Overnight Waffles

I'm not feeling particularly clever today, but I wanted to take a minute to share this handy recipe with you.

My fun day with my nieces (Hadley, 1 and Maddie, almost 5) and nephew (Jeremiah, 8) started off with some circus animal waffles.  I knew they'd be here early and I wanted to have something ready for their mother when she got here too. 

Getting up early is not my favorite thing to do.  I start out with the best of intentions, but usually hit the snooze a time or two too many.  That said, I knew I probably wouldn't want to get up super early to make waffles so I started the night before.  All I had to do this morning was heat up the waffle iron and bake them. 

My Christmas gift from my lovely in-laws was this circus animal waffle iron.  There's a lion, an elephant and a clown.  What could be more fun for breakfast than circus animal waffles? 

 The only modification I would make to the recipe would be to increase the cinnamon.  The original recipe only called for 1/4 teaspoon.  They were still tasty, but I like a little extra jazz in my food than most recipes allow for. 



Jeremiah-He's still sleepy.  




Christian

 Overnight Waffles
Barely modified from:
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup cooking oil (such as vegetable or canola)

In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, yeast, salt and cinnamon.  Add the milk, eggs and oil; beat until thoroughly combined.  Cover loosely and refrigerate overnight.

Stir batter.  Pour onto a preheated waffle baker and cook according to manufacturer directions.

The Photo

I love the holidays!  I look forward to them, painstakingly prepare for them and do my best to enjoy every minute of them.  That said, I always breathe a sigh of relief when it's all over and life can return to normal...or at least to something that resembles normal.  There's still the tree and decorations to take care of, gifts to put away, and I have to figure out something to do with the piles of sweets my mother and mother-in-law sent me home with.  It's handy to have a bachelor neighbor with a teenage son I suppose.  Maybe they'll take them.

Boy, was I spoiled with the gifts though!  I can't wait to show you my new enameled cast iron dutch oven!

The very first post here on My Oh My! was about my Uncle Jack's Jambalaya.  I mentioned my favorite photo of my dear late uncle and that I hoped to post it during the holiday's along with his fudge recipe.  Well, I'm not going to post the fudge recipe, but I am going to show you the photo now. 

My sister-in-law, Kylene, found the framed photo fused to a broken piece of glass.  When she tried to remove the glass from the photo, it pulled the color away so she let it be.  She then scanned, printed and framed it.  Then she gave it to me for Christmas.  I love it!  I actually cried when I opened it as I thought the photo may be lost forever.  Thank you Kylene!  And thank you to my family and friends for an incredible holiday season 2010.  I am one blessed and loved woman.

Now off to have a beer and zone out in front of the TV.  Yay for me!

Spaghetti Pie

Yes, I'm still here.  I'm sure I'm not alone with this statement...'Man, it sure is a busy time of year.'  It's been so busy that I really haven't even spent all that much time in the kitchen.  This is abnormal for me as cooking and baking is therapeutic for me.  I love getting in the kitchen, turning on my radio, maybe pouring a glass of wine, and zoning out as I cook.  I suppose I can never really zone out with two little boys and a Rottweiler under foot.  Not to mention our fat cat, Chelsea, who's on a diet and cries at me all day for food.  I wouldn't change it though!

My kitchen time is also my creative outlet.  It so fun to experiment with new foods and try different ways of doing things.  Last week, I decided it was time to set aside some time to make a meal and have some friends over.  Luckily, I found Jennifer and her fella, Ken, who were willing last minute dinner guests. 

Spaghetti pie is well liked at my dinner table.  It's a recipe from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.  In her book, she teaches how to sneak vegetables into food so picky pants kids (and adults) would never know they were there.  I've been told the brownies with spinach puree are delicious.  I don't know if I'm feeling quite ready for that one yet though.

There's something the boys like about having their spaghetti in a pie shape.  Christian came to the table and said 'yay!'  He's my picky pants eater.  Jennifer even made a comment about how it's easy to get tired of spaghetti but she'd never thought to make it into shapes.   

To make the purees in the recipe, just steam the vegetables until soft and then puree them in a food processor or blender.  I'm sure spaghetti pie would still be tasty without the purees too.

Spaghetti Pie
From Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.

Non stick cooking spray
3 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1/2 pound lean ground turkey or sirloin
1/4 cup broccoli puree
l large egg white
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-2 1/2 cups bottled spaghetti sauce
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup carrot puree
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente.  Drain in a colander.

In a small bowl, mix the ground turkey or sirloin with the broccoli puree, egg white, Parmesan, and garlic.  Form 1/2 inch balls from the mixture.

In a large bowl, stir the cooked pasta, spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese, carrot puree, and salt and pepper.  Spoon mixture into the pie plate and smooth the top.  Scatter meatballs on top and sprinkle with mozzarella.  Bake, uncovered, until the center is firm and the cheese is bubbly, 25-30 minutes.

Shark!

This news report was released last Friday on MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40472545/?gt1=43001  It's tragic news about shark attacks in Egypt.  I know this is another Egypt story so soon after the last one, but it was prompted by this news article.

Open ocean kinda freaks me out.  There's just so many scary critters down there.  I never should have watched Jaws.  In spite of this, I do like adventure, so I jumped into the Red Sea to see the deep blue. 

In my right hand, I held a little underwater camera.  You know the sound they make...the ratcheting as it's wound up then the click as is snaps a photo.  We saw all kinds of beautiful fish.  They'd come right up so I could practically reach out and touch them.  It was magical.  After being in the water a few minutes, I noticed that the other folks in my group were turning back.  Just as I was about to lift my head above water to see what was going on, I spied it.

Perhaps a hundred yards away and 50 feet below me there was a shark.  I haven't the foggiest idea what kind, but it was definitely a shark.  It was swimming not quite perpendicular to us, leisurely like.  Just cruising around.  Goodness knows what I was thinking (obviously I wasn't), but I chose to snap a photo of it.  As I took the picture, it made it's loud 'click' sound.  The shark turned suddenly towards the sound and started swimming right towards me.  Be still my heart!  I never looked back as I swam as fast as I could to safety.  Whew!

The only picture I cared about when we got home and had them developed was my shark picture.  I'd love to show it to you here, but to my unbelievable disappointment, it was only a picture of deep blue and bubbles.  The shark didn't show up.  Boo hoo!

Peanut Butter Bombs

The boys renamed these Peanut Butter Bombs, because, well...'they look like bombs, Mom.'  The original name is Peanut Butter Bon Bon's and it's a recipe out of our family cookbook.  The last time I remember making these I was fresh out of college and in my first apartment.  The kitchen was teeny tiny.  The stove, fridge and sink were all miniature.  Good thing I'm not very big either.  The best part about the kitchen was that it was pink. 

I loved that first apartment I shared with my friend, Chandala.  It was the beginning of my independence and an expression of who I was becoming.  It was in a old brick building, with radiator heat, hardwood floors, beds that rolled out of the walls and high ceilings.  Character just oozed out of it.  Although it was only on the third floor, our view was fabulous as my town doesn't really have many tall buildings.  In the fall, when the maple trees changed colors, the view was breathtaking. 

Oh, the parties we threw there!  They couldn't be too loud or too late as the building didn't really have any insulation or soundproofing between apartments, but we managed to have fun anyhow. 

I vividly remember making these peanut butter treats for my co-workers while standing in my tiny kitchen.  They were a hit then as I'm sure they will be this year for the holidays once again.

The boys were pretty excited about bath time tonight when I told them there would be a peanut butter bomb waiting for them when they finished.  Although, I'm not sure how wise having bath time before a messy, chocolate treat was. 



This cup and saucer was my grandmothers.  When she was dying, she let me choose a dish from the china cabinet to remember her by.  I chose this one because it's girly and pretty and old...and perhaps because it reminds me of my fabulous apartment with the pink kitchen.  I like to drink spiced mulled wine from it in the winter and think of her. 

Peanut Butter Bombs

2 cups peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

16 oz powdered sugar (4 1/2 cups)

3 cups Rice Krispies

12 oz chocolate chips

In saucepan, melt peanut butter and butter.  In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar and cereal.  Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture.  Blend 1/2 to 1 inch balls (they will be dry, press them together).  Chill until firm.  Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or carefully in the microwave.  Dip candies and place on waxed paper before chilling again. 

These freeze very well.