Sour Cream Waffles

Hi! Sorry I was gone so long; I went up to Indiana on a whirlwind trip, and had to fit it in between rehearsals. I wore myself OUT, and have just been able to breathe again the last few days. Never fear, though! I've been cooking up a storm to bring you reviews! :D (You'll notice several are breakfast over the next few weeks. :) )

And today's is Sour Cream Waffles, from 52 Kitchen Adventures.

I don't have any white whole wheat flour, so I did half whole wheat, half unbleached AP flour. I also used fat free Greek yogurt instead of regular. But that's all I did differently, I promise! :)

As you can tell, we have a Belgian waffle maker versus the square waffles. It makes BIG waffles. :D

I like this recipe - which makes it a YES, PLEASE! I like the fact you don't have to beat the egg white and then add it in - my mom's comment was, "They're really fluffy!" For a waffle with whole wheat flour in it, that's pretty impressive.

There is nothing fancy about these waffles. I think the recipe made six; Kenn ate one, I ate one, and the rest are in my freezer for mornings when I don't want to have to think about what to eat! :D

OK, I'm outta here! Rehearsals are really starting to heat up; we have less than a month before opening now, and time will fly! :)

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!

Pear Butter

Good Monday Morning!

I'm sorry you didn't get a post on Friday, if you came looking for one. I just ran out of OOMPH. I'm weary; last week was a LONG week. But it's Monday, so we get to do it all over again! :D

Today's recipe for pear butter comes to you from About.com.

I'm not quite sure what to tell you about this recipe. :D Yes, it's pear butter. But I don't think I'd go out of my way to make it. Let me put it this way: if you have lots of extra pears, this is a good way to use them. I wouldn't recommend getting extra pears just to do this one.

We had two crockpots almost full of pear slices, and I think I got eight half-pint jars out of it all. The recipe does call for pureeing the pears before putting them into the cooker, but I used an immersion blender on them once they'd cooked down. It was much less messy, and less work.

The flavor is OK. Don't add extra cloves! :D I wish I would remember to get some English muffins; I'd like to try it on those. And I cut the sugar by 1/3; it definitely doesn't need more than that.

So, I guess it's a MEH. :D However, I'll continue to try to find SOME pear recipe that I like. But unless I get more pears this year, I'm out!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!!

Part two: Apple Fritters

Good Monday Morning! Did you have a great weekend? Praying you did.

So, you're back for part two, right? :D

The recipe is brought to you from SeeminglyGreek. I didn't know apple fritters were Greek, but whatever! :D

Now. Fritters are meant to be FRIED. I know that. But I also know that I've been cooking a LOT around here, and that I didn't need anything fried! Nor did my family. So I know I did it more of a cake than a fritter, because I cooked them in what? Yeah, my cupcake baker. :D So they're not the crunch little nuggets that you'll get when you fry them.

And these fritters formed into cupcakes more than the cake batters I've used in the baker in the past! So odd. but anyway. :)

They're not overly sweet. I didn't make the glaze for them, and the confectioner's sugar didn't really stick to them. More like in the little cracks that formed on top. :D

But I'll give this a YES, PLEASE! They were moist, and fit the bill for a healthy snack. There's little sugar IN them. Be careful cutting up your apple! I cut BOTH thumbs, and had to get my dad to finish chopping my apple for me. It was one of THOSE days. AUGH!! :D But he didn't mind, since he was getting a treat from it. :D (He also bandaged my thumbs. Thanks, Dad!)

I did have to thin the batter out. It was too thick for me. And I used the medium-sized cookie scoop from Pampered Chef to scoop into the baker - it was the perfect amount!

OK, I'm outta here. :) Have a WONDERFUL, blessed day. And try something NEW!

Part One: Apple Fritters

 Good morning! It's FRIDAY! :) How has your short work week been? I dunno; when I worked in an office, it always seemed the week was just as long, if not longer. :D

So, today I have a two-part review for you.OK, so it's part one of a two-parter. :D Aren't you BLESSED? You'll have to come back Monday to see what I say about the RECIPE, but you'll get a review of the GADGET today! :D

This is the "Original Cupcake Maker"; I purchased it from The Steamy Kitchen. Here's a link right to the one they've got now - it looks the same, but I can't see the top. But this is where I got it. :D

SteamyKitchen is a great blog; you really shout spend some time checking it out. She's a PRO, people!

Now. My review of the cupcake baker!

First, the picture shows them baked in the little papers. SOOO no necessary. As a matter of fact, one of the things I really love about this is that it's completely nonstick. I *do* spray it before I put the first batch of whatever in, but that's it.

Another plus on this machine is that it wipes clean with a damp cloth. LOVE that - I'm so not about the cleaning part of cooking, peeps. :D

The biggest "con" against this little gadget is that it pretty much steams the tops. Even though the top has a heating element in it, it really doesn't brown them or bake them. But it also doesn't FRY them. It's really a healthy way to cook. I think I'm going to try mini quiche soon!

Overall, though, it really is a cute, useful gadget. I've used it for brownie bites, mini cupcakes - that look more like cake balls than cupcakes! - and the recipe I'll review on Monday - these "Apple Fritters". It doesn't heat up the house; it takes very little time to get hot, and cools quickly. If you're planning on using with youngsters, they'll still need to be supervised; the steam, the inside, and the baked good are all very hot!

OK, that's it for today! :) It's our sixteenth anniversary - but I'm STAMPIN' tonight! :D I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend; spend time with your loved ones. Laugh. Tell people you love them. God bless you!!!!!