Lessons Learned From the Waffle Maker

I am so excited about my waffle maker that I found! I got it at the flea market for only $4.00 and it has been the best purchase so far.It's the old timer kind with the old but good chord that has the on an off switch built into it and a heat indicator on the top.

The other morning I pulled it out for its first official use in the Sikora household. I did NOT pay attention to directions and this was what my first attempt at waffles looked like:





But then, I decided to heed the advice of the directions and I began to FINALLY get waffles that were beginning to actually look like waffles!



So basically, FOLLOW directions when it comes to making homemade waffles! Here's the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.
2. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix (1/2 cup at a time) onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.

This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesdays at the Table and Kitchen Tip Tuesday.

Cinnamon French Toast

I had my first trial run of cinnamon french toast this past week and I must say I am quite impressed with the results. Everyone thought it tasted divine! Just goes to show I don't have to buy it from the store!

I used my loaf of homemade bread and it turned out SO good! Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 8 slices French bread, sliced on diagonal

Preparation:

In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and egg white until foamy. Whisk in milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Have warming drawer heated or heat oven to 200°.
Heat butter in heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Dip 4 slices of bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat thoroughly. Let excess drip back into bowl.
Place coated bread slices in hot skillet. Cook, turning, until both sides are nicely browned, about 2 minutes each side.
Transfer to a warm plate and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining bread and egg mixture. To serve, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if desired. Serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar

Chocolatey Chocolate Pancakes

I tried something new last week when I fixed homemade pancakes. I decided to add chocolate powder to the batter and then add syrup as well--chocolate syrup instead of pancake syrup. My kids said that these pancakes ROCKED! My pancake recipe comes from the Hillbilly Housewife website and it is really delicious without the chocolate!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 medium egg
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix together milk, egg, oil and sugar. Beat well with a fork or wire whisk. Add thesalt, baking powder and flour. Beat again, mixing until the batter issmooth. Cook on a hot, well oiled griddle or skillet. I use about 1/4cup of batter per pancake. I heat up my iron skillet over medium-highheat, and melt a spoonful of margarine or bacon grease in it. When thefat is almost smoking, I drop in about 1/4 cup of batter. Sometimes Icook two at a time, in the same pan. The pancake will settle down andcook. As it cooks, little bubbles will form around the edges of thepancake. The top will begin to dry out a little too. When the top isbeginning to dry out, and the surface has plenty of bubbles on it, turnthe pancake and cook the other side. Brown it well, and lay it in aplate. Repeat until all of the batter is used up (taken from the Hillbilly Housewife website with permission)

 

Breakfast Burritos

I love those little dollar burritos from McDonald’s but if you buy a bunch like we do, it can get pretty expensive. That is why I started making my own from home and they are so much better for you!
Here is what you need to make a batch of 12 breakfast burritos!
1 dozen eggs (got mine for .49 at Aldi’s)
1 pack of bacon (Aldi’s $1.99)
1 block of cheddar cheese ($1.29)
1 pack of tortilla shells (.99)
Shredded Hashbrowns ($1.19)

Fry your bacon as you normally would. Once it is done, remove from the pan and clean it out. After bacon has cooled, crumble it up. You can reserve your grease to make gravy on another morning.

Shred your block of cheese. I like the block cheese better than the packaged pre shredded because the pre-shredded has plastic in it to keep the cheese from sticking.

Fry hashbrowns in pan according to package directions and then set them aside.

Mix all the eggs from the dozen into a bowl and scramble them in the pan. Once the eggs begin to come together, add the cheese, bacon, and hashbrowns and mix all together.

Heat your tortilla shells. I do mine in the microwave for about 20 seconds per tortilla. Do them one at a time or you will have a huge ball of goo.

Put a heaping spoonful of egg mixture on burrito and then roll up. Serve with salsa!

YUMMY!

If you were to buy 12 burritos from McDonald’s, you would spend almost $13! Make your own at home and you will only spend around $6! How cool is that??

Chocolate Toast

I remember as a child eating this toast at my sister’s house. I have been after her for years to give me the recipe which she finally found!
Melt 1/2 stick butter, 1 tablespoon of cocoa, and 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of sugar together. Boil for a minute until it has reduced a little bit.
Spread on your bread and then place bread under the broiler until edges have browned.
My kids got their first taste of this yesterday and they were in heaven!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love homemade muffins. My favorite are blueberry, but my kids LOVE chocolate chip muffins. I used to buy the pouches of mix at the store until I found out just how easy it is to make them homemade and they taste even better!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted then cooled

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

 

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 cup full.

 

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I have been wanting to try my hand at making homemade cinnamon rolls for a while now. I finally did it! Check this out:

Here is the recipe. I am telling you, it is SO easy to do! I made mine with whole wheat flour and they turned out so delicious!
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup margarine, softened

3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1 egg

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup margarine, softened

Directions:

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.

Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm

If you want to use all purpose flour, you can find this recipe at All Recipes.

Breakfast Pizza

If you know my family, then you know how important breakfast is around here. Our newest breakfast creation that has become my favorite is Breakfast Pizza! Never heard of? Well, read on and you will see just how scrumptious this pizza is!

Breakfast Pizza

1 can of cresent rolls
1 lb of sausage cooked, crumbled, and drained
1 cup of shredded cheese
3 eggs, beaten lightly
2 cups shredded frozen unthawed hashbrowns
salt and pepper to taste

1. Take cresent rolls and seperate. Place in a pan that has raised sides and seam them together to make a pizza crust.

2. Sprinkle sausage, cheese, and hashbrowns onto crust. Pour eggs over all the other ingredients

3. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until eggs are set and edges of pizza are golden brown.
(Photo courtesy of Google Images)

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I have been wanting to try my hand at making homemade cinnamon rolls for a while now. I finally did it! Check this out:

Here is the recipe. I am telling you, it is SO easy to do! I made mine with whole wheat flour and they turned out so delicious!
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup margarine, softened

3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1 egg

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup margarine, softened

Directions:

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.

Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm

If you want to use all purpose flour, you can find this recipe at All Recipes.

Chocolate Toast

I remember as a child eating this toast at my sister’s house. I have been after her for years to give me the recipe which she finally found!
Melt 1/2 stick butter, 1 tablespoon of cocoa, and 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of sugar together. Boil for a minute until it has reduced a little bit.
Spread on your bread and then place bread under the broiler until edges have browned.
My kids got their first taste of this yesterday and they were in heaven!

Breakfast Burritos

I love those little dollar burritos from McDonald’s but if you buy a bunch like we do, it can get pretty expensive. That is why I started making my own from home and they are so much better for you!
Here is what you need to make a batch of 12 breakfast burritos!
1 dozen eggs (got mine for .49 at Aldi’s)
1 pack of bacon (Aldi’s $1.99)
1 block of cheddar cheese ($1.29)
1 pack of tortilla shells (.99)
Shredded Hashbrowns ($1.19)

Fry your bacon as you normally would. Once it is done, remove from the pan and clean it out. After bacon has cooled, crumble it up. You can reserve your grease to make gravy on another morning.

Shred your block of cheese. I like the block cheese better than the packaged pre shredded because the pre-shredded has plastic in it to keep the cheese from sticking.

Fry hashbrowns in pan according to package directions and then set them aside.

Mix all the eggs from the dozen into a bowl and scramble them in the pan. Once the eggs begin to come together, add the cheese, bacon, and hashbrowns and mix all together.

Heat your tortilla shells. I do mine in the microwave for about 20 seconds per tortilla. Do them one at a time or you will have a huge ball of goo.

Put a heaping spoonful of egg mixture on burrito and then roll up. Serve with salsa!

YUMMY!

If you were to buy 12 burritos from McDonald’s, you would spend almost $13! Make your own at home and you will only spend around $6! How cool is that??