Ultimate Waffles

The Best Waffles

 

These waffles are the greatest, and not to mention that they are super easy to make. I love to make them in my Belgium waffle iron and put a lot of toppings on it. It is very filling and sometimes even fills for 2 meals. All you need is:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat Waffle iron. Sift dry ingredients together and blend liquid ingredients together. Stir dry ingredients into liquid just until moist, but if you over-stir then the waffles can turn out less fluffy and more stiff. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray, pour in enough batter for the waffle, and close. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until waffle is golden.

Now, if you want an ultimate waffle, here is the vanilla sauce recipe to spread on top of it:

 Creamy Vanilla Sauce

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and sugar. Add milk and cook and stir over medium heat until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

In addition to vanilla sauce, I love to add berries, bananas, and a small bit  of whipped cream and powdered sugar. It seems daring and yes it is sweet, but it is worth it!!

Note: These recipes come from the cook book Cooking for Two. It would be a great book for couples, but if you are in college (like me), most of the recipes will allow you to have a serving and a left over, that way you don't have left overs coming out your ears!

Baked Chicken Fajitas

I saw this recipe and decided to try it out as well. It is full of nutrition as it consists of many fresh vegetables, chicken, and a few spices--not to mention it is delicious!

Adapted from this website:
http://eatinonthecheap.com/2011/03/24/my-thoughts-on-food-magazines-and-baked-chicken-fajitas/

Baked Chicken Fajitas

You will need:

(I forgot to include the green chili's in the picture, but it's in the fajita mixture)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips (I defrosted 2 large frozen chicken breasts.)
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes (or I used one fresh, large tomato, chopped up)
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large bell pepper, seeded and sliced (I used half of a red and half of a green to add more flavor and variety)
2 T vegetable oil
2 t. chili powder
2 t. cumin
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
12 flour tortillas, warmed to serve
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13×9 baking dish. After slicing them, mix together uncooked chicken, tomatoes, chilies, peppers, and onions in the dish.

 In a small bowl combine the oil and spices. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and toss to coat.

 Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Be aware that there will be quite a bit of juice at the bottom after it is done cooking, so drain the 13x9 and serve with warmed tortillas. Enjoy!!

Wingers Sticky Fingers Copycat recipe

One day I was craving Winger's famous sticky fingers, with their yummy crunch, spice, and sweetness. I searched on yes, you guessed it--Pinterest. Surely enough there was a recipe posted, so I tried it out. I will be honest and frank: this is one of the easiest and best recipes I have tried. It tastes almost exactly like Winger's sticky fingers. And, out of curiosity, I may even make this sauce again to try on a very good hot dog or polish dog, because I kid you not, it also tastes similar J-Dawg's very own special sauce (I know that sauce at least has brown sugar in it because it tasted sweet and sticky.) I may have to add a couple of ingredients to get it right, but if this sauce tastes like it once I try it out, I will definitely post it on here in a jiffy.

Now I know that not everyone reading this post is from Utah, so for those who are not, Winger's is a restaraunt in Utah and a few other states famous for their wings and sticky fingers. They are very one-of-a-kind! (In addition to that, J-Dawgs is unique to my college town, but everyone that comes here goes there. They are known for originating as a small shack that sold hot dogs with this "special sauce." It is sticky, sweet, and spicy, and is also very unique, but I'll save that for another post once I try this sauce on a good polish or hot dog sometime.)

Anyways, here is the recipe, thanks to the website http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/12/wingers-sticky-fingers-copycat-recipe.html

These are the only ingredients needed (plus a little bit of water.) And don't worry, there's only small portions for each of the ingredients. That whole bottle of hot sauce isn't in there :)

Winger's Sticky Fingers Copycat recipe:

1 pkg. frozen breaded chicken strips (You can use Tyson brand, but I used Kroger because it's a little cheaper and still worked very well)

6 Tbl. Frank's Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce, no other sauce will taste as good, according to that one website)

4 Tbl. water

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

Chicken:

 Prepare the chicken strips as directed on the back of the package.

Sauce:
 Heat hot sauce, water and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until sugar is dissolved.

Pour sauce over chicken, and enjoy!  Serve with ranch dressing for dipping.

Serves 2-3 people.

Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast cups/ hashbrowns

My sibs and I tried making a recipe from http://www.adventuresofourfamily.com/2012/02/bacon-egg-and-cheese-breakfast-cups.html for our mom and grandma for Mother's Day breakfast. They absolutely loved it! And fortunately for us, there were enough left overs (about 9 of these small breakfast dishes), so we were all able to try it. They were very easy to make and were delicious!

Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast cups

Needed:
A muffin tin
eggs (5 eggs for 6 cups)
bacon
shredded cheddar cheese
crescent roll dough from a can

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Be sure to cover it so they come out easily afterwards.

Open the package of crescent rolls, and then place one inside each muffin tin. You can play around with each one so that it well forms each muffin space.

Next cook the bacon. After you drain the grease, you can scramble the eggs with 1/4 cup milk along with some salt and pepper on the same pan. Or, if you find that gross (my family enjoys it as it adds more flavor), then you can use another pan. Once the bacon is crisp, crumble it up. Divide the eggs into each muffin cup, then top with crumbled bacon and shredded cheese. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the outer edges of the crescent rolls are golden brown and the cheese is melted.

This picture is not the best, but trust me--they were so good!

Now for the hash browns, if you would like them as a side dish: this is my own recipe that I created, so bear with me, but they are not hard to make either.

 Hash browns:
4 medium potatoes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp minced onion

Take the potatoes and poke holes all around each one with a fork. You can cook them which ever way you desire, whether you boil them, put them in the oven, or in the microwave, until they are almost cooked through (they need to be a little firm so they are easier to cut without flaking). I find the microwave being the fastest.

Once the potatoes are cooked, chop them up into 1/2 inch pieces, leaving the skins on. Place butter into a skillet, set on medium-high heat. Once it starts to heat up, put in all the potato pieces. Then add salt, peppers, and onion. Cook until slightly crisp with a light brown color. Enjoy with a dipping sauce, such as ketchup.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I felt like making cookies last night, so I tried this recipe from my home ward's new cookbook, and added and changed a couple ingredients (which I included in this copy.) My roommate and I had a movie party with one of our friends, and he kept saying how delicious they were, ate 7, and then took a plate home. We all enjoyed them and they are at least  little bit healthier with bananas and oatmeal, right? :)

What was left after last night

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies


1 C. Sugar
1 Stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 C flour
1 C ripe bananas, mashed
2 C old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/4 C old-fashioned chocolate chips (milk, good ones)
Walnuts (opt.)

Cream sugar and butter together. Add vanilla and eggs. Sift together the dry ingredients and then add. Add bananas, dry oatmeal, and chocolate chips (and walnuts if you'd like.) Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies are slightly brown.

Chicken and Spinach Stromboli

If any of you continue to read my blog, you may notice that one of my favorite cooking websites/cookbooks is Our Best Bites (I also used the help of this blog for the online version: http://shareandremember.blogspot.com/2011/07/our-best-bites-spinach-chicken.html.) I once came across this stromboli recipe as it sounded very interesting. I usually like spinach and the rest of it sounded good to, so I gave it a shot, and mama mia this was one of the best things I have ever tasted! For the dough , try Our Best Bites' Pizza breadstick/ pizza dough recipe.


Spinach – Chicken Stromboli

• 1 refrigerated pizza crust or 1 recipe of Breadstick dough
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
• 3 1/2 tablespoons canned Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves
• 8 ozs shredded, cooked chicken breast, about 2 cups
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• Favorite pasta sauces for dipping

1. Preheat oven to the temperature indicated on the dough package or recipe (425).

1. After making the dough, Working on a floured surface, roll pizza dough into a 12 x 15 inch rectangle. Brush 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil over entire surface of crust. Evenly sprinkle Italian seasoning and 2 tablespoons Parmesan on top.

1. Keeping remaining toppings one inch away from all edges, evenly spread the spinach leaves, shredded chicken, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese over the dough. 

1. Working from the long end of the rectangle, roll up from one end to the other (like a cinnamon roll). Pinch seam shut and then pinch each end shut and tuck under toward seam. *This and placing it into the pan or cooking sheet is the hardest part. It takes practice. I'll admit I'm still not the best at it, but no matter what, it will still taste good.

1. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet or 9x 13 pan sprayed lightly with nonstick spray.Brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon olive oil on top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Gently cut 3 slits along the top of the Stromboli.
2. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing into 1-inch slices. Serve with marinara and/or Alfredo sauce for dipping.

Best Banana Bread

Whenever my bananas are getting a little too ripe, I almost always use this awesome recipe for banana bread. It is very easy to make, but even more than that, it is very moist, doesn't crumble easily, and is very flavorful. Seriously, every person who has tried this recipe has complimented on it, and it is usually gone fast. So if you ever need to use up some bananas, try this out.

Banana Bread (Martha Stewart's):

1 stick Butter
1 C Sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 C flour
1 C mashed bananas
1/2 C sour cream (I prefer to use reduced fat. It works just as well)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Stir the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add them in. Then add the sour cream and bananas. Bake in a large bread pan for 1 hour.

First post: Sweet and Sour Chicken

Alright here is my first post. I am excited to start this blog. Keep in mind my picture quality is not always that fantastic since I have a lower-grade camera, but I will try my best and I hope you enjoy these recipes that I post.

This first one was a recipe from the blog Life as a Lofthouse.( http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html ) She has much better pictures than I do, and the last of when I cooked the chicken looked a little messy, so I used hers. She also has an awesome fried rice recipe. I may post my own version of it on here someday, but as for now I will just do the chicken.

This recipe is not the quickest as it takes a little over an hour to cook (I mean, it's chicken). However, other than it being a little time consuming, it's very easy! And it tastes so divine (Heads up, I use that word a lot for really good recipes, so be ready.) All you need:


Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
salt + pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil


The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar
4 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
And about a Tbsp of honey for a thicker texture and an extra sweetener

       Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken (after being dipped in cornstarch and eggs) until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

Here are some pictures of the process. I am still new to all this so I didn't have pictures of every step, but the directions pretty well explain everything.

Whisking together the sauce ingredients

Once it is well mixed, it will look like this. After making this for the first time, I realized the sauce seemed a little runny. I added about a tablespoon of honey for a thicker texture and as an extra sweetener.

Cook the chicken on a skillet until it is slightly golden brown and the chicken is slightly cooked. *Note, for any students out there or people living on their own, I used 2 large chicken breasts, so I had a some left over for later.

Drizzle on the sauce

I also added some dried minced onion as well as salt and pepper before placing the pan into the oven.

Cook for an hour, gently mixing and turning once every 15 minutes, and voila!! (again, not the best quality camera, so I posted the picture of the original blogger's result). I also had a little more sauce since I used less chicken. Trust me this was pure deliciousness.