Breakfast, Recipes, Waffles

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

Sarah

There’s nothing like a good waffle, hot and crispy off the waffle iron. Belgian waffles are one of my favorite part about staying at hotels with free breakfasts. Recently, Ben and I were in the waffle mood and we found this recipe and wanted to try it out. This recipe seemed perfect because it incorporated Ben’s love of bacon with the crispy waffle goodness I love, plus a dash of sugar and spice and everything nice!

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles... because why should you have to choose between bacon and waffles?!
Perfect? Yes, yes they are.

They are so good, no syrup is required. Just make these now. But beware… don’t be like me… you’ll see what I mean below. Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

  • Servings: 6-8
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from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

  • 5 slices bacon
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay bacon out in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1/8 cup brown sugar. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and sugar is caramelized. Remove bacon from baking sheet to cool on a cutting board [they will stick to paper towels], then chop when cooled.

stove
How to not be like me #1: This is what happens when you do not use a rimmed baking sheet…

…grease spills all over the inside of your oven [hardly any of that mess was there before]. Smoke billows across your entire apartment. The fire alarm goes off. The cat runs to the spare bedroom in fear and hides under the bed. The husband turns off the fire alarm. The back door is propped open. You eat a piece of bacon. All is okay in the world.

Back to the recipe now…. mmhmmm…

Prepare your waffle iron, turn it on to preheat.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients–flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, then add the chopped bacon. Do not overmix–batter will be lumpy.

Cook according to your waffle iron’s specifications and enjoy!

waffle iron
How to not be like me #2: Don’t overfill your waffle iron…
overflowing waffle
because then it will overflow like this! Still tasty though!

Note: If you don’t eat bacon, feel free to leave out the bacon [obviously] and add some extra cinnamon and nutmeg to the mix!

Question of the Day:

What’s your favorite breakfast food? On weekends, I like waffles. Or pancakes. Or cinnamon rolls. Today I enjoyed a smoothie. I also like oatmeal. I might go have some more breakfast now…

Beef, Main Dishes, Recipes

Not Your Summer Camp’s Sloppy Joes

Sarah

Up until this past spring, I had a strong dislike for Sloppy Joes. I liked them well enough growing up, but working at a summer camp for two years–aka two summers’ worth of kid food–kind of killed any liking I had for childhood staples like Sloppy Joes. I had visions of salty, goopy, ketchup-y, messy sandwiches that came out of an industrial food service can. Don’t get me wrong, not all food at Camp T was bad. Some was pretty darn good! Others though, I chose to load up on the salad bar and PB&J and pray it was my night off so I could get some real food for dinner.

However, my distaste for Sloppy Joes changed after my mom mentioned she was making them and my sister said how good they were. After getting over the initial shock [if you knew my mom you’d be surprised to know she was making Sloppy Joes], I promptly got the recipe, made it for myself, and was hooked.

Not Your Summer Camp’s Sloppy Joes

This Sloppy Joe recipe is sweet and savory and fast, perfect for a busy night. I love the slight crunch of the green pepper, and think this could be veggied-up some more… I just haven’t tried yet. Ben loads it up with extra hot sauce; I like mine as is. This is a great base recipe for Sloppy Joes that works as is or can be adjusted to meet your tastes. Enjoy!

Not Your Summer Camp’s Sloppy Joes

  • Servings: 6
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from The Neelys

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 green or red pepper, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 4 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup BBQ sauce [I use Sweet Baby Ray’s original–different kinds of BBQ sauce would give it a different flavor profile.]
  • 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

In a large skillet on medium heat, cook peppers and garlic in oil for about 3 minutes or until they are just getting soft. Season with a dash of salt and a generous amount of pepper. Add beef and cook through. Drain well. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Stir to combine. Simmer about 10 minutes or until thickened. If needed, add a pinch of flour or cornstarch to thicken sauce to your liking.

Question of the Day: What was your favorite school lunch growing up? I bought lunch a few days a week, and breakfast for lunch day was always one of them! Sloppy Joes was not. In fact, I would always bring my lunch on Sloppy Joes day. If my school made Sloppy Joes this way, there would have been no contest. 🙂

Breakfast, Recipes, Scones

Cran-Tan-Oat Scones

Sarah
Cran-Tan-Oat Scones
fresh outta the oven!

This recipe is all iTunes’ fault. So if you hate it, blame iTunes, okay? But if you love it, well, then you can thank me for using iTunes. 🙂

Confused? Let me back up.

I have a big project for school due today, and have been at my computer more hours  than I have not recently. Bummer, huh? So I’ve been listening to iTunes, particularly their Genius mixes made with my music. I was a little surprised to hear “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” to come on in the Country mix… especially because it’s classified as “Holiday,” not “Country.” I normally have a strict provision against listening to Christmas music until Thanksgiving weekend, but this time, it was forced upon me.

Naturally, the lover of baking I am, I began to wonder what holiday-inspired treat I could make as a procrastination device that wouldn’t be too seasonal. I had wanted to whip up some cookies but I was swayed.

Enter Cran-Tan-Oat Scones.

Sweet cranberries. Chewy oats. A hint of citrus. A touch of sweetness.

Perfect for fall. Perfect for Thanksgiving morning. You should try ’em now first though, just as a test run…

Cran-Tan-Oat Scones
the goods…

…and remember, it’s iTunes’ fault. I think I’ll still use iTunes though, these scones are pretty darn tasty.

Cran-Tan-Oat Scones

  • Servings: 8
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adapted from Eat Better America

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 tablespoons butter, chilled
  • 2 cups oatmeal
  • 6 ounces vanilla yogurt
  • zest of 1 tangerine
  • 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • sugar
  • cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lighly flour a large baking sheet. In a mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine flours, brown sugar, and baking soda. Zest 3/4 of the peel of 1 tangerine into the mix and stir to combine. Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the yogurt, then stir in the rest along with the cranberries, egg, and oatmeal. Mixture will be sticky and loose–don’t worry if it doesn’t stay together.

Scoop dough out onto the prepared pan. Using your hands, press and shape dough into an 8 inch circle. Brush dough with remaining yogurt, then sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and tangerine zest.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown along the edges. Cut into 8 wedges and serve warm.

Note:

I ended up baking this for about 15 minutes, then cutting into wedges and baking a few more minutes because they weren’t cooking well in the center.

Question of the Day: When do you break out the seasonal treats, music, & decorations? I’m usually a strict Thanksgiving weekend purist… but now, we will see!

Desserts, Other, Recipes

A Tale of Contrasts: Twice Baked Apple Crisp for Two

Sarah

I love fruit. Growing up, I often preferred fruit to chocolate in desserts. While I can’t say the same is 100% true today, I still love fruit in my desserts. Or as a snack. Or anytime, really. Fruit is so tasty and sweet on its own… it doesn’t need anything else to make it better.

However… [there’s always a however] it can be a little better with some mix-ins.

That’s why I love apple crisp so much. Apple is the star of the show, complemented by some side-show characters. Enter oats. Brown sugar. Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Ginger. The taste of fall.

Twice Baked Apple Crisp for Two
Dessert for two!

This tale of delightful contrasts plays its masterpiece in your mouth. Yum! That’s the best place to play, in my opinion. This apple crisp is simple and oh-so-sweet. The apples are baked twice for an extra oomph of tenderness and softness, and the crisp is perfectly crisp. [Anything else and would it be crisp?] You’ll enjoy the spice against the sugar and the soft, tart apple against the sweet, crisp oats. Each bite will bring you just enough crispy goodness and the perfect amount of real apples–none of that fake filling stuff here! No siree! And the best way to enjoy this delectable show? With a hearty scoop of ice cream, melting over top the warm apple crisp. It’s so good that you’ll want an encore. And you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen, so make it today.

Twice Baked Apple Crisp for Two

  • Servings: 2
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Ingredients:

  • 3 cups apples, roughly peeled, chopped, and cored [I used 2 Granny Smith and 1 Gala.]
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet and 2 – 1/2 quart baking dishes with cooking spray. Arrange half of the apples on the cookie sheet, and divide the other half of the apples between the two baking dishes [1/4 of the apples will be in each dish, and 1/2 will be on the cookie sheet]. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Pour in the melted butter and stir to combine with a fork to create coarse crumbs. Top the apples in the baking dishes with about 1/4 cup of the oats mixture each. Reserve the rest of the oats mixture and stash in the freezer so it doesn’t get too warm.

Meanwhile, bake the dishes and the cookie sheet for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and transfer half of the cookie-sheet-apples on top of each of the baking dishes [this makes a second layer of apples]. Then, divide remaining oats over top of the second layer of apples. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft and tender and the top is crisp. Serve with ice cream!

Are you a fruit or chocolate person?