Pumpkin Waffles and Apple Cider Syrup

Pumpkin Waffles (makes enough for my whole family)
Beat together:
3 eggs
1 pound can of pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Add:
2 1/2 cup flour (I did most w.w.)
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. each nutmeg & cinnamon

Beat all ingredients together. Spray waffle iron heavily with oil. Pour scoopfuls into waffle maker (1/2 cup batter for mine). Serve with whipping cream & cinnamon or apple cider syrup.



Apple Cider Syrup
Combine all in saucepan and boil 1 minute while stirring:
3/4 cup sugar
2 TB cornstarch
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups fresh apple cider (or juice would work)

Remove from heat and add:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter

Store leftovers in the refrigerator; use within a week or two.

Egg, Ham & Quinoa Muffins

When my friend Natalie makes a new recipe for her family, she asks them to give her a thumbs up or thumbs down about it. And she chooses to not be offended if they give her the thumbs down. This recipe got two neutral thumbs and the rest thumbs up from my family, so I'll be making it again.

Preheat oven to 350. 2 muffin tins--use 16 cupcake liners and spray them. The muffin tins are not fun to clean if you don't use liners!

Mix together: 

12 eggs, whisked
1 cup cubed ham (you could add sausage, chopped bacon or leave out the meat completely if you wish)
1/2 cup green onions, sliced (you can also add more veggies if you want)
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (or less cheese next time)
1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Then add:
1 cup cooked quinoa* (you can add more quinoa if desired--up to 2 cups)

Place 1/4 cup of the egg mixture into each of the 16 cupcake liners. Bake for 25 minutes or more (until the centers are cooked through and the tops are slightly golden brown). My family likes them on the crispy side, like 40 minutes. Apparently these freeze well too--warm in the microwave to reheat.

*How to cook quinoa fast: cook 1/2 cup of raw quinoa in 1 cup of water. Let cook on the stove to steam for 10-15 minutes or until they are tender. Remove the quinoa from the heat and let cool.

Cooking Chicken

I am an old dog that has a hard time learning new tricks--or else, I forget that when one method of doing something isn't working well, sometimes the trick is to simply research new ways and try new things. I wasn't happy with how I cooked chicken for various recipes, so I found this post that has helped me produce more tender "whatever recipe" chicken. So, in case it would help anyone else, this is my post admitting that I finally learned how to cook chicken breasts better.

Tex Mex Coleslaw

This stuff makes me happy. I might never make normal coleslaw again. I paired it with skillet bread, used cabbage I chopped, and kept the dressing, tomatoes and onions separate so that the kids could put whatever dressing they wanted on it. I love the dressing as written.

Quinoa Bites

I've been in such a food funk lately. Karin used to call me the queen of casseroles. Well, I'm out of that phase in my life. Mr. Brady doesn't abide many casseroles, and they've fallen out of favor with me too. I've been in the kid-friendly phase for the last few years--meaning that I'm making all the stuff that maybe even Cohen won't turn his nose up at. I just try to make things a little healthier and more homemade. But I'm tired of the spaghetti, tacos (or "baraccos" as we call them because we usually add refried beans and use flour tortillas), cabbage salad, chicken noodle soup, pizza, fried rice, mac & cheese, grilled chicken, tortilla soup, Hawaiian Haystacks, etc. that we've been having over and over. Then when we don't have kids with us we get a little creative with different curries and even an eggplant lasagna (meh). If anyone actually read this blog I'd ask what you, my readers, are feeding your families that you think I should feed mine.

So, today I made something a little different and it was fun. I got to use some of my quinoa! Luke loved them. If Luke likes something, I consider it a true success. He's not my harshest food critic, but the harshest one is too hard to please. Try these Broccoli & Ham Quinoa Bites. They kind of taste like cheesy fried rice--and they're cute! They'd be perfect for a brunch or baby/bridal shower.

Then you can try the Southwest version--I haven't yet.

Chocolate Cinnamon Zucchini Bread

Gave  this  a try. Big hit especially with Luke. I like this other zucchini chocolate bread better.

Homemade Nutter Butters

I shouldn't have seen this recipe. Now I really need to make them. My new plan of attack for eating healthier is to plan one day a week that I'm going to eat a scrumptious dessert. I will make sure I have the time and ingredients to make it that day (usually on Sunday for after our FHE lesson). All week I'm going to dream of that dessert I'm going to make, and I'm going to deny myself all lesser junk food in anticipation of the big, awesome dessert to come. We'll see how it goes!