What I Ate: Chicken ‘n Waffles

‘What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with ya for the idea or inspiration.

The south has some pretty good food ideas. I mean biscuits/beignets/fried pickles/bbq are just so good. The list goes on. I like dinner to be varied so after my fun experiment with cinnamon roll waffles on the waffle iron I was thinking about more waffles that could be dinner.

I was going for simplicity here, but also think they could be amped up a bit. I used chicken fingers and only tweaked basic waffle batter by adding cornmeal and a touch of hot sauce.
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Ingredients:

4 chicken fingers
2 pre-made waffles or waffle batter ingredients below:
1 egg
¾ cup flour
¾ cup cornmeal
¾ cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbs hot sauce (optional)
1 cup arugula (optional)
1 small tomato, sliced (optional)
maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to chicken finger cooking instructions (some are fully cooked, some are raw and need to reach an internal temperature)
Preheat waffle iron.
Mix waffle ingredients until combined.
Generously spray waffle iron.
When chicken is almost ready, cook the waffles in batches according to your iron’s size.
Top waffles with arugula, tomatoes, and drizzle with syrup.

I thought this was a fun dinner and totally out of the ordinary. I loved the freshness of the veggies on here with the salty chicken fingers and corny waffles and sticky sweet syrup. I didn’t want my dinner to be only brown/yellow in color.
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Next time I might add some whole corn into the waffles. Spinach or arugula would also be fun additions to the waffle itself.

Tropical Mango Smoothie

I haven’t come up with many new smoothies in a while. Back in March I was whipping up new smoothie ideas every other day. Literally. I’ve made a bunch lately, but none have been uber creative. Greek yogurt with 2 frozen fruits is delicious, but does not warrant a blog post. Some smoothie tips are here.

I need ideas folks. That’s where you come in. Comment with an idea below. Please & thank you.

This smoothie was inspired by my other-half at work. She’s into coconut milk which sounded delightful in a smoothie. Thanks for the inspiration Ms. K!

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Ingredients:

6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
1 peach sliced & frozen (or the rough equivalent of pre-cut frozen pieces)
4 strawberries with the tops cut off
3 tbs coconut flakes
¼ – ½ cup of liquid (juice, milk, etc. I used crystal light pink lemonade)

Directions:

Assemble in a blender.
Blend & enjoy.

I loved this one! The coconut bits in there were delightful. I felt like I was on a beach, rather than getting ready for work.

Frozen fruit makes for the frostiest of smoothies. You could always use fresh fruit and ice too.  I’m the only fruit eater at home so if I’m not up to speed on my fruit I freeze it before it goes bad then it can star in a smoothie whenever I get to it.

The liquid in a smoothie is the only way it’ll be drinkable. I don’t often have juice around but a single-serve low-cal drink mix is perfect. I don’t love lots of milk in my smoothie. It can make it seem ice-creamish which is awesome, but it can also just make me feel like I’m drinking milk, which I don’t really do. Your call on that one.

Now, what are your smoothie recommendations?

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Today’s post is about technique rather than recipe. I see people put stuff on waffle irons all the time. I’ve seen hashbrowns, brownies, pretzels, paninis, and so on. Literally everything. I wanted to try cinnamon rolls cooked into waffles. It worked!

I started with a roll of cinnamon rolls, with icing of course.
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I heated up the waffle iron and popped rolled up cinnamon rolls on top
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I squished ’em down with the lid and bam! There were waffles with a beautiful swirl.
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I warmed up the icing and served them with some maple syrup
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I loved the flavors and they were just so easy. Seriously. Pop open the tube and waffle them up. These would be really fun for a crowd and way easier than traditional waffles.

Hosting Brunch Tips & Breakfast Pizza

I LOVE to host. I think that’s why I like working events. I love feeling like I’ve thought of the details because that’s what makes an event feel special. Hosting at my house also means that I won’t have people complaining to me about a tee shirt. Seriously, this is my life.

I hosted a few of my fav couples for brunch. I tried not to go crazy with the menu but I was psyched to put a few new serving pieces into action. I did as much prep the night before as I could and it made for a pretty easy morning. There were 6 of us and 4 puppies and 1 toddler. It was a beautiful day and I was so thankful some of this group together for brunch before everyone had to head in different directions.

Menu:

breakfast pizza
ebilskiver pancake balls: dark chocolate mint, banana butterscotch, and sausage
fruit salad
yogurt parfait bar
tator tots
mini bagels
mimosas
hot & iced coffee

I’ve made a few breakfasts pizzas in the past. I made one bfast pizza with hashbrown crust which was better in theory than in execution. I’ve also have done one bfast pizza with egg cracked on top.  This time I went more scrambled but still don’t think I hit 100%. I topped a crust with cheese, bacon, and tomato. I baked it a bit more and then topped it with scrambled eggs, more bacon, and fresh chives. The crust needed a bit more time to get crisp. The timing was the challenge here. I had a few other items in the oven, I was getting stuff together, and I was scrambling the eggs. It was good, but not amazing. It has such potential though. The crust needed more time to get crisp and the eggs should have gone on only for a minute or two, then it should be served right away.
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I cold brewed coffee for ice coffee. I also froze some coffee into cubes (but forgot to serve them!). Cold brewing is interesting. It definitely makes better iced coffee. We had some leftover and I’ve been enjoying it to no end. Mr. J said we need an iced coffee drip in the fridge!

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I love brunch and think the choices need to vary sweet and savory. I was thinking about a smoothie station but thought maybe it was too much work for people to do themselves. Then I had it! Yogurt Parfait Bar. Yes! Top-your-own is the best. Everyone can customize! I served vanilla Greek yogurt with granola, cinnamon chips, walnuts, brown sugar, toasted coconut, dried cranberries, and chocolate crunchies. I put out some disposable wine cups for serving and we were good-to-go. It was an easy/low prep dish. Annnd maybe I also wanted to use this 6-dish server.
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I got cool silverware holders for my birthday from my sis. These are so great!
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Finally, I think food labeling is one of the easiest things a host can do. The holders were a fun antique gift. They’re supposed to be placecard holders but I don’t do sit-downs and Momma R thought they’d be perfect for my dish labels. I like people to know what it is without having to either ask, or skip it not knowing what it is.
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Blueberry and Brie Stuffed Waffle

Happy Monday! I’m back from a week-long vacation to Bermuda so even Monday is happy. It was such a great family trip and I will have some photos to share. Today we’re talking about brunch. I hosted brunch yesterday but my camera is still the residence to vacay & brunch photos, my luggage isn’t 100% unpacked, and I’m just happy to have a post for you.

I’m still on vacation mode in the sense that I went to find this recipe’s inspiration on Pinterest. Then I discovered a pin for a fun party theme which lead me to a blog, which later lead me to my reader with lots of unread blog posts which distracted me from this post. Short & sweet it will now be!

Blueberry & Brie Stuffed Waffles

adapted from Damn Delicious

Ingredients:

2 waffles (fresh or frozen)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup blackberries (or raspberries)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup blueberry pancake topping (or 1/2 cup blueberries macerated, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 2 tbs water, 1/2 tsp cornstarch)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbs heavy cream
4 oz brie, sliced

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, add blueberries, blackberries, sugar, blueberry sauce, cinnamon, vanilla, and heavy cream over medium-low heat. Stir well and keep an eye on it for when it gently boils.
Prepare waffles to your liking
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Turn the blueberry sauce to low once it has boils so it can thicken.
Assemble waffles with 1/2 waffle on the bottom, topped with sliced brie, then topped with blueberry sauce. Finish it with the other 1/2 of waffle on top, or serve open faced.
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I loved this. I like brie and I don’t usually seek out sweet breakfasts. I think this was a good sweet/savory balance. I  prefer it cooked/melted. It is creamy and mild but has such a distinct flavor. It gets gooey which is balanced by the crispy waffle and the sweet blueberries popped. It was perfect! I usually eat/serve the rind on the brie, but that’s personal preference.

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I kind of cheated with the blueberry sauce. I had some from Stonewall Kitchen and really wanted to use it up. I added more blueberries and just a few other ingredients to liven it all up. The blueberries and blackberries were frozen and often appear in my smoothies. Frozen fruit is best suited to be cooked or made into a sauce after being frozen. I was using up stuff all over the place!

I hadn’t cooked a special breakfast in months. It was so great to have this treat one Sunday after my event, before vacation.

Need an idea for your leftover brie? Try a cranberry, brie and turkey panini or my very favorite calzone with prosciutto, apple, and brie.