Two-by-Two Waffle Sandwich

Whole wheat waffles with a protein punch is a great way to start your day. This breakfast sandwhich is yummy and nutritious-- not to mention filling! (If you are not a teenage boy, you might only get through half of a two-by-two, so feel free to make this a one-by-one instead.) Fried ham stacked on fried eggs, drizzled with a little maple syrup and sandwiched between two whole-wheat waffles. What more could you wan -- oh wait, "Got milk?"

(I admit that this recipe is not as perfected as I'd like. The whole-wheat waffles are too dense to make eating this a thoroughly enjoyable experience. My vision of a perfect version of this sandwich would be to have the ham and eggs sandwiched between lighter, brittler, and thinner waffles than these whole wheat ones.)

Let's get started! You'll need:

• Waffles, such as these Whole-Wheat Waffles
• 2 Deli-Sliced Honey Ham
• 2 Eggs
• Salt (to taste)
• Maple Syrup

     While the waffles are cooking, cook the eggs in a frying in a pan over medium-low heat. Salt the eggs to help bring out the sweetness of your sandwich. (Note: I like my egg yokes runny so that they mix with the syrup later on in this recipe.)
Fry the ham slices over medium-high heat. Flip them after 1 minute, or when the edges start to curl, or longer according to your preference. (I like mine to be on the crispy side while retaining a much flavor as possible.)
      Check the eggs and flip them if necessary. Take them off the heat when the whites are firm and the yokes still squishy. Err on the side of under-doneness because they'll keep frying even after you take them off the pan. (Cut into them near the yoke. If the whites are too runny, return them to the pan for a little more time.)
     Check the ham after another minute or when you hear sizzling. Remove them from the heat when they are done.
     Take one waffle and drizzle about a tablespoon of syrup on it. Stack ham first, then eggs onto the waffle. Drizzle with another tablespoon of syrup and smack on the second waffle.
Eat messily and enjoy! Better have napkins and milk ready at hand.

(Originally published on 7/31/13, 2:02 PM.)

Whole-Wheat Waffles.

Here is a recipe for delicious whole-wheat waffles adapted from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/whole-wheat-waffles-recipe to fit my family's taste and needs.
Now, you might be thinking: "What's healthy about waffles?" You may be surprized to learn that waffles actually don't contain much sugar (roughly 2 tablespoons per 8 waffles), so they can easily be adapted to be sugar free. That being said, we still need to change our toppings. Aim for natural sweeteners such as honey and maple syrup to drizzle lightly on top. Peanut-butter is also a yummy, protein-packed option. And remember, fruit is always a go! Below, I mixed unsweetened cocoa powder with some maple syrup to lightly sweeten a banana-topped waffle. Go crazy, think healthy, and get cookin'!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Tblsp Honey, if desired
• 1 egg, whites and yolk separated
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup oil
  
  Suggested Toppings Ingredients
• 1/2 banana (with some brown spots)
• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tblsp maple syrup

Directions

Preheat and grease the waffle iron.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients minus the egg whites.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined.

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Fold the whites into the batter.

Spoon the batter onto the waffle iron according to its directions and cook until waffles are a honey color.

Place waffles on a rack to cool.

          Suggested Toppings Directions

     Mix together the cocoa powder and maple syrup until creamy.
     Add more cocoa for a thicker consistency, more syrup for a thinner consistency.

     Drizzle some of the mixture over a waffle.

     Slice banana circles onto the waffle.

     Drizzle the rest of the mixture onto the bananas. Enjoy!

Cream of McWheat

I created this recipe on a whim, and it happened to turn out really great, so I remade it today and took pictures. The smell and taste remind me of McDonald's breakfast bisquits, hence the name "Cream of McWheat." What I like about this is that it has BACON, it has lots of cheese, it is filling and it is nutritious (well, nutritious in my opinion. I don't have cheese and bacon overly much, so making this recipe is still healthy and nutritious for me. Your age, health, and activity level largely determine what is healthy for YOU, so please use your own judgement for deciding if this is a nutritious part of a meal for you.) Cream of Wheat is made of wheat farina, partially defatted wheat germ and disodium phosphate. According to Wikipedia, wheat farina is made up of the endosperm and germ of the grain, although most of the germ is removed. (You will notice that Cream of Wheat adds germ back in.) Whole wheat, on the other hand, is made up of the bran, endosperm and germ-- in other words, the whole grain of wheat. Cream of Wheat is still nutritious in my opinion even though it is not whole wheat because it still has more of the grain than white flour. I think that it is a perfect breakfast food because God made grains for our main source of food, so what other food group would you want to start your day out with? Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Cream of McWheat

Yields: two servings

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

1/3 cup cream of wheat

1/3 cup cheese (or to taste)

1/4 cup bacon bits (or to taste)

Instructions:

1. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in the cream of wheat with a whisk. Reduce heat to low when it starts to bubble and thicken.

3. Add the cheese and bacon and stir it in.

4. Once the mixture is thick enough to stick a thin coating on your spoon, take it off the heat and spoon into bowls. Enjoy!

(Originally published on 5/13/13 @ 10:50AM)

Self-Watering Planters: Construction and Instructions for use

MATERIALS:
2  Buckets (5gal)
1  Corrugated drain pipe (length: one rib longer than the distance between the bottom of the top bucket and the bottom of the bottom bucket)
1  PVC pipe (length: from the bottom of the bottom bucket to about an inch above the top bucket. Cut a diagonal section off of one end.)
1  Garbage Bag with drawstrings (bottom cut off, leaving only 12 inches from the top.)
1 Rubber Band (Large or very stretchy)


CONSTRUCTION:
1. Drill holes in columns down the drain pipe, skipping every other rib, keeping columns 2-3 inches apart.
2. Drill two drainage holes in the bottom bucket a little below where the bottom of the top bucket will be.
3. Drill lots of holes in the top bucket and cut out holes for the PVC and the drain pipe. (Make the drain pipe's hole a little too small)
4. Cut a 2 inch line extending from the larger hole.
5. Flip bucket upside down. Push the drain pipe under one of the flaps until the top rib is caught under it. Twist the pipe towards the flap until the entire top rib is caught under the plastic.
6. Put top bucket inside of the bottom bucket. Slide the PVC pipe into its hole diagonal end down.
7. Pull the strings of the garbage bag closed. Fit the open end around the lip of the top bucket and secure with rubber band.
8. Open up the mouth of the garbage bag all the way and fold it down the side of the bucket.




     As a part of my project to promote self-reliance and combat poverty, I am building and distributing Self Watering Planters. Growing a successful garden requires us to take initiative, and as we tend to our plants' needs we increase in responsibility. My hope is that the positive results of people's gardens will help them in some small way to believe that the power is in them to act for themselves and fulfill their dreams. If we can get more people to increase in responsibility and self-reliance we will help our communities become more industrious and prosperous. When our communities act on principls of hard work and self-reliance not only will individuals and families be better prepared to provide for themselves, but businesses will also flourish better because of a die-hard and forward-thinking spirit. Unfortunately, even this will only help ease the recession a little bit; you see, a great problem is that power hungry federal and state governments as well as controlling unions have so many regulations, restrictions and taxes imposed that those businesses that do well are unable to prosper. This means more in layoffs, more in prices, less in salaries and less in food on the table. What I ultimately want to do is convince people that we don't need so many interferences from meddling governments and unions because we can take care of ourselves. I believe that laws are needed to preserve freedom, or to allow every person to do their own things their own way so long as that way does not infringe on the rights of others. I believe that an individual is better equipped to preside over his own needs and industry than anyone else, and therefore we need to get rid of those grasping government regulations that oppress individuals' freedom and agency.
          The bottom line is that freedom is good. As Joshua says in Joshua 24:15: "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." God delights in liberty; there is evidence of this all throughout His holy scriptures. I believe that as we learn to use our liberty wisely and as we increase those skills and means God has given us we are better able to serve the Lord. This is why I am doing this Self-Reliance project.

4 Ingredient Nutella Cookies experiment!

I tested out a 4 ingredient Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe from cookingontheweekends.com for fun a few weeks ago. I made the recipe once her way and once my way so I could compare results. Both ways tasted fantastic- the only real differences were looks and effort.
What's great about this recipe? Well, for one it is gluten-free. A second reason is that it is simple. Third: it is adaptable. (From my experiences with these Nutella and similar peanut-butter cookies, these sort of recipes are very flexible; so go ahead-- experiment with this!) Fourth reason: it is crazy yummy! Imagine a mouthful of super-choclate fudgy goodness. And the texture is amazing! I am not kidding you, you HAVE to try this--whether you use my recipe or hers!

Here is my version:

Nutella Cookies
2 cups Nutella
2 eggs, whites separated from yolks
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and grease two cookie sheets
In a large bowl, mix together the Nutella and the yolks. Carefully incorporate the cocoa powder. Add the chocolate chips.
In a different bowl, whip the egg whites until peaks form. Fold this into the rest of the batter.
Form batter into balls on a greased cookie sheet and gently press them down. (They keep their shape pretty well in the oven.)
Cook for 6-8 minutes. 
[Valentina says: " It's okay (in fact, it's great) if they are still a bit doughy -- they'll continue to cook a bit out of the oven." I found this to be true.]


The main difference between mine and hers is that I like to whip the egg whites first. I also include the egg yolks in the batter.



<= Valentina's                   Mine =>

I found that the texture and the taste were the same for both of these. Mine were poofier and shinier and held their shape pretty well in the oven. Valentina's cookies came out really flat after cooking. That is interesting to me because she records a different result for her cookies on her blog. I guess I'll just have to bake some more of them and see what I did wrong! Oh, the horror. ;-)

Story time! Why did I make these cookies? It was the Soprano section's turn to bring treats to choir last Sunday. For the benefit of one of my friends, I wanted to make a gluten-free treat that wasn't rice crispy treats or peanut butter cookies. I thought this person would enjoy some chocolate for a change. So I looked up this recipe on Saturday in preparation for Sunday and spent that evening making a few batches of the cookies. (My family is totally chocoholic, and thus greatly enjoyed "taste-testing" them for me.) The next evening I brought them to choir. My friend enjoyed them, and so did the rest of the choir. Success!

P.S. Why is this cookie recipe on here? Isn't it ironic that my very first post on Word of Wisdom Homemaking is a Chocolaty cookie with absolutely no flour, whole-grain or otherwise? OK, it is ironic. The thing is, God intends life to be enjoyed. Yes, you should totally eat a healthy, well-balanced diet; however, if eaten in moderation, sweet treats can be a good thing too. I want to be absolutely clear that this site is dedicated to providing ideas for well-balanced, happy living. So go ahead, make a batch of these. Tell yourself they are a reward for swearing off of other treats during the day. They can be the light at the end of your tunnel tonight! (Trust me, they will be WELL worth the wait!)

(Originally posted on 4/23/13 @ 2:51 PM)