Homemade Toaster Waffles

Why eat those cardboard toaster waffles when you can make a batch of these. Flash freeze them and put them in a freezer bag.  Pop them in the toaster right from the freezer

just like you would those cardboard ones.
Except these are not cardboard : )

1 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar
6 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp. baking powder

Add vinegar to milk, then mix in all the wet ingredients up to and including the sugar.

In a separate bowl mix flour, salt and baking powder and add to the wet.

Heat your waffle iron and spray with cooking oil.  Eat them fresh off the iron or freeze and enjoy later.

Clementine Bran Muffins

Just my little adaptation of the Five Roses Cookbook bran muffin recipe.

1 cup whole bran
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup molasses
1 cup flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 clementines, peeled and  chopped
1/2 tsp orange zest
3/4 cup raisins
2 tbsps wheat germ (optional)
2 tbsps flax (optional)
2 tbsps whey protein powder (optional)
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine bran, milk and molasses and let stand.

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, wheat germ, flax, whey, ginger, allspice, zest and raisins. Stir in bran mixture, clementines, egg and oil.

Stir quickly until all ingredients are just mixed. 

Line muffin tin with papers and fill with batter about 2/3 full.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes

Serve with a little pat of butter.....yum!

Old Mill Oatmeal Cookies

Been making this recipe off the Old Mill oatmeal tin for years. Can't beat it.

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tbsps water

2 tsps vanilla

2/3 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3 cups Old Mill oats

1  1/2 cups raisins (or 3/4 cup each raisins/chocolate chips)

Cream butter, sugars, egg, water and vanilla together on medium speed mixer until light and fluffly.

Combine flour, soda and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture, beating on low speed until blended. Stir in oats.

Mix in raisins. (Or divide dough in half and add raisins to one half and chocolate chips to the other)

Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto greased (or parchment lined) baking sheet.

Press flat for crisp cookies,

or leave mounded for chewy cookies.

Bake at 350F for 12 - 15 mins. or until edges are golden brown. Don't overbake.

Here's a look at the raisin cookies

And the chocolate chip ones

Makes 30 large cookies.

(I made 48 medium cookies here)

Blackened Basa with Sriracha Tartar Sauce

No bland fish dish here.  This one will get you right in the taste buds!

4 basa fillets
olive oil
hot sauce (sriracha or tabasco)

Rub:
1  1/2 tbsps paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tsps onion powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Pam

Sriracha Tartar Sauce:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tsps lemon juice
1 tsp sweet relish
1/4 tsps onion powder
1/2 tsp sriracha

Cover your baking sheet with foil. It'll make cleanup a whole lot easier. Brush the foil with 1-2 tbsps olive oil. Place the fillets on the foil. Mix 2 tbsps olive oil with 1/2 tsp hot sauce and brush it on the fillets.

Mix the rub ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over fillets. Rub in using your fingers or the back of a spoon. I used all the rub on these 4 fillets, nothing leftover.

You can prepare up to this point and refrigerate until later.
I let the flavours sit for 6 hours.
When ready  heat the oven to 425 F and spray fillets lightly with Pam cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Mix the tartar ingredients together

and serve.

Also pictured:

Potato Wedgies
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/07/potato-wedgies.html

Creamy Coleslaw
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/07/creamy-coleslaw-dressing.html

Fresh Strawberry Breakfast Chimmies

Yes, chimichangas for breakfast. Or dessert.

1 cup chopped strawberries
8 oz (250g) cream cheese
2 tbsps sour cream
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

6 - 6 inch flour tortillas
2 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
vegetable oil

Mix the first 6 ingredients together and divide evenly on 6 tortillas placing a dollop on lower end of tortilla, roll over, fold in sides and roll up.

Once they are all rolled up heat about 1/2 inch vegetable oil in  frying pan. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a shallow bowl and set aside.
Place a couple of  chimmies at a time in the pan and brown lightly on each side.

I was worried that the filling might ooze out into the oil but it didn't happen. Once browned remove from pan to a paper towel lined pan, then roll in the cinnamon and sugar.

Serve warm.

Apple Streusel Loaf

You can eat this loaf for breakfast, pack it in your lunchbag or have a piece with a cup of tea for a simple bedtime snack.

2 cups shredded, peeled apple (I used 2 Cortlands and as you can see I left some of the peel on before shredding)
1/2 cup marg
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1  1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsps ground flaxseed (optional)
2 tbsps chia seeds (optional)
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

Whirl the first 5 ingredients together.

Mix remaining ingredients and add to all.
Pour into parchment lined 9 X 5 loaf pan and prepare the streusel topping.

Streusel topping:
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsps cold marg

Mix together and sprinkle over top.

Bake at 350 F for 60 - 65 mins.

Cool a good 10 mins before removing from the pan and slicing.

BBQ Chicken Gravy from BBQ sauce

If you have some BBQ sauce in the fridge like Bullseye, Sweet Baby Ray's, Kraft, Jack Daniel's, etc., and you want some BBQ gravy for your chicken and fries here's all you need:

1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp cornstarch

Whisk everything together and bring to a boil.  Simmer a couple of minutes and your gravy is ready! Adjust the broth/cornstarch ratio to suit your taste for either thicker or thinner gravy. Can't get easier than that. 

Bean and Quinoa Vegetarian Chili

This makes enough chili for 6-8 people.  But if they really like it, maybe only 4-6 people as they'll be coming back for seconds.

1 cup uncooked quinoa
28 oz can diced tomatoes
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
19 oz can black beans, rinse and drain
19 oz can red kidney beans, rinse and drain
19 oz can chick peas, rinse and drain
12 oz can kernel corn, drain
1 small onion, diced
1 red or green pepper, diced
1 chili pepper, finely diced
2 tbsps minced garlic cloves
3 tbsps chili powder (don't skimp here)
1 tsp cumin
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped eggplant, optional
(I had this bit of eggplant leftover from the Eggplant Cream Cheese Rollatini from last week.  Here's the link http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2015/03/eggplant-cream-cheese-rollatini.html )

Mix everything together in a deep pot.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium/ medium low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Love a dollop or two of sour cream on top.

Household Hint - Defrosting the Freezer

What does this have to do with defrosting a freezer?

The lid !!
It fits perfectly in the bottom of my upright freezer.

It also fits in the freezer part of my fridge.  Just empty your freezer, turn it off and place a fan inside.

Sit the lid on an old towel. The lid will catch chunks of ice and water while the towel will catch the runoff from the sides.

You'll be done defrosting the freezer in about an hour (depending on how much ice you've accumulated of course)

Frittata in a Potato Crust

Make this dish for a hearty brunch item or light supper.

Crust:

5 small to medium sized potatoes, sliced thinly
vegetable oil

Filling:

4 small to medium sized potatoes (1 - 1  1/2 cups), cubed 
1/4 - 1/2 cup cooked sliced Italian sausage
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsps brown sugar
1  1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 slices bacon, cut into squares
1/2 green pepper, chopped ( 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup cream cheese
8 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Peel the potatoes and pat dry. Slice 5 of the potatoes very thinly by hand or using a mandolin. Put a few tbsps veg oil in a large frying pan and fry the slices in batches very lightly, 1-2 minutes. You don't want them crispy, you're not making chips. Remove to a paper towel lined baking sheet and continue until all the slices are done. Set aside.

Take the remaining 4 potatoes and cut into small cubes. Brown them in the oil then cover and cook until just soft. Remove from pan. 

Now put the bacon in the pan and fry until crisp. Remove.

In the same pan, and using the bacon grease, add the onion slices. Cook until softened then sprinkle with brown sugar. Continue cooking and stirring until the onions are browned. Add the balsamic vinegar and deglaze the pan. Set side.

Finally, put the green pepper and garlic in the pan and fry until garlic is lightly browned and pepper is tender crisp.

In a large bowl cream the cream cheese. Add 2 or 3 of the 8 eggs and combine. Whisk together adding the rest of the eggs. There will be lumps of cheese but that's ok.

Add the shredded cheese, salsa and seasonings.

Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with cooking oil then proceed to line with sliced potatoes, overlapping as you go. Round them into the bottom edge where the ring comes away from the base.

Put the bacon and cooked sausage in next, followed by the cubed potatoes and green pepper. Take the balsamic onions and spread them apart over the rest.

Pour the egg mixture over all.

Take the potatoes that are up the side of the pan and turn the edge down around the top of the filling.

Bake at 375F for 40 minutes.

Stand 5 minutes before removing the spring form ring and serve.

Banana Nutella "Ice Cream" Sandwiches

First day of spring, woo hoo!!  It's been a long, cold winter. You deserve a treat that will get you in the mood for those hot summer days that we've been waiting for (they are coming!) And these are pretty good for you too.

3 bananas, sliced and frozen for a minimum of 60 minutes
3-4 tbsps. Nutella
1/2 tsp vanilla
18 graham crackers

Add bananas, Nutella and vanilla to food processor and process until smooth.  It will look lumpy at first.  Just use a spatula to fold the sides down and process again until it goes from this to this:

Line an 8 X 8" pan with 9 graham crackers, spread the mixture over top and cover with the remaining 9 crackers.

Cover with foil and freeze overnight.

Remove from freezer about 5 minutes.

Then cut and serve or freeze individually.
I melted some chocolate, put it in a ziplok baggie, snipped the end and drizzle over some of the squares. Yum!

Just Right Pita Chips

Many times I've made pita chips and many times they've turned out too hard, not crisp enough or too brown (read burnt).

I finally got it just right.

Take your pitas and cut them in quarters, then open them up and split. So you should have 8 pieces for each pita.  Lay them out on baking sheets, don't overlap.  Now here's the thing...have them all rough side up (like the inside of the pita I mean) and brush with olive oil.  See, if you try to brush the smooth side, the olive oil doesn't stay on as well.
Sprinkle with whatever you like here.

On one pan I used paprika, garlic powder and salt.
On the other, garlic powder, oregano and salt.

Bake them in a 400 F oven for 4 minutes. That's it!

Perfect. They didn't last long.  You might want to make two batches.

Next time I might try cinnamon and sugar.

Update:

I tried cinnamon and sugar, as well as white cheddar popcorn flavouring. Pretty good, but my favourite is still  paprika, garlic powder and salt.

Here's another... 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground sumac and a pinch of tumeric. Then sprinkle on a few sesame seeds before popping in the oven.

Let me know if you have any other flavours you've tried.