Waffles

As with my new crock pot, I decided this week to give my new waffle maker a try. Overall, I was satisfied with the results and the waffles tasted light and fluffy, though I still need to work on figuring out the right amount of batter per batch. These waffles can be topped with fresh berries if desired, or just good ol' maple syrup, which is what I used.

Waffles
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's "There's a Chef in My Family" 
2-4 servings (depending on how many waffles people want)

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

2. Separate eggs. There are three ways to do this, all require extreme gentleness, as you do not want to get any yolk mixed in with the whites. First, you can gently crack the egg along the side and over a clean bowl gently transfer the yolk between both egg shell halves until the white is completely separated and in the bowl below. Second, you can again gently crack the egg along the side and over a clean bowl gently transfer the egg to your hand, with fingers slightly separated, allowing the white to fall between them into the bowl while still holding onto the yolk without breaking it - the key is not to break the yolk. Or third, you can gently crack the egg along the side and open into a special store bought egg separator - my mother has one of these at home, but I find it to be more of a hassle than it's worth. I usually do a combination of options one and two. With each egg make sure to crack it over a new bowl and later combine the whites, since you don't want the possibility of the second egg yolk breaking and contaminating all the whites below. I would offer some helpful photos, but as I work alone in the kitchen and only have two hands, you'll have to make due with this tutorial video from Good Housekeeping.

3. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, until the sugar is completely dissolved in the yolks.

4. Add the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract to the egg yolk mixture and whisk to combine.

5. Add the egg yolk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not overmix!

6. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks begin to form.

7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not overmix! For more on folding, see this helpful demo (plus bonus recipe!).

 8. Preheat waffle iron and coat with cooking spray. My waffle iron heats up in roughly 1-2 minutes, but if yours takes longer, preheat it earlier in the recipe.

9. Once waffle iron is heated, pour enough batter in the iron to just cover waffle grids. As this was my first time using this particular waffle iron, I had a bit of trouble gauging how much batter to use...

Hello overflow!

10. Close waffle iron and cook until golden brown, roughly 2-4 minutes, depending on your waffle iron. Repeat cooking with remaining batter. You also might need to spray the waffle iron between batches with cooking spray to prevent the waffles from sticking.

11. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving (I got 4 double waffles out of this batter and had 2 double waffles for a serving, so this batch made 2 servings of waffles):
Calories 470; Total Fat 17g; Cholesterol 251mg; Sodium 697mg; Total Carbs 59g; Protein 18g

Macaroni & Cheese

Like most people, when I crave mac & cheese, I normally go for the dried box variety, and why not, it's both cheap and filling, perfect for a grad student on a budget. However, I decided the other day (in an effort to forestall doing work) that I wanted to try my hand at homemade mac & cheese. I was a bit apprehensive at first, as all my previous encounters with homemade mac & cheese left me less than satisfied, usually due to a gritty texture in the cheese sauce. This however, did not happen with this recipe, so I present it to you now as a quick and easy alternative to the dried packaged variety.

Macaroni & Cheese
Adapted from Betty Crocker "Heart Health Edition Cookbook"
2 servings

Ingredients:
3.5 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce (this really adds an extra something to the dish)
1 cup milk
3 oz sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

 1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

2. Cook and drain macaroni.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth.

4. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute, then remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.

5. Stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased bread pan, or other small casserole dish.

6. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

The longer you let it cook, the thicker the sauce will become.

7. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving:
Calories 488; Total Fat 23g; Cholesterol 69mg; Sodium 659mg; Total Carbs 49g; Protein 23g

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Every year I have a post-Thanksgiving holiday tradition - black Friday shopping. But, let me clarify, I'm not one of those people who waits in line at midnight; nothing I'm interested in buying is that important to miss out on sleep and stand in line in the freezing cold. Instead, I go shopping Friday afternoon, after all the crazies have gone to bed, and to observe the carnage (as my brother likes to call it). Usually I'm just looking for household goods and clothes on sale, and possibly some Christmas gifts for family and friends. This year I think I did pretty well, scoring both a crock pot and waffle maker for $8 each at Target. While these aren't name-brand items, after testing them both, I can say they work perfectly fine for my needs. Bellow is the first recipe I made in my little crock pot (it's only 1.5 quarts) and it came out tasting delicious and made my whole apartment smell wonderful!

Crock Pot Beef Stew
Adapted from the Crock Pot "Recipe Collection"
3 servings

Ingredients:
1/8 cup plus 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 lb beef for stew, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 oz carrots, peeled and chopped (I used baby carrots, since they were on hand, but I imagine big carrots would be much easier to work with!)
1/8 cup chicken broth
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp water

 1. Combine 1/8 cup flour, salt, and pepper in gallon sized resealable plastic bag.

2. Add the beef. Close and shake bag to coat beef.

3. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add beef to brown.

4. Place beef in 1.5 quart crock pot.

5. Add remaining ingredients, except 1/2 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp water. Stir well. Cover and cook on high 4-6 hours.

6. An hour before serving, combine 1/2 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl. Stir until mixture becomes a paste. Stir mixture into stew, mixing well. Cover and cook until thickened.

7. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info per Serving:
Calories 421; Total Fat 19g; Cholesterol 100mg; Sodium 560mg; Total Carbs 29g; Protein 33g