Let go of the Eggo!

As crazy busy as I have been lately, I am trying to get back into the things that I enjoy.  I miss cooking exciting meals and trying new things and taking care of my family the way I like to.  I just have to force myself to stay on track and be diligent.  The kids and I went to the grocery store yesterday.  I am now armed with the items I need to cook (mostly) what I want to feed this family.  The organic fruit & veggie delivery will arrive today too. 
Last night as I was cleaning up before heading to bed I noticed ripe bananas.  I also knew that I bought and extra container of buttermilk to make a giant batch of waffles.  Instead of just stumbling up to bed, I took out two sticks of butter so they would be warmed by the time I hit the kitchen in the morning.  As soon as I finally got my butt out of bed & ready (another thing I need to be diligent about - I looooove laying in bed in the mornings!) I started right in on baking some banana bread and prepping for the waffles.  Now we have waffles for the rest of the month for busy school mornings!

One of the things I do is undercook them slightly.  They are thick!  When I take them out of the freezer on a school morning, I pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds then into the toaster.  If they are fully cooked, they get too done in the toaster.  I've heard of people using the waffle maker to heat theirs up but that's too much hassle for me in the morning!

I ended up with 27 waffles.  There are now 22 wrapped waffles (we ate 5 for breakfast as I made them) in Ziploc bags in my freezer, ready to be taken out as needed and warmed up.  They are sooo good too. Not only are they cheaper and homemade but they taste SO much better than the frozen grocery store waffles. Mine are definitely bigger than Eggo's too so if you have a smaller waffle maker, you may end up with more from this recipe.  I figured it out and these cost me a grand total of about $3.80.  I say about because I didn't figure exactly how much the dry ingredients other than the flour cost.  I added $.25 because how much can 1/2 tsp of salt or 4 tsp. of baking powder really cost?   So under $4 for 27 waffles!

Buttermilk Waffles

8 T butter (1 stick), melted & cooled

4 Cups Buttermilk

4 eggs, separated

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tsp. sugar (I've substituted with agave syrup)

Melt butter & let cool.  Pour 4 cups buttermilk into large mixing bowl.  Separate eggs, putting whites into smaller mixing bowl and add yolks to buttermilk.  Add melted butter to buttermilk & egg yolks - mix.  Add dry ingredients and mix just until blended.  Beat egg whites until fluffy or stiff and add to batter, folding in just until blended.  (This step is worth it for a really light, fluffy tender waffle).  Do not overbeat batter.  Cook until almost done and let cool on wire rack.  Once cooled, wrap each waffle in plastic wrap and put in large ziploc bag.  Freeze.

Now I'm hoping to get a menu plan done for at least the rest of the week.  Look at me go!