’s all settled now. oy. And my mom get her dress too.

Besides that we also attempted to get some stuff from the Lilly for Target collection but that was a cluster … UGH! While that was a bust, we did get to enjoy some great food throughout her stay that I cooked & Price grilled. And I think I got her hooked on Naked and Afraid. ha!!

I was bummed that I didn’t get to break out the waffle iron while she was in town but I’ll better plan for it the next time she is visiting us. But I do have a great recipe to share this week!!! So pumped about it.

I just couldn’t ignore the fact that is it Grilled Cheese Month!!! And I obviously had to waffle it. Duh.

I swear I am going to use my waffle irons to make everything this year. Price is definitely going to kill me. I say by September, at the latest. ha!

It’s just that a waffle iron is like a panini press, but cooler. So you can, and should, use it to make grilled cheese.

I often alternate using mayo or butter on my grilled cheese, but this time I decided o use butter. What, you’ve never heard of mayo on a grilled cheese?!?! Oh I swear it makes for a dang good grilled cheese. Just swap out the butter you schmear on your bread with some mayo and cook like normal. Anyway, anyway, I used butter this time as I wanted it to feel more waffle-y as I pretty much always have butter on my waffles. No, I dunno. Actually.

Anyway, it’s important to use soft butter so you don’t tare the bread when you are schmearing it on. (Schmear is my current favorite word.) You can totally use butter softened to room temperature but I don’t typically plan for that prep time so I always keep some Kerrygold Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter on hand so that I can use it right out of the fridge. I know there are other soft butters on the market but I truely prefer to use Kerrygold’s as the don’t add anything, like oil, to keep the butter soft. It’s just how they churn the milk the cows produce in the summer (naturally higher in softer milkfat) that keeps it soft. Cool!

I am totally flexible on the kind of cheese to use when making grilled cheese- America, light cheddar, sharp cheddar, etc. But I am not flexible with the color. If it can be orange it must be orange. It’s just one of those things that I really like, I dunno. Reminds me of growing up and using Kraft singles, I guess. But you can use whatever cheese you really enjoy. Just make sure do take a bite when it’s nice and hot!! Yum!!!

Waffle Iron Grilled Cheese

Makes 1 Sandwich

Ingredients

2 slices of sandwich bread
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
3-4 ounces of cheddar cheese, sliced very thin or grated

Process

Preheat your waffle iron.
Butter 1 side of each of the slices of bread.
Lay out one slice of bread down on your work surface, butter side down. Cover with your cheese, and top off with the other slice of bread, butter side up.
Lay your sandwich in your waffle iron. Close the top. No need to press it down as the weight of the top will slowly compress the sandwich on its own.
Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the sandwich is golden and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

____________________

Kerrygold has provided me with butters and cheeses to use in the creation of these waffle recipes for my #WaffleWednesday series. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks for all of your comments. I appreciate them all.

Whole30 #2- Days 13-15 Recap

April 21, 2015

{Day 13}

Monday, April 13th, 2015

I forgot my phone at home today!! It was terrifying. I realized it when I got on the bus and there was nothing I could do about it.

Breakfast

Lara Bar- Cherry

I really, really like Lara Bars. I am so thankful there is a good, affordable option for a snack or as a replacement to a meal that I was too rushed to make.

Lunch

Salad- mixed greens, veggies, homemade vinaigrette

I enjoyed my salad just as much as this woman was enjoying her’s.

Dinner

Ground Pork Stir Fry mixed with Broccoli Slaw in a Coconut Curry Sauce

This was a ‘I don’t give a crap about cooking right now’ dinner. I threw together some broccoli slaw with pork (that I was originally going to use for breakfast sausage)

{Day 14}

Tuesday, April 14th, 2015

Price had a sleep study at night so it was weird to sleep alone, as well as have dinner alone. I def missed him. I probably would have mindlessly had dessert or wine without him, but Whole30 reigned me in. yay!!

Breakfast

2 over easy eggs, diced sweet potato with salsa and Frank’s Red Hot

I made sweet potatoes in advance and it was awesome. It made breakfast (and lunch) so much easier. I am doing to make a big batch of roasted sweet potatoes again soon.

Lunch

Leftover pork stirfry (from the night before) with 1/2 a sweet potato and 1/2 a slice of tomato, pistachios

It was a little bit of everything! It was fine, but not very satisfying.

Dinner

Salad with mixed greens and veggies, topped off with pulled pork tenderloin

Price was not at home for dinner so I only had to worry about throwing something together for me. It’s not to say that I really worry about making a grand meal for us but I care so much less when it’s just me. So I whipped up a salad and tossed some slow cooker pork tenderloin on there and ta-da dinner!

{Day 15}

Wednesday, April 15th 2015

HALF WAY DONE!!!!!!

Breakfast

Since I was solo for the morning routine, I didn’t have much time for breakfast (or lunch prep) so I just threw together some left over sweet potato, 1 link of chicken sausage, and roasted broccolini. Then I got 2 over easy eggs from the cafe in my building.

It was a really good breakfast, and huge. It was so filling that I wasn’t too hungry for lunch for a long time.

Lunch

Cashew Cookie Lara Bar and Pulled Pork (not pictured)

How many Cashew Cookie Bars can I eat while doing Whole30? Not enough!!! It’s really my favorite one. I think I could eat one for B.L.D for all 30 days. (I should try that next time… jk…)

I took a photo of my pulled pork tenderloin, but it was super blurry and looked gross, but it wasn’t. It was super yummy. Plus, I might have put some leftover homemade ranch dressing on it. OMG. I loved it.

Dinner

Mushroomy, meaty sauce on cauliflower rice, string beans

The leftover sauce from a few days prior was perfect on cauliflower rice. It basically resembled chili it was such a thick, hearty sauce. It was really good. I made us so green beans too just to add a veggie, not like cauliflower isn’t one…

Great Moment

I made this cake for my coworker’s birthday and I didn’t even have any. No accidental licks of my fingers. Nothing. And damn, it smelled awesome.

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What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Whole30 #2: Days 10-12 Recap

April 16, 2015

{Day 10}

Friday, April 10th 2015

I went to the gym in the morning. It felt good to go. I signed up for the abs class but got a more in depth training session with the trainer as I was the only one who showed up. Yay me! It felt good getting a lesson on arms and abs. And then I was sore.

Breakfast

2 over-easy eggs with homemade bacon and guac (store-bought), then a clementine & some berries at work

Friday’s are tough as it’s Pod Breakfast Day at work and it’s typically a sea of bagels, muffins, and donuts. Thankfully, I made breakfast at home and found some fruit to snack on once I got at work.

Lunch

Watercress and Fig Salad from Cocobeet, Kale Chips from Cocobeet

I love Cocobeet!! They are $$$ but the quality of their juices and food is so damn good. I miss going for their breakfast bowls when I wanted to treat myself to a healthy, hearty breakfast. (I miss you quinoa!!) And their Chia Pudding is the best. THE BEST.

But I found a few things that are whole30 complaint. I grabbed one of their salads and boxes of kale chips. It was my first time trying kale chips & nutritional yeast- so good!

Dinner

Aidell’s Chicken and Apple Sausage with roasted broccoli, served with mustard

I was tempted to make a meat and mushroom sauce over butternut squash noodles but I was burned out. So it was a simple dinner kind of night. I cut up 2 crowns of broccoli and tossed them with some olive oil, garlic, and salt & pepper on a baking sheet. I tossed it under the broiler. After a few minutes I added the sausage links that I sliced up on a diagonal. A few minutes later it was all done. Divide up and drizzle with mustard. Done!

{Day 11}

Saturday, April 11th 2015

I spent a good chunk of the day at work catching up on things there while Price and Autumn ran lots of errands. They even planted flowers. So cute. It was a good day, not much to say…

Breakfast

Eggs with potatoes and bacon

When I was growing up my dad would make ‘potatoes and eggs’ on the weekends. I loved it. I like my do my potatoes the same way but slicing them on a mandoline and putting them in a skillet to ‘fry’ up. I only used about a tablespoon of oil on the whole batch of potatoes- not too bad! It just another way of making home fries.

‘Lunch ‘

Kale Chips & some pistachios

I finished off the kale chips while I was at work for the afternoon. I wasn’t really hungry from the big breakfast.

Dinner

Meaty mushroom sauce on butternut squash noodles

Our butternut squash was a dud! It was soft in the middle (like seeds in the long part, weird) so we had to chop it up to spiralize it. It made our noodles tiny and annoying, but dinner was good overall.

Dessert

Cocoa packed chia pudding (chia, compliant coconut milk, cocoa powder)

I wanted to try something new so I made this chia pudding quickly on Friday night. It was a big dud as the cocoa made it pretty bitter and thickened it up too much. Blah. Live and learn.

{Day 12}

Sunday, April 12th 2015

The weekends are so hard for me to stick to Whole30. I just want to make waffles to enjoy and to get food while out running errands. Or get take out. I’m starting to feel less committed to this Whole30, as compared to the first one, and Price feels the same way. We will stick it out to accomplish it but my heart isn’t into it like the first one. Hoping that feeling changes soon.

Breakfast

Eggs with potatoes and bacon

I’m getting tired of eggs.

Lunch

Cashew Cookie Lara Bar (1pm) & salad (3pm) made with mixed greens, romaine, sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber, and almonds with a homemade ranch dressing

I grabbed the Lara Bar while I was shopping at Trader Joe’s. I was so hungry after our busy morning together shopping so I inhaled it in the car. It tasted like it was was best food on earth. ha!!

Once we got back home and I got Autumn down for a nap I made Price and I salad that we enjoyed sitting on the back porch. I can’t wait to get our patio table up to use!

Dinner

Chicken (Organic, free range) with roasted tiny potatoes and broccolini (8.30pm)

Dinner was awesome. I loved the tiny potatos and broccolini. I’m already thinking about my next Trader Joe’s trip and when I can get more.

I’ve been having a FB msging convo with Rachel about quality of chicken. While we would love to buy organic free range chicken (and other meats) for our families we’re running into a budget problem. It’s so easy to grab store brand chicken at $2.49 a pound compared to $6.99 a pound (like what I bought a trader joe’s). So we have been talking quality in terms of taste and processing. I did notice that I really enjoyed some air chilled chicken that I recently bought. I need to remember the brand and where I got it (Market Basket?) to get it again, and check and see if it was organic or not and how much it was a pound.

Dessert

Chia pudding (complaint coconut milk, cocoa powder) with a sprinkling of unsweetened shredded coconut

I was so excited about the unsweetened shredded coconut that I picked up from Trader Joe’s. The chia pudding was still blah, but the coconut was a nice add to it to jazz it up.

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What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

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