Fudge Waffles

I recently cleaned out my recipe box and found numerous recipes that I haven't made in years or had totally forgotten about.  This is one of those recipes and it's wonderful. I made this for Gary and me over the weekend and he loved it.  Just the right amount of sweetness.

These waffles make a wonderful dessert or they are great with a brunch.  They go wonderful with quiche, your favorite breakfast casserole or a frittata.  You could cut these waffles in triangular shape and arrange them on a long rectangular platter top with fresh sliced strawberries down the middle and dust with powdered sugar.  You could have fresh whipped cream on the side (in a dish) for those of us who like that little extra indulgence.  :)  This is what I did for me and Gary, I bought the frozen sliced strawberries with sugar and unthawed them and then just heated them slightly (like a strawberry syrup) and ladled this deliciousness over the fudge waffle.  Just the right amount of sweetness for a brunch.

2 eggs, whisked
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) but I wouldn't leave them out
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chip morsels (optional) which I wouldn't leave out   :)

Add all the wet ingredients together and whisk well, then gradually add all the dry ingredients until everything is mix together with no lumps.  Then add the walnuts and chocolate chips and fold in until incorporated into mixture.

I used my Belgium waffle maker instead of the traditional waffle iron.  I think it works better for this sort of waffle. 

I promise, your families will love these!

Lunch with a Dear Friend

A very dear friend of mine that I've known since the eighth grade, invited me to her beautiful new home for lunch.  I felt like I was sitting in Beautiful Home Magazine (I think that's the name of it). It's so beautifully decorated but this touched my heart.  This is her utility room and this is a picture that she painted when she was 6 years old.  I was impressed that she painted so well at 6.  It's beautiful and the picture next to it was done by her oldest granddaughter and it's a picture of my friend and her granddaughter.  These are the little touches that make a house a home. 

Her grandmother and my grandmother had the same dishes.  My grandmother gave me her dishes when I married to use for my everyday dishes and I'm still using them today.  But she had her grandmother's dishes beautifully displayed in a lighted cabinet.  And she uses her dishes for special occasions.  I should have taken more pictures. :( 

She had prepared a wonderful lunch but one thing she made that I want to tell you about is her fried okra.  She fried it whole and you could dip it in ranch dressing if you desired. It was wonderful.  I thought of all the years I've fried okra, I never thought of frying it whole.  But I found some okra at our farmer's market and fried it whole and Gary loved it too.  I don't know if I'll ever cut it up again.  :)

To fry okra whole, use one egg with milk, dip the okra in the milk mixture and then into a mixture of 1/2 flour and 1/2 cornmeal. Drop into hot grease and fry for several minutes.

Pasta Salad

This is my rendition of pasta salad. This time of the year with all the fresh vegetables, I think it taste extra wonderful. This is how I make mine.

1 package of corkscrew pasta
1 jar pitted black olives,sliced
2 carrots peeled and sliced
1 green and red pepper diced
1 purple onion, cut in half and sliced
1 package frozen peas, thawed and rinsed
1 large broccoli crown, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced
a bunch of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
one package of Italian Dressing

I buy the packet of Italian dressing, you add water and white vinegar and oil.  I like the flavor of this a lot better than the bottled. You may need 2 packets of the dressing with a large pasta salad. Cut everything up, add the dressing and toss.  Cover with saran wrap and keep in the frig until ready to serve.

The Best Pasta Sauce Ever-Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

This is my first try at making pasta sauce and it is the best I've ever eaten.  This is so easy and you will never be able to eat that bottled stuff again.  This is also a wonderful dipping sauce for cheesy bread sticks.  Please try!

12 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled  (to peel drop tomatoes into boiling water and leave about 3 minutes
                                 until the skins crack, then drop into cold water.  The skins come right off)
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, snipped
1 cup lightly packed assorted fresh herbs, such as oregano, thyme, and Italian flat leaf parsley, snipped
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (optional)
6 tablespoons lemon juice

Cut peeled tomatoes into chunks, add some of the chunks to a food processor. Process until chopped. Transfer chopped tomatoes to a 7 or 8 quart enamel or stainless steel pot. Working in batches until all the tomatoes have been chopped.

Add brown sugar, salt, vinegar, and black pepper to tomatoes.  Bring to boil, stirring frequently; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 70 to 80 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency.  You should have about 11 cups stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in fresh herbs and red pepper flakes.

Spoon in one tablespoon of lemon juice into each of six hot sterilized pint canning jars.  Ladle hot sauce into jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and screw bands. 

Process jars in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes (start timing when water returns to boil). Remove jars from canner and cool on wire rack.  Makes 6 pints

I didn't add fresh herbs or the basil to my sauce.  My husband doesn't care for fresh basil so I left it out.  That day I used a good Italian Herb seasoning that I get from the coop.  It's really good. 
That day I maybe meatballs for my husband and I just ate the sauce over hot pasta.  The absolute best I've ever had.

Be a Doer of Your Passion

"Performance is your reality.  Forget everything else."        Harold S. Geneen

Balsamic Cherry Tomato and Caramelized Onion Conserve

This is a new canning recipe and it turned out to be one that I really like.  I have a lot of cherry tomatoes more than we can ever eat, so this is going to be a good way to preserve them. A great way to serve this is put the conserve in a bowl then the bowl on a platter with sliced baguette slices, different cheeses and cured meats or baguette slices topped with goat cheese and top with the conserve. It's delicious with the goat cheese, that's how I've eaten it.  This is a quick appetizer when friends show up or something to put together to watch football.

2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 pounds sweet onions, quartered and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4cup honey
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a large pot heat butter and oil over medium-low heat until butter is melted.  Stir in onion, salt and sugar.  Cook covered, for 13 to 15 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally.  Cook, uncovered, over medium-high het for 3 to 5 minutes more or until onions are deep golden brown, stirring frequently.

Stir in cherry tomatoes and honey.  Bring to boiling over high heat; reduce heat to medium-high.  Cook, uncovered about 5 minutes or just until tomatoes are softened, stirring frequently.   Remove from heat. Stir in balsamic vinegar and pepper.

Ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.

Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 5 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks.  Makes 5 half pints.

Veggie Basil Pesto Lasagna

About mid summer, our family gathered at our daughter's home for Italian night.  I know, it's hot summer and we are eating food that is hot and heavy.  But, I was hearing moans and groans for lasagna.  I had been wanting to try a vegetable lasagna with basil pesto.  So, I made the traditional lasagna and a pan of veggie.  It was good but it was really rich.  It didn't take a very big piece to fill you up.  Sorry about the picture but as usual I forgot to take a picture of the whole lasagna so you are getting a picture of the left overs.  Here is how I made it.

2-3 yellow squash, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced
2 sweet onions, sliced
1 large or 2 medium eggplant, sliced
1 small box of lasagna noodles
1 large cottage cheese
1 small sour cream
1 medium pkg. mozzarella cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
1-1 1/2 cups basil pesto

Saute squash, zucchini, onions in 3 tablespoons of butter until crisp tender. Lightly flour eggplant and fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side.  Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.  In a large bowl mix cottage cheese, sour cream, grated mozzarella, and Parmesan.  Stir well until all is incorporated. 

Put a layer of the fried eggplant, then a layer of the veggie mixture, then lasagna noodles, over noodles a very thin layer of pesto and then a layer of the cheese mixture.  Repeat this layering once more.  You will end up with cheese mixture of top.  I put a dollop of pesto in the middle of cheese mixture and with a knife swirled it through the top of cheese mixture. 

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour.  Watch it and when it starts to bubble and the top is golden it's done. 

The vegetables I used is what I had on hand.  I thought mushrooms would have been good and I also thought about a layer a fresh tomatoes from the garden that had been squeezed so the lasagna wouldn't be runny.  I really think the tomatoes would have topped it off.  Next time!   :)