The Ultimate Chicken & Waffles

The other day, I pinned an incredible-sounding chicken and waffles cupcake.  Since then, I've had chicken and waffles on the brain. What?  You've not tasted Chicken and Waffles - you know, together?  Well, well, my friend.  Let me break it to you:  You haven't lived.

See?  There's nothing quite like a crisp-tender waffle topped with perfect fried chicken, then doused with real maple syrup.  Trust me.  This is soul food on its purest, divine level.  I had a vision, though, and wanted to up the ante on this great combo - make it an ultimate pairing with some hidden goodies that subtly stroked the palate.  Wow.  Waxing poetic, aren't I?

OK, so here's the deal - I won't lie - this is an involved recipe.  You need to have some equipment (waffle iron and cast-iron skillet), and the commitment, but I promise, it so, so worth it!

My vision was to make not just Chicken & Waffles but Fried Chicken & Butternut-Quinoa Waffles with Cinnamon Chipotle Maple Syrup. But I wanted there to be this baseline of....wait for it...

Bacon!

Oh. Yeah.

Here's how it went...

There's three main parts to this gig:  cooking the ingredients, frying the chicken, and making the waffles.  When it's time to make the waffles, you want the ingredients ready to roll, so it's a good idea to have them done ahead of time.  In fact, it would probably be great to make them a day ahead.  I tend to keep a cup or so of cooked quinoa in the fridge, so I just scooped some out for the waffles.  If you're working from the very beginning,  here's step one:

1)  Cook about 1/4 c quinoa according to package directions, then set aside

Meanwhile, get your butternut squash cooking.  

2)  Peel and remove seeds from a small butternut squash.

3)  Cut into 1" cubes, and place in a saucepan

4)  Dice two slices of bacon, add to squash

5)  Add water to saucepan to almost cover squash/bacon

6)  Cook on medium until squash is fork-tender - about 30 minutes - adding extra water if necessary

7)   Set aside when done

Chicken

Now comes the heavy lifting - frying the chicken.  My husband did the dirty work for me on this one, and I'm sorry I don't have pics, but here's the process we followed:

Ingredients:

• 2 Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or tenders
• 2 c Plain, nonfat yogurt
• 3 c All-purpose flour
• 1 T Sweet paprika
• 1 tsp Cayenne
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Canola oil for frying 

Directions:

1. Whisk together the yogurt, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Place chicken in yogurt, stir to cover, and refrigerate 3-4 hours. 
2. In a large baking dish, combine flour, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.
3. Pour about 3 inches of oil into a deep cast iron skillet; the oil should not come more than half way up the sides of the pot. Put the pot over medium-high heat and heat the oil.
4. To batter the chicken, remove tenders from yogurt, and dredge in flour mixture.
5.  Working in batches, add the chicken tenders to the hot oil, 5 or so at a time and fry, turning the pieces occasionally, until evenly golden brown and cooked through, about 7 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil with tongs and transfer to a rack to drain; repeat to cook the remaining pieces. 
6. Keep the chicken warm while making the waffles by placing it in the oven on the lowest temperature setting.

....and....finally, the Waffles

 This is my adaptation of the Basic Waffles recipe from the all-new Joy of Cooking.  If you have kiddos, and they're anything like mine, they'll laser in on the waffle part of this meal, and want nothing else.  By adding the quinoa and butternut, you can have the satisfaction in knowing they're getting a nutrient-dense vegetable in the squash, and important amino acids in the quinoa.  Win-win.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 c Whole Wheat spelt flour (you can use all-purpose or whole wheat, no worries)
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1/4 c cooked quinoa
• 1/2 c cooked butternut squash, mashed

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron
2. Whisk together in large bowl flour, baking powder, sugar and salt
3. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, butter, and milk *If your melted butter is hot, be sure to temper it in the milk before adding it to the eggs
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients
5. Gently whisk together to combine.
6. Fold in quinoa and butternut *Just the cooked butternut, not the bacon
7. Spoon 1/2 cup batter onto the hot iron, spread slightly, close lid, and bake until iron indicates "ready," or until waffle is golden brown

Syrup

• 1/2 c pure Maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground chipotle 

1. Mix syrup, cinnamon, and chipotle, and warm in a saucepan over low heat until slightly thickened.

 Serving

The idea is to get all the amazing flavors in one bite, so it works well to slice a chicken tender, and place it over a plated waffle.  Cover it with a second waffle if you like, then drizzle the waffles and chicken with a generous amount of syrup.

Enjoy (and try not to swoon!)

Killer Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

It's probably a misnomer to call these "muffins," as they are much more like cupcakes in their similarity to dessert. And, I say "Killer" because they are likely to a) Kill your waistline and b) Torture you with the sight and smell of them. They are THAT good.

I took the recipes of two ladies, and did my own little tweak...you'll see....

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Muffin and Topping adapted from: Annies Eats and Sugar Cooking
Makes 12 regular-size muffins

There's three main steps to this recipe: Cream-cheese filling, muffin base, and crumb topping. Sound rich enough for ya?

For the filling:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbls flour
  
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffin base:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour *I substituted whole wheat flour (because that somehow balances all the sugar in my mind)
  
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon*
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg*
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves*
• 1/2 tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice*
• *I didn't have cloves or pumpkin pie spice on hand, so I used 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon + the nutmeg - the flavor might be a tad more delicate, but we didn't mind
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbls vegetable oil

For the topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar *I subbed in brown sugar - just my preference for something I want to taste "warm and cozy"
  
• 2 1/2 tbsp. flour
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, egg, flour and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Set aside.
2. To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend.
   
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended.
   
4. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
5. To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
6. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Add a dollop of filling on top. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean. *The cream cheese filling might keep the top of the muffin a bit too gooey, so they might need an extra couple of minutes of bake time.
   

What happens when your toddler is kept at bay from warm, gooey muffins so Mommy can photograph...

Don't worry, she won.

Nutrition Round-Up:
1) Uh...well, there's Pumpkin in them....Pumkin is a good source of Vitamins A & E
via here

Can't say I didn't warn you!

Zucchini and Carrot Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Like many other households with children, ours is hectic in the morning. I'd like to say my kids get a perfect, well-rounded meal to start their day, but truly, there's a lot of cold cereal going on. I have found, though, if I keep some sort of "healthy" muffin or easy-to-eat item made, it eases the chaos of "What do you want for breakfast?"

I came across an image for Zucchini and Carrot Bars on (where else?) Pinterest, and thought I'd give it a go.... Yes, yes, they're iced, so I lose some points, BUT

...when else am I going to get my girls to include this in their breakfast?

*Of course, I tweaked it a bit, but here goes:

Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from here)

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts *I used 1 T of flaxseed
  
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose *I used whole wheat flour
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 (8 oz) pkg reduced fat cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest *I used orange zest
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla. Don’t worry about clumps of the brown sugar, those will dissolve as it sits while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Then fold in the carrot, zucchini, and walnuts
2. In another bowl combine add the flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda. Whisk to blend together.
3. Add to flour mixture to the wet mixture. Stir just until combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
4. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
5. Once the cake is cooled prepare the frosting. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the fosting ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Spread or pipe the frosting over the cooled bars. Makes 36 bars.

*Note on substitutions:

• I will generally substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose unless I believe it will affect the integrity of the item. Let's get our fiber, peeps!
• I didn't have any walnuts on hand, but I still wanted the benefit of a) some texture and b) some Omega-3 fatty acids - Flaxseed provides both.
• I subbed orange zest for lemon simply because I think orange better compliments carrot - and I can't resist any reference to a creamsicle.

All part of a Balanced Breakfast, right!

Festive Pancakes

We make pancakes fairly often on weekends. I have a go-to "Basic Pancake Recipe" that has never failed me, even when I've pushed the limits in adding and substituting ingredients. If you try this, I promise you'll never go back to Bisquick, or even worse, frozen Aunt Jemima!

For the Labor Day holiday weekend, I thought it would be fun to make Strawberry "Red," Banana "White" and Blueberry "Blue" whole wheat pancakes.

...had to go with frozen blueberries, as fresh are rare and expensive here in Brazil.

I substitute Whole Wheat flour for All-Purpose, so the pancakes tend to be more dense, but we're good with that. Serve them with honey, and a sprinkling of ground, raw cacau (our latest obsession - more on that later), and you've got one awesome, kinda superfood-ish* breakfast!

Basic Pancake Mix (adapted from here)

• 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour (I substitute most if not all for Whole Wheat Flour)
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1. In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients
2. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk
3. Start with 1 1/4 cups milk, adding up to another 1/4 cup if necessary, as you mix it with the flour
4. Add the two eggs, vanilla, and oil, whisking until mixed but still a little lumpy
5. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium-to-medium low. When hot, ladle pancake mix to the size pancake you like.
6. If adding fruit, sprinkle onto batter.
7. Flip pancake when batter begins to bubble.
8. Serve warm with maple syrup, honey, or commercial syrup.
   

*Raw Honey, Raw Cacau, blueberries, and to some degree bananas are all considered "Superfoods" - rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants