Saturday, June 16, 2012

Healthy Father's Day breakfast - Crunchy Oat & Wheat Waffles with Homemade Blueberry Syrup

Looking for a healthy Father's Day breakfast that's filling and tasty?

My in-laws make these waffles for us each time we come into town.  While these waffles are filling and ever so tasty, they are deliciously light and fluffy, and you'd never guess they were made from oats and wheat flour!  


Waffles
1 c. boiling water
3/4 c. regular rolled oats
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1.5 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3 T. vegetable oil
2 T. sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 1/4 c. nonfat butter milk OR 1 1/4 c. lowfat milk with 2 t. lemon juice added


In microwaveable bowl, boil water, then add oats and set aside for 3 minutes. 
In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. 
Whisk oil into the oats then add egg and white, then add buttermilk and mix. 
Add dry ingredients and gently mix. 


Cook in waffle maker - use vegetable cooking spray if needed. 
These work especially well in Belgian waffle maker.


Homemade Blueberry Syrup
1 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 c. water
1 c. blueberries
1 T. butter
1/2 t. vanilla

pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon


Place sugar and cornstarch in a medium sized saucepan, and mix using a whisk. 
Add water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. 
Add blueberries and bring back to a boil.
Add butter, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and serve.
 


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Cinnamon Rolls

I found this recipe on Rachel Berry's blog and they turned out really great.  Other than my pumpkin spice rolls, every cinnamon roll recipe I've tried has been somewhat disappointing.  Happy to finally have a staple cinnamon roll recipe - thanks Rachel!

While I've kept the ingredients the same, I made a few alterations to the combination and mixture process to  speed up the process (since I'm such a patient girl).
My daughter (and toughest critic) couldn't believe that I didn't buy the pastry part - and she recommended that I open up a cafe to serve these (even though cinnamon rolls aren't her favorite - love that kid!)


My photo is the naked/unfrosted version.  Once I got them frosted, they flew off the plate! 
Cinnamon Rolls

2 C. boiling Water
1/2 C. brown Sugar
1 C. butter or margarine
1/4 C. white sugar

2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 c. warm water
pinch of sugar

2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
7 C. flour 


Boil water.  Add butter to boiling water and let sit to melt for a few minutes.  
While butter melts, in a small bowl bowl mix yeast, water, and a pinch of sugar and allow to proof for 5-10 minutes. 

Add sugar to butter/water and mix, then add 2 c. flour, one cup at a time to cool down mixture. Once mixture has cooled down (should be warm, but not hot), add eggs, baking powder, and salt, and then yeast mixture. Add 5 more cups of flour, mix thoroughly, cover and set aside to rise. 

  Carefully put raised dough on Oiled or floured surface and using rolling pin, roll out to 1/4" thick.  Brush dough with melted butter, and liberally sprinkle with brown sugar, making sure to cover the entire surface.Sprinkle cinnamon over entire surface. 
Roll tightly, and cut into 2" rolls. (I use dental floss for a clean cut) 
Place on a greased cookie sheet. 
 Cover with saran wrap that's been sprayed with cooking spray, and let rise.  
Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes.
Makes 24-30 rolls

Optional - nuts and raisins can be added to the cinnamon and sugar layer if desired.

Frosting:
3/4 C. Soft butter
3 C. Powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
Pinch of Salt
1-2 Tbsp. Milk

Mix well with electric mixer - it should be thick and creamy.

*Rachel noted that refrigerating this dough beforehand (ie overnight) isn't as effective. 
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Crustless Coconut Cream Pie

I found this recipe on Cooks.com this week as I was searching for a coconut pie recipe.  I didn't want to bother with a crust so this was definitely experimental.  
I added a bit of extra flour and more coconut (2 c.) than the original recipe called for as it seemed a little too thin.
As I waited for it to cool, I initially thought that it was maybe too soft of a set, but my loyal eaters loved that half of the pie was chewy coconutty, and the other half was sweet custard goodness.  
3/4 stick butter, melted
1.5 cup sugar
2.5 T. flour
3 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla
1 - 2 cups shredded coconut

Mix butter, sugar and flour in a large bowl.
Add eggs and mix, then add remaining ingredients.
Mix well.
Pour into well greased, well floured 9" pie pan.
Bake at 375* for 45 minutes.
Cool for 3 hours, then serve.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Buffalo Wings Pizza

While visiting SLC, we recently had buffalo hot wings pizza. We had some fun experimenting and came up with this tasty rendition.  Hot wing sauce and all...yum  Can't wait to make it again!


Pizza crust
1 Tbs. dry yeast 
1 c. warm water
1 t. sugar
2 T. oil
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt

Mix all ingredients and set aside for 5 minutes. Oil pan or pizza stone, then sprinkle with corn meal (if desired), and push dough out out onto pan/stone (or cookie sheet.) Bake crust for 20 minutes at 400*. 

Remove from oven and cover with sauce and toppings (below) 


Toppings and Sauce
1-2 c. chopped or shredded cooked chicken
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. Frank's hot wing sauce
Shredded cheese (whichever you prefer on pizza or have on hand excepting goat, feta etc)
Any desired additional toppings (olives, mushrooms, onions) chopped

Place cream cheese in microwave safe bowl and soften (30 - 60 seconds) 
Add 1/4-1/2 c. Frank's hot sauce (to taste) to the cream cheese, and mix
Spread cream cheese/hot sauce mixture over crust with a spoon or spatula.
Add chicken and any desired toppings
Apply thin layer of shredded cheese
Drizzle remaining Frank's Hot sauce over entire pizza - more or less depending on your heat thresh hold. 

Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

**Variation: Blue cheese dressing (not mixed with hot sauce) can be substituted for the cream cheese sauce, and blue cheese crumbles can be sprinkled over the pizza after the hot sauce.