Lemon Poppyseed Waffles

When you are a mom of a toddler, anything they are willing to consume without a fight feels like a victory. Most mornings when I ask my 2 year old what he wants to eat, he will answer "broccoli!" but some mornings we are out of broccoli. So I will usually get him to agree to a bagel or french toast. Well recently he has decided to be a little bit more high maintenance and ask for waffles. Now mind you its my own fault that I don't just pull some eggo waffles from the freezer, but these bad boys are soooooo much better. This recipe makes about 4 large waffles, you can easily double it and throw the extras in the freezer. Then in the following mornings you can just whip them out of the freezer, pop them in the toaster, and you have a gourmet breakfast with very little work. Love that. 

I love a fluffy, crisp waffle that you can load up with delicious toppings. These waffles are special due to several unusual ingredients and I think you will find them to be a nice little wander away from your every day waffles. 

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup coconut oil (you can sub with vegetable oil) 

1 lemon

2 eggs

2 Tbs cane sugar

1 1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp lavender salt (you can sub with regular salt) 

2 tsp poppy seeds 

Melt your coconut oil in microwave until it is in liquid form. Add that to a large bowl. Zest and juice your lemon into that bowl as well. Add your eggs, sugar, and milk, then wisk until combined. Add your flour, baking powder & soda, salt, and then add a few tsp of poppy seeds until you reach an amount that looks good to you. Simply pour your batter into a preheated waffle iron, and cook until crisp and golden. This will make about 4 full sized waffles. 

You can top with toasted coconut or your favorite syrup. The combination of the zesty lemon with the floral notes of the lavender salt, make this a breakfast you will not quickly forget. And your toddler will not forget either! 

Passover Popovers

happy Easter! Today after our egg hunt I realized I didn't have any plans for a good Easter breakfast. On a whim I remembered a recipe I pinned from the kitchn.com for popovers. I decided to try them as it seemed different enough to feel festive. They turned out great! Buttery, fluffy, crispy, and best of all I just used a regular old muffin tin! No fancy popover pan needed. See how pretty? 

My husband was utterly impressed and are half the pan! He declared pop overs a new Easter tradition. 

Use a large 6 muffin tin pan. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a blender, mix the ingredients listed above until frothy and bubbly. Let the popover batter rest while the oven heats. Put the empty muffin tin in the oven for 2 minutes to warm. Remove from the oven and melt an extra 2 tablespoons of butter then divide the butter between the cups. Pulse the batter in the blender one more time to froth and then fill each cup halfway.

Place the pan into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Do not open the oven door during baking unless you want to unpop your popovers. Still without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Finished popovers will be golden-brown, feel dry to the touch, and sound hollow when tapped.

Eat and enjoy! I'm hungry just thinking about it! 

Bread Pudding

Stop. Before you scroll to the next post, hear me out. Most people turn their noses up at bread pudding. But they haven't tried this version. It's so good that when my husband made it for desert on Christmas Eve that my truck driving, deer hunting, MMA fighter brother in law went home and baked it on his own the next day. He said it was the best desert he had ever tasted. 

Sorry I didn't get a photo of the whole dish, but it got devoured before I could get my camera out. 

Ingredients;

• 1 loaf of french bread, cut into chunks. Best if it's day old or stale. 
• 4 c milk (use whole for added deliciousness)
• 2 c white sugar
• 1 stick melted butter
• 3 eggs (lightly beaten) plus 3 egg whites
• 2 t vanilla
• 1 c raisins
• 1 c chopped pecans
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1 t nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

FOR THE BREAD PUDDING

• 1

  Preheat oven to 350F and butter a 9x13 baking dish. Pour sugar and spices over bread in a large bowl. Pour melted butter over the bread and mix. Mix in milk, whole eggs, and vanilla.

• 2

  Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and fold in. Fold in nuts and raisins. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes, until the pudding is puffed up and the top is golden brown. Serve warm.

• 3

  If you want to prep this ahead of time, bake for 40 minutes, cool, refrigerate uncovered overnight, then cover tightly and freeze. To finish, thaw and then bake an hour at 350F.

WHISKEY SAUCE

Cream 1 stick butter and 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is absorbed. Remove from heat and mix in 2 egg yolks. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup bourbon, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken as it cools. Serve warm over bread pudding.

We didn't have whiskey so my husband used water and it worked great.