Waffles

Confession time: we're not really big milk drinkers in this house. But I can't quite bear to buy half gallons of milk because, really, they're only like 10 cents cheaper than a whole gallon. So it's a pretty common occurrence for me to dump 1/3 to half a gallon of milk down the drain when it goes off.

This time it's a little ridiculous. Our milk expires in a few days and it's still over 3/4 of the way full. So this week's cooking revolves around recipes that use a lot of milk. (I have a feeling I will be making rice pudding tomorrow or Wednesday... and/or custard if I have the patience.)

Anyway, tonight was waffles! I used this recipe from www.allrecipes.com (of course). I must say it was pretty tasty overall - I did add in 1 tsp cinnamon, but other than that followed it exactly. I think it has a bit too much baking powder though so I may try reducing it next time.

Classic Waffles

Ingredients

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 4 teaspoons baking powder

- 2 tablespoons white sugar (can increase up to 6 Tbs if desired, but I didn't feel it was necessary)

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 2 eggs

- 1 1/2 cups warm milk (I microwaved it for about a minute)

- 1/3 cup butter, melted

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended. (If you're really ambitious, you can separate the egg yolks from the egg whites; mix the yolks in with the milk, butter and vanilla, and beat the egg whites until fluffy and fold them in at the very end after the rest of the batter is done. I am too lazy for this normally, but it does make the waffles extra, extra fluffy if you take the time to do it.)

3. Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

This recipes makes around 10 waffles in my Belgian waffle maker. 

Also, if you have any favorite recipes that use lots of milk, throw them my way!

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

This time, Pinterest did not fail me! (I'm still disappointed about those mozzarella sticks.) I found a recipe for homemade chewy granola bars (like the kind you get from Quaker) and I finally tried them this weekend. SO DELICIOUS. And Nathan keeps going back for more - a true sign of success.

So here's the deal. First I made this granola recipe. Then I made it into granola bars with this fantastic recipe. Trust me on this one: you want to visit that second website. She has tons of tips and info that she's learned from lots of trial and error, and that's why mine turned out fantastic the very first time. I've copied the recipes below for you, but definitely check out the source material because it is fantastic. I just made plain granola bars (I was going to add chocolate chips but I forgot) and they are really tasty.

I am totally going to make big batches of granola and whip it up into granola bars whenever the urge strikes. Seriously, once the granola is done these are easier than Rice Krispy Treats.

Applesauce Granola (modified)

Ingredients

- 3 cups old fashioned oats

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

- 1 tablespoon honey

- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, warm the applesauce with the honey and oil over low heat. (I didn't read the directions and just mixed everything in straightway without heating this up. I don't know if it really made a difference or not.)

4. Mix the applesauce mixture into the oat mixture and stir to coat everything. Spread the mixture onto a 9 x 13 baking pan.

5. Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the granola is a deep brown. Remove from oven. Cool completely before enjoying.

IMHO, this particular version of the granola is not that great on its own (again, maybe that's because I didn't follow the directions completely) but in the granola bars, it is phenomenal. 

Plain Chewy Granola Bars

Ingredients

- 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

- 1/4 cup honey

- 2 cups plain granola

- 1 cup rice cereal (Rice Krispies, etc.)

Directions

1. Line two 9×5 loaf pans or one 11×7 inch baking pan with foil or parchment. Lightly butter or spray the foil. Set aside.

2. Combine butter, honey and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter is melted.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

4. Add the granola and rice cereal into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated.

5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pans and press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill.

6. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until mostly cooled and set; lift out of the pan and cut into bars. Store in airtight container layered with wax or parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

In an effort to please my Primary class (who for some reason are tired of us bringing fruit snacks for the treat every week - come on, the 4 year olds never complained!), I made cookies tonight. And in an effort to please my husband, I made these cookies specifically - he's been wanting butterscotch cookies for a few weeks and that recipe looked pretty promising. For your convenience, I have included the recipe below, but remember that www.allrecipes.com is the real genius here, not me. :)

Cowboy Oatmeal Cookies (aka Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies)

Ingredients

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 cup margarine

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- 1 cup packed brown sugar

- 1 cup white sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 tsp vanilla (this was a suggestion in the comments; I did not add it in but I bet it would be tasty)

- 2 cups quick cooking oats (I used old-fashioned oats)

- 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, cream margarine, oil, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients until well blended. Mix in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop from a teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Let set up on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

These were quite delicious, and the old-fashioned oats made them delightfully chewy too. Definitely recommended!

Book Review: Old Man's War

Man, I'm glad this week is over.

I re-read Old Man's War today. I forgot how delightful that book is. Also I managed to forget the prolific bouts of swearing in certain parts, but it is about a guy in the military (in space! fighting aliens!), so I can't really fault it for being accurate. Despite the story meandering around for most of the book, it's a strangely satisfying read with a sweet underlying message about love, not to mention a lot of really cool ideas that are handled very well. Plus the humor is spot on. I highly recommend it. It makes me want to immediately re-read the sequels, which is unfortunate because they are not currently residing on my Kindle.

Anyway, I thought about writing more but it's late and I'm tired. So that will have to do.

Rambling

Nathan went to Buffalo Wild Wings again tonight, this time with a bunch of his old mission buddies. He brought me home some leftover wings and I figured since I've been fighting this stupid cold and am all stuffed up, I could really benefit from eating some spicy wings to clear the sinuses.

Well. All that actually happened is I ate four really spicy wings, drank 3 glasses of water, and feel like my mouth is on fire and yet my sinuses did not get the memo. Very vexing. I might have to resort to a hot shower before giving up and going to bed. Also, that was a lot of water in not very much time.

In other news, I've been playing a lot of Kingdom Rush again (I mentioned it a few months back as a good tower defense game) and beating all the levels on Normal difficulty instead of Easy. It's challenging but addicting and fun. There are still six levels eluding my mastery... and strangely, most of them are from the early stages. Maybe that's why I thought they would all be impossible.

I also have several new recipes I want to try once I don't feel like a plague bearer, so hopefully I'll get to at least one of those over the weekend... my gloriously (mostly) wide open weekend with nowhere to be but church for my niece's baby blessing, which is conveniently in the same ward we always go to anyway.

...

Hallelujah, my mouth has finally stopped burning from those wings.

Garden Chowder

I got this recipe from my friend Jason, who I believe got it from some family member who made it all the time. (The copy I have says Janet Crowley on the top. So whoever you are, Janet, thanks for the recipe!) I modified it slightly, but it's delicious either way. Also it's easily vegetarian if that's how you roll.

Garden Chowder


Ingredients


- 2 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 Tbs minced fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 c butter
- 1/3 c flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 c water
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes w/juice
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 10 oz package frozen corn (I usually use one regular can of corn - drained - instead)
- 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- up to 1/4 c bacon bits (optional)
- cooked shredded chicken or turkey (optional)

Directions


1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the zucchini, onion, parsley, and basil in butter until tender. (This step takes the longest. I promise the rest of it goes by lickity split once you get past this one.)

2. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Gradually stir in water. Add the bouillon and lemon juice; mix well. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, milk, and corn, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 min or until corn is tender. (That last 5 min is more important if you are using frozen corn; not so much with canned.) If desired, add cooked shredded chicken and bacon at this point for extra protein.

4. Just before serving, stir in cheeses until melted.

Makes 6-10 servings depending on how much you tinker with the recipe.

If you have other garden vegetables that you need to use up, you can add them in where appropriate. I've used up extra celery that way, and I'm sure you could get away with adding in lots of other kinds too if you wanted to. I also often omit the can of tomatoes because neither of us like tomatoes all that much, but be warned if you do that then you will probably want to reduce the cheese or add more water to compensate for the lack of tomato juices (otherwise it is... shall we say... very thick and cheesy). Honestly, you could probably get away without adding any cheese if you prefer, but it won't be as thick or creamy if you go that route.

ANYWAY what I'm trying to say here is that this is an excellent recipe and very forgiving if you like to tinker and change recipes. It also feels excellent on a sore throat. (I'm not supposed to get sick in the spring when it's finally warm enough to go on long walks! Bah.)

April's Ten Things to Smile About

Time for April's Ten Things to Smile About post! (Also, sorry for not posting yesterday; I really, really wanted to finish reading Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik. In retrospect, this was not the smartest choice, since I finished it at 1:30am. And forgot to blog.)




1. This little Pokemon that I made during General Conference - and now it sits on Nathan's desk at work and garners lots of compliments. 
2. Making Easter themed chocolate covered Oreos, courtesy of my in-laws who sent us all the materials
3. Finishing our steampunk goggles!
4. Making crafty stuff for my sister in law's fundraiser for Autism Speaks, and then having them arrive in time even though I put it off til the very last minute.
5. Nathan writing a book in 2 weeks (bringing his total finished up to 9) - and then I got to read it all in one go and it was really compelling! Now he's editing it to make it even better. 
6. We finally got around to trying Buffalo Wild Wings and now Nathan can't stop talking about how good (and cheap) it is.
7. We (Nathan and I, and my friend Amy) did a steampunk photo shoot with Nathan's brother, and the pics turned out amazing: 
A sampling of pictures not posted on my blog previously. (Mostly for my sister and any others of you not on facebook.)


I was very pleased when I found that watch necklace for sale in the mall.
This is my favorite one of Amy.
8. Speaking of the steampunk photo shoot, my amazing sister in law (well, one of them - I have three :P) helped me make Nathan's vest and my corset belt, and they turned out really well - especially since we made up the patterns from scratch! I am grateful for family willing to share their talents and teach me new things.
9. It is finally, finally warm outside - not always, but warm enough that sometimes I don't need a coat to go for a walk.
10. I got a new high score on Dance Central 2 (which I've been playing a lot more, hooray for exercise that's fun!) on this song - 2.9 million points! (No, that's not me dancing. I don't know how to record it properly... but you get the idea.)