Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Waffles

This weekend was action packed with all things Fall.

I made pumpkin waffles. I got all dressed up and went to a Halloween party. I burned my fall candles, took a scenic drive down my favorite street to see the leaves, and snuggled on the couch with a thick blanket.

Not to mention grocery shopping, cleaning, re-stocking our pantry at Costco, and loads of laundry. It's hard to get back on track after an improv trip to Miami. 

I'm absolutely in love with these waffles. I think they're the best ones I've made so far. And they're healthy...since they're made with whole wheat flour. The chocolate chips aren't necessary, but when do I pass up a chance to add them to something? I'd do it if I were you.


Note: I was only able to make three waffles with this recipe. Perfect for two people, but double up if serving three or four.

Source: slightly adapted from The Spiffy Cookie
Servings: 3 waffles


1 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup plain pureed pumpkin
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preheat waffle iron. In a large bowl, combine milk, egg yolk, pumpkin, vanilla, oil and brown sugar together. Stir to combine. Shift flours, baking powder, salt, and spices. Pour in remaining dry ingredients to the wet and slowly incorporate. Fold in chocolate chips.

Butter your waffle iron. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto waffle iron. Close the top slowly. Cook about 2 minutes or until waffles are crispy. Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup.

Happy Halloween! How are you celebrating?

The Week Wrap Up 10/24-10/29

I apologize for the lack of posts this week. If you're a follower of mine on Twitter, you know I had to suddenly rush out and see my family. All is well now, we are back home, but there's been absolutely no time for cooking and baking! I hope you'll forgive me as I get back in the swing of things.

Since I wasn't able to do a Week Wrap Up post last weekend, here's what I've shared on the blog lately.

Buttery Dinner Rolls

Chocolate Chip Caramel Apple Cookies

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

Here's what I've bookmarked:

                                                                    Source: thespiffycookie.com via This Woman Cooks! on Pinterest

                                                              Source: howsweeteats.com via This Woman Cooks! on Pinterest

                                                               Source: notrachaelray.com via This Woman Cooks! on Pinterest

                                                           Source: ezrapoundcake.com via This Woman Cooks! on Pinterest

                                                    Source: stephaniecooks.blogspot.com via This Woman Cooks! on Pinterest
 

I promise to be back soon! Have a great Halloween weekend!

Buttery Dinner Rolls

These are the best rolls ever.

I'm on a roll (haha, no pun intended) finding easy recipes lately. Spanish chicken? I could do that in my sleep! Egg and Bacon Salad for lunch? Um, yes please. A reason to use my crockpot? Who you kidding.

Today I hope to break bread with you. I promise the whole process (not counting oven time) takes 30 minutes. Less if you have a helper- come here, husband! Or if you've got kids, they can definitely help with this too. It's fun, it's relaxing, it's an activity for the whole family. Grandma visiting? They like bread too, no? Get everybody in the kitchen!

What I love most about making bread is watching the dough rise. With these rolls, you don't need to get the dough to rise. Instead, you'll get to see what happens to yeast after it sits in a bowl of warm water and honey. I've made these rolls 3 times already and I'm still amazed. Easily entertained.

After the yeast has gotten all foamy and bubbly, you'll make the dough. If you have a stand mixer this is easy. If not, that's okay, your hands will work just fine. Once the dough has been kneaded, you'll cut out strips and roll them into little balls. Easy peasy!

Source: Sprinkles of Parsley
Servings: 20 rolls

2 cups very warm water
1 packet yeast
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 1/2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half white)
melted butter (about 1/2 stick)

Begin with preheating your oven to 350 degrees.  Then in a mixing bowl, combine your water, yeast, and honey.  Gently stir until your honey dissolves.  Place the bowl on your stove top and cover with a dry towel.  Make sure your oven is preheated to 350 degrees because when working with dough, you have to create a warm environment to activate the yeast so that it properly rises.  Let your bowl sit untouched for 15 minutes.  

After 15 minutes, your mixture should appear slightly foamy.   Add your salt and baking powder and stir until incorporated.  Then transfer your liquid mixture to an electric mixer if you have one.  Otherwise do this next step by hand.  With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed, gradually adding a 1/2 cup of flour at a time until you've reached 4 1/2 cups.  Mix on low until the flour is incorporated.  Then switch your paddle attachment with the dough hook attachment and mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes.  The dough hook does the kneading for you.  Don't be alarmed when your dough slashes around violently- that's normal! All in the act of kneading.  If you don't have a mixer, transfer your dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 2-3 minutes.  

Once your dough has finished kneading, transfer to a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with flour.  Shape your ball of dough into a rectangle and cut into 4 even strips.  Then cut and shape into 20 balls of dough.   Cut an x into each ball. 

Grease a 9x13 pan with butter and place your balls of dough evenly into the pan.  Brush with melted butter. Then place your buns into the preheated oven (should still be preheated to 350 degrees).  Immediately after your close the oven door, increase the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 17-19 minutes or until golden brown.  

Break apart your dinner rolls and serve warm. 

Steph's Virtual Bridal Shower: Chicken Cordon Bleu

Today's post is a special one.

A fellow blogger is getting married!! Today is her Virtual Bridal Shower. If you don't know Steph from Steph's Bite by Bite, you should. Her blog is one of the first I started to read before I decided to create a blog of my own. She's funny, cute, quirky, beautiful, and honest. I can always count on her to share a new and creative recipe that I'll immediately want to make myself. 

I was contacted by Kita to participate in Steph's Virtual Bridal Shower. To say I was so excited is an understatement- I love weddings! And bridal showers? I loved mine so much, from the food, decor, generous gifts, and amazing family and friends. Throughout this post I thought I'd share some pictures from my own shower.

I feel very honored to be a part of Steph's celebration. I decided to take the theme, Date Night, to heart. Last Saturday the hubby was home and I said, "Hey, go put on something nice and come cook with me in the kitchen."

"I have to cook?" hubby exclaimed.

"If you call putting a salad together and buttering some dinner rolls cooking, yes." 

Giving him any other task would be too stressful. At least he was a good sport!

I handled the main dish while we chatted about how annoying it is to shred romaine leaves. Once the chicken was in the oven, the rest was a piece of cake. He lit the candles so we could eat by candlelight. Our wedding china was pulled out. I set the table with our formal dinnerware. Soft music played in the background. Date night at home.

Our menu consisted of chicken cordon bleu, roasted broccoli, a side cesar salad, buttery dinner rolls, and apple crumble for dessert. It was the perfect evening. I encourage you to do the same. But dress up! It's so much more fun.

Source: slightly adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything
Servings: 4

For the Cordon Bleu:
2 large, thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (to make two thinner chicken breast cutlets)
4 slices good quality deli ham
1 cup panko
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 slices Swiss cheese

For the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and melted butter. Set aside.

Lay the cut chicken breasts in a single layer in the 9X13-inch dish. Layer each chicken breast with a slice of ham and top with a slice of Swiss cheese, layering across the chicken breast to make sure the entire chicken breast is covered with ham and cheese. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the chicken.

Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely, the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden.

When the chicken is almost done, in a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly. Cook the flour/butter mixture for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking quickly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules and salt. Whisk mixture constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes.

Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken is finished baking. If your sauce is too thick, whisk in some more milk. If it's too thin, simmer longer.

Serve each chicken cordon bleu portion with warm sauce. 

Congratulations once again Steph! I hope you enjoy your Virtual Bridal Shower and have a gorgeous wedding!!

Chocolate Chip Caramel Apple Cookies

I've got a new favorite cookie.

Perfect for Halloween, perfect for Fall, perfect for two ingredients to come together: Apples and Caramel. Who doesn't love apples? And caramel? Be still my heart. You may have noticed these two ingredients marrying together on many blogs today. It is the first of Lady Behind the Curtain's Improv Cooking Challenge. You can join in on the fun too! Just click her button to sign up for next month.

I've known about the theme for this month for a while now. I pondered over what to do with my apples and caramel melts for weeks and weeks. I thought about making this, or this, or maybe even this! All so delicious, decadent, mouth-watering....all ideas that I still really want to make. However, I opted for the lazy route and procrastinated. Until four days ago...

...I found these cookies. And I loved them. A unique combination for me, as I've never combined chocolate chips and diced apples in cookie form. They're moist and chewy, with crisp edges. I love the sweet tartness from the apple and the richness of the chocolate chips. Bake them as a Halloween treat, kids will love them!

Source: Sweet Tooth and Sweet Life
Servings: 24 cookies

2 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
10 caramels, unwrapped
1 tbsp milk
2 small apples, peeled, cored, & diced
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
 
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, heat your unwrapped caramels & milk until smooth and creamy, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Check the caramel every 30-40 seconds and stir. Allow caramel to cool for about 10 minutes, then add to cookie batter. Fold in your diced apples, followed by the sifted dry ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chopped candy bars and chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough with a cookie scoop onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Note: I find that these cookies are best enjoyed right after they've cooled. They don't keep well for very long.