Breakfast for Two -- The Snowed-in Edition

This is what my car looked like when I got up this morning.


A few weeks ago, I got an email from someone I used to work with years ago. I remember her heating up her leftovers at lunch and thinking that she was somewhat of a domestic goddess. She was (and is) a great cook and I had yet to touch a raw chicken breast without ziploc bags on my hands. Time has passed and I've become so comfortable cooking that I would be fine juggling raw chicken now (which I actually can't do because I can't juggle...and it would be really weird to juggle raw meat). My friend has had an adorable little son and moved on to a different career.

Anyway, she knows that I cook now and was kind enough to send me a recipe that she was really excited about. She recently discovered the magic of a waffle iron and was searching for healthy waffle recipes. Waffles are typically not the most healthy breakfast choice, but she found a recipe that is both delicious and full of healthy ingredients.

I love my waffle iron.



While in the midst of this blizzard and I decided to try the recipe since I always have those ingredients on hand.

YUM! They smelled delicious, tasted wonderfully sweet, and were filling enough to eat all by themselves. My husband likes to think that eggs are a necessary component to any "special" breakfast and said he was going to make them. The waffles were ready so fast that he hadn't gotten the chance and admitted afterward that he was too full for eggs.

You can totally make this ahead of time, pop it in the fridge, and make a waffle or two when you're ready. Why, hello, tomorrow's breakfast:


Without further ado...

Whole Grain Waffles
~Fast, east, and delicious~

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat and 3/4 cup all-purpose)
• 3/4 cup rolled oats (a.k.a. "old fashioned" oats)
• 1/4 firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder (I forgot to type this when I first posted this recipe! Sorry!!)
  
• 2 tbsp wheat germ (my friend used ground flax seed)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (this made the recipe, in my opinion)
• Pinch fine salt (I used Kosher and it was fine)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 walnut or peanut oil (I used peanut, my friend used unsweetened applesauce)
• Maple Syrup (I had some from Vermont that a student had given me for Christmas...yum

1. Preheat a waffle iron to medium-high (mine just preheats without any temperature levels.
2. Whisk the flour with the oats, sugar, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In another medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, then add the milk, butter, and oil. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, to m ake a batter. Take care not to over work the batter, it's fine if there are a few lumps.
4. Pour 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter per waffle (it depends on the size of your waffle iron) and cook until the outside of the waffle is crisp and inside is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. (The time varies depending on the size and spread of the waffle iron) Serve warm with maple syrup. Repeat with remaining batter.

If you live anywhere in the mid-Atlantic...be safe and enjoy the snow!