Semi-Homemade Vanilla Chai Waffles

Semi-Homemade Vanilla Chai Waffles

These waffles are semi-homemade because they were created using ingredients that are ready-made and widely available which makes this recipe super quick and easy on a lazy Sunday morning…

On occasion, I will create my own gluten free batters for pancakes and waffles and such, but I found Wild Roots Foods Pancake & Waffle mix at my local Costco and needed to give it a try.

Their basic waffle recipe was impressive and their mix inspired me to create new waffle flavors. Creating different exciting waffles has become my Sunday ritual, what do I have in the fridge to create an awesomely original waffle??

This week it was Vanilla Chai Waffles…Extra syrup very optional…

Ingredients:

1 Large Egg
2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil, I use melted organic coconut oil
1/3 cup Chai Latte Concentrate
¼ cup Maple Syrup
1 ½ tsps. Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup Waffle Mix

Equipment:

Waffle Iron
Large Bowl
Whisk
Measuring Spoons
Measuring Cups

Directions:

Preheat your waffle iron

Whisk egg, vegetable oil, chai latte concentrate, maple syrup, cinnamon, and extract together in a large bowl.

Add waffle mix to your egg/chai mixture and whisk to combine.

Spray your waffle iron with non-stick spray and scoop about 2/3 cup of waffle batter onto the lower plate of your preheated iron, depending on the size of your waffle iron (of course!)

My waffle iron’s light turns off when it thinks that the waffle is done, so my waffles took approximately five minutes each. Yours may take less time or more, just keep an eye on ‘em.

I garnished my waffles with sliced strawberries and served them with a side of crispy bacon. You could dust your waffles with powdered sugar or to be extra indulgent, you could add more syrup! These would even be great as a dessert waffle with a giant scoop of your preferred frozen concoction.

Thank you, Wild Roots Foods!

Written By: Jenna Throne

Ohemgee Cauliflower

In case you haven't noticed (or maybe you're living under a rock), cauliflower is delicious! Although it's season is September-ish, it's delicious all of the time and I am completely addicted to it.
On my last trip to the store I found a nice head of cauliflower and some (read: AMAZING) chanterelle mushrooms, and so I knew that roasted cauliflower with chanterelles would become a thing in the very near future (tonight). This recipe is so stinkin' easy that it can hardly even be called a recipe! But share, I must. I want you to enjoy the ohemgee deliciousness that is this cauliflower just as I did this very evening. So here it goes:

Ingredients:

1/2 Head of Cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
Chanterelle Mushrooms, the same volume as the cauliflower, cut into slightly larger pieces than the cauliflower
1 tsp Fresh Rosemary, chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400F

Clean and cut up cauliflower, mushrooms, rosemary and garlic and place into a large bowl.

Note: Mushrooms are best cleaned using a damp paper towel. Running them under water causes them to cook up tough for some reason. Whole chanterelle mushrooms have a lot of crevices that are hard to get into to clean. I usually cut them up after I've cut up all of my other ingredients and then clean them with a paper towel because when they're cut up they have fewer crevices AND if I cut them up last, I don't have to worry about mushroom "dirt" getting on my clean veggies.

Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to the bowl and toss to coat the cauliflower and mushrooms.

Spread your cauliflower and mushrooms out on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Don't crowd the pan. Making sure that you only have a single layer ensures that your ingredients will roast instead of steam.

Roast cauliflower and mushrooms in your preheated oven for approximately 35 minutes, stirring halfway through so that all of the edges have the chance to caramelize.

Enjoy!

Recipe written by: Jenna Throne

Not Just Another Weeknight Chicken...version Trader Joe's

So, we are all always looking for another chicken recipe. How can we make the same ole’, same ole’ new again? And easy, and fast, and healthy, and cheap? This chicken recipe meets all of those requirements. It meets those requirements because you use a little help from the most highly trafficked grocery store that I can(barely tolerate) think of: Trader Joe’s. How can you beat the convenience (and avoid the masses) of Trader Joe’s?? You can’t. Stop trying. Go to Trader Joe’s and buy a jar of Artichoke Antipasto. It’s a little pickle-y for my taste on it’s own, but that can easily be remedied with two other Trader Joe’s conveniences: frozen crushed garlic cubes and frozen chopped basil cubes. I know, you can’t beat that. You won't even have to pull out a knife or a cutting board for this recipe. I promise!

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breast Cutlets, these are the skinny slices of the breast. Make your own here (BUT you’ll need a knife and a cutting board…Sooo… Give your butcher some job security…)
2 Cubes of Crushed Garlic, (Trader Joe’s frozen)
2 Cubes of Chopped Basil, (Trader Joe’s frozen)
1 (large) Splash of White Wine (It’s a good reason to open a new bottle. White wine will be perfect with this dinner!)
8 Tbsp of Artichoke Antipasto, (Trader Joe’s jarred)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While it’s preheating, season your chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
Drop the crushed garlic and the basil into the preheated oil, and then add your seasoned chicken to the pan, followed by a splash of white wine.
Cook chicken approximately 2-3 minutes on the first side, then flip the chicken over and coat the cooked side of each piece of chicken with about 2 tablespoons of the Artichoke Antipasto. Put a lid on the skillet and let all of those delicious flavors marry for approximately 5-6 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

And there it is. Done. Delicious. Easy. Especially easy if you serve it with steamed veggies and microwave Seeds of Change garlic quinoa rice from Costco! You could add a little something extra to your chicken by giving it a squeeze of fresh lemon juice while cooking, and adding some capers or chopped green olives near the end of cooking.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Roasted Chicken and Root Veggies:

This is one of my main dinner staples. When I get home from a hard day at work, the last thing I want to do is slave over a hot stove. This recipe is simple and the hardest part is changing the oven’s temperature part way through… The majority of the work in this recipe goes into cutting the veggies, which I find pretty therapeutic…Pretend those veggies are the problem that you had to deal with at work today and cut them up and eat them…Voilà! Problem solved. (Or you can just use the grocery store’s help and buy their pre-cut veggies if you’re not nearly as crazy as I am…)
Serve this recipe with a side salad to add something green to your plate without a lot of work. I usually do an arugula salad dressed with extra-virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some salt and pepper.

Ingredients –

1 large Sweet Potato, cubed into 1” chunks
1 cup of Rutabaga, cubed into small bite sized pieces
½ cup of Turnip, cubed into small bite sized pieces
1 Carrot, cut into 1” chunks
2 stalks of celery, cut into 1” chunks
½ a small onion, cut into ½” wedges
4-ish cloves of garlic (I like it garlicky!!), smashed with the side of your knife and palm of your hand
2 tbsp of Olive Oil, don’t use the expensive stuff here…It’s getting cooked…
4 pieces of chicken thighs, whole, skin on
Season to taste. You can use salt and pepper, maybe some ground garlic, but I prefer McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning. It has everything it in already and can be added in one step (I’m lazy…). For this recipe, I use about a tablespoon of seasoning on everything, veggies and chicken.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Line your baking dish with foil, any oven-safe dish really, this recipe is not only versatile, it’s very forgiving…You could use a baking sheet (like me), or a square casserole, just line whatever dish you pick with foil so that you don’t have to clean the pan when you’re done (…Again, I’m lazy).
In a large bowl, combine veggies, garlic, onion, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and seasoning of choice. Stir to coat veggies. Place veggie mixture into your prepared baking dish.

Wash your chicken (!!!) and pat it dry. Place the chicken pieces on top of the veggies that you’ve already put in their designated baking dish. Coat the chicken pieces with the remaining olive oil and season to taste.

Here’s the hard part: you have to set the timer…AND change the oven temperature…I know, it’s a lot to ask, but the end result is worth it…
Put your prepared dish into your preheated 425-degree oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes (this gives you that sinfully delicious, heart-attack inducing, crispy chicken skin). After the 15-20 minutes are up, turn the oven temperature down to 350 and bake for approximately 40-45 more minutes, this time varies because not all ovens run exactly to temp. Check your chicken’s doneness by sticking a knife in the thickest part of a piece and twist it just so to make the juices run. If the juices run clear, your chicken is done! If the juices run pink-ish or red, cook your chicken longer because it’s not done; and I don’t think eating or serving raw chicken will win you any new friends.

Stuffed Zucchini with Avocado Dressed Salad

Besides being healthful, adaptable, and wallet friendly, this recipe is a great make ahead meal. You can make your turkey filling ahead of time and store it in the fridge. When you’re ready to make your stuffed zucchini, just pull out your pre-made turkey filling, prep your zucchini into boats and stuff the boats with your turkey mixture. Pop them in the oven at 375° and cook until completely warmed through.

Stuffed Zucchini
Makes 6 Zucchini Boats

3 Zucchini, halved lengthwise & cored to create boats. I use a small spoon to core my zucchini, ensuring that I leave enough of the vegetable in tact around the bottom and the edges to hold the filling. Also, reserve the core to use in the filling! No reason to waste perfectly good zucchini…
¾ lb. ground turkey meat
1 c precooked brown rice
½ small sweet onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
S&P to taste

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit

Sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add the ground turkey and seasonings to the onion mixture and cook until the turkey is almost cooked through; stir in the rice and the reserved zucchini cores. Place zucchini boats on a baking sheet and stuff the boats with the turkey filling that you’ve created.

Bake your boats for approximately 25 minutes or until the filling has slightly browned.

I am lucky to be a Californian where avocado never seems to go out of season, as this dressing is my “go-to” on many occasions. On busy weeknights, I toss this with some kale salad and dinner is served, but I’ve also been known to cut up fresh mango with diced red onion, Serrano pepper, and cilantro and use this as the dressing for a spicy-sweet fruit salad. Your imagination is the limit with this deliciously creamy dressing.

Avocado “Dressing”:

1 soft, ripe avocado
½ lemon, juiced
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
S&P to taste

Mash the avocado into the bottom of your salad bowl. Squeeze ½ a lemon’s juice into the mashed avocado and add the extra virgin olive oil. Mash to combine, season to taste. Add any salad greens, noodles, veggies…that you would like and toss to coat.