Chocolate Dutch Baby Pancake

   Happy Valentine's Day, friends!! So Husband took today off work...at least he tried to, but ended up having to go in for awhile anyway. (So much for having him here all day for once) We were able to have breakfast together, for which I was grateful. It doesn't happen very often with his busy schedule, so I wanted it to be a little more special than normal. Plus, it's Valentine's so of course it needed to be special!
   I had seen this recipe  a few days ago and had it in mind for Valentine's breakfast. It was perfect and oh-so-delicious!!!

Chocolate Dutch Baby Pancake

recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

3/4 cup milk

3 large eggs

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 tsp course salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp unsalted butter

powdered sugar for dusting 

strawberries for topping

Combine milk, eggs, flour, cocoa, salt, vanilla and sugar in a blender. Blend together until mixed well, about 1 minute. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet on the stove top. Pour the blended mixture into skillet after butter is melted, then immediately place into a preheated 400* oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and set. Dust with powdered sugar and top with sliced strawberries. Serve.  

 

........................................................................................................

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. 

It always protects, always trusts,always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

~1 Corinthians 13:4-8

 

Chai Waffles with Spiced Vanilla Whipped Cream

   Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas! It's another wintry day at our house. Woke up to a fresh blanket of snow and it is still coming down. A good day to spend indoors baking rolls for a family gathering tomorrow night, maybe sew a dress, enjoy some mommy/son time and being very thankful to God for the blessing of a warm house. (something I too often take for granted)
   We had a Christmas service at church yesterday morning, and I wanted to fix a special Christmas breakfast to enjoy before we went. I was planning to make my gingerbread waffles, but then I found this recipe from  Ezra Pound Cake and decided to try  something new. I made a few minor adjustments to the recipe and they didn't disappoint...the only thing disappointing was the fact that Husband had taken my cooking spray while he was barbecuing the other day and didn't bring it back so I had trouble with the waffles sticking to the iron and tearing. I tried greasing the iron with olive oil etc, but it just wasn't working very well. I managed to get a few that weren't totally riddled to photograph. So although they looked like an almost total flop, they sure did taste like winners! Perfect for Christmas morning. (or any morning for that matter)

Chai Waffles with Spiced Vanilla Whipped Cream

yield: 12-16 waffles (depending on the size)

Waffles:

1 3/4 cups milk 

7 chai tea bags

1 3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp orange peel

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan over medium heat bring milk to a simmer, add tea bags and remove from heat. Let the tea steep for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags into the milk and then discard. Allow the tea to cool.

In another bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk together egg yolks, oil, vanilla and the cooled chai tea.

Add to the dry ingredients stirring just until combined, batter will be lumpy. 

In a small bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the batter being careful not to over mix. 

Preheat and grease your waffle iron. Add batter and cook until golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar and top with Spiced Vanilla Whipped Cream and maple syrup.

Spiced Vanilla Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Pour the cream into a bowl and whip on low speed until just beginning to stiffen. Add sugar, vanilla, and spices. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. Serve on top of waffles.
 

...............................................................................................................

And suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of heavenly host

praising God, and saying,

"Glory to God in the Highest,

and on earth, peace, good will

toward men." 

~St. Luke 2:13&14

  

♥ Sheila 

 

     

Pumpkin Spice Latte Pancakes

   Another pumpkin recipe? Yes, because I had pumpkin that needed to be used up before it went bad. Plus, I've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now.
   Husband is leaving to go to a Haz-Mat conference for a few days, so I wanted to make something for breakfast that was a little more special than usual. I decided these pancakes should do the trick. 

   We slept in as long as Little Mr allowed us too, then while I made breakfast 'D'+ 'G-bug' spent some father/son time together. {Hubs isn't too excited to be away from his little boy for that long, so he was getting in as much together time as possible.} I can't say I'm too excited about him being gone either, but it will definitely make a difference having another little person in the house with me this time!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Pancakes

yield: 8 pancakes

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp espresso powder

4 tbsp buttermilk powder

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup brewed coffee, at room temperature

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

whipped cream

In a bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt pumpkin pie spice, espresso powder and buttermilk powder. In another bowl whisk together egg, vanilla, coffee, water and pumpkin. Add to dry ingredients stirring just until moistened. Set aside to rest.

Heat a griddle on medium heat. When it is hot pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto surface and fry until golden brown. Flip and fry until golden brown on the other side.

Serve with whipping cream or syrup. {I suggest whipped cream}

     These were as delicious as I thought they would be. A perfect fall, Sunday morning breakfast!

   On another note, {although not really because it involves pumpkins too} we took 'G-bug' to the pumpkin patch yesterday and found him a pumpkin that was just his size. He was happy with it I believe! =)

How is our little 'punkin' already almost 6 months old?!?

 ........................................................................................

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is Your name in all the earth! 

You have set Your glory above

the heavens.

From the lips of children and infants

You have ordained praise....

~Psalm 8:1+2

♥ Sheila 

Baked Apple Pancake

   Fall.....the time of gorgeous skies, perfect temp's, colorful leaves, and of course all things apple and pumpkin! =) I think it would almost be my favorite season other than the fact that winter is right on its heels.
   I especially love spending more of my days in the kitchen this time of year; there are just so many wonderful things to be made {and eaten ;)}. Here is what I made for breakfast this morning. A perfect start to a cool, fall-ish day.

 Baked Apple Pancake

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

powdered sugar for dusting

maple syrup

In a blender {I just used my hand blender} combine eggs, milk, flour, sugar and vanilla. Blend until smooth; set aside.

In a cast iron skillet melt butter. Add sliced apples and brown sugar. Cook on med heat, stirring occasionally for about 10 min or until apples begin to turn golden brown. Remove from heat and pour egg mixture over top. Bake @ 400* for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and slightly raised. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar.

Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup.

 

   I will definitely be making this again....we really enjoyed it, plus it doesn't take long at all to whip it up. I may add cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg to the egg mixture next time. It couldn't hurt and I think it would add a little something extra to the pancake.

........................................................................

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity

under heaven........

......He has made everything 

beautiful in its time.

~Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 11

♥ Sheila 

 

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

   As I'm sure y'all have noticed I've sorta been MIA for the last little while....with baby almost here {Sat is the due date} and still working 5 days a week; {babysitting and at the greenhouse}, and trying to finish up all the last minute details before his/her arrival that I haven't had much time to be on here. I really haven't been trying many if any new and exciting recipes either. Just sticking with simple basics at this point. =)
   Decided on Saturday morning though, when I woke up earlier than I was planning {which happens a lot these days :/} and as a celebration of sorts that I only had one more week to go, I would make something for breakfast that was a bit more exciting than usual. =) 
   These delightful waffles were what I decided on....

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Waffles:

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Topping:

1/2 cup butter , melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Cream Cheese Topping:

4 tbsp butter

2 oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Waffles- In a bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Pour into the dry mixture and stir just until moistened. Pour onto waffle iron and bake until golden brown.

Cinnamon topping- Mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour into a Ziploc bag and seal. snip the end of the bag and drizzle over prepared waffles.

Cream cheese topping- Melt butter and cream cheese. Stir together until smooth. Whisk in sugar and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over top of the prepared waffles. 

   
   They were definitely a treat! Much easier than cinnamon rolls and almost as good {but not quite I thought} =) Was a lovely way to start our day!
   Just a quick end-note....I'm still hoping to blog after 'Tater Bug's' debut, just don't be surprised if it goes awhile between posts for the first couple of weeks/months.....Hoping baby decides to arrive SOON!!! =)

.............................................................................

May the God of hope fill you with

all joy and peace as you trust

in Him, so that you overflow with

hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

~Romans 15:13

Enjoy this lovely rainy day! =)

♥ Sheila   

 

  

Gingerbread Waffles

  I don't always cook breakfast; in fact, more often than not, we just have a bowl of cereal or yogurt etc...but I was in the mood for something a little more and I had seen this recipe somewhere not too long ago. Thought they had to be delicious so I decided to give them a shot. Oh goodness! and were they ever!! We both thought they were amazing....they just may become our Christmas morning tradition.

Gingerbread Waffles

 yield: around 14 waffles

  4 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup molasses

1 cup buttermilk

3 cups flour

2 tsp ginger

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

whipped cream & fresh fruit, optional *

With mixer beat the eggs until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, molasses & buttermilk & mix until well blended. 

Sift together flour, spices, salt, baking soda & baking powder. Add to the egg mixture & stir until smooth. Stir in butter. Cover & refrigerate overnight or cook immediately in a waffle iron until golden brown. Serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit if you like.

* I didn't have whipping cream on hand so we used mascarpone cheese that I had mixed a small amount of honey in, fresh fruit & also a little drizzle of maple syrup

 

  I just made a half recipe for us and we had plenty. Stuck the leftover ones in the freezer for a quick breakfast in the future. Pop them in the toaster until heated through...almost as good as  fresh-made. =)

..................................................................

For a Child will be born to us

a Son will be given to us...

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Eternal Father, 

Prince of Peace.

~Isaiah 9:6

Blessings of love & peace!

♥ Sheila      

A "Good" Morning!

  Daren got off shift yesterday morning an hour late (he works a 24/48 shift & usually gets off at 8:00) & I was off work so I slept in. (ahhhh) We love breakfast but don't often have the chance to fix a nice one with our work schedules etc so I decided that this would be a good morning for me to spend some time in the kitchen. After digging through my recipe stash I found one that sounded like the perfect solution :) Everything was prepared & ready to eat when hubby got home.

Ham & Cheddar Waffles

 

  I served them with peppered gravy & homemade hash browns. sooo delicious if I may say so ;) Daren thought that they were pretty tasty too! Fresh fruit would have been wonderful with these also, but I didn't have any on hand. 'Twas great to enjoy a hearty breakfast (well, I guess it was more like brunch) again!

~Ham & Cheddar Waffles~

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg, slightly beaten

4 tbls butter, melted

2 oz. thinly sliced ham, chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir milk, eggs and butter into flour mixture just until combined. Add ham and cheese. Pour 3/4 cup of batter onto heated waffle iron & cook until golden brown.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! =)

~Sheila