Grandma Tootie's Famous Waffles

My grandma Tootie was an amazing cook. She grew up on a farm so she cherished fresh food & cooked according to the seasons. She passed away a few weeks ago on her birthday. She celebrated her 88th birthday with Jesus, her mom & dad, sister & brother. I'm sure she made them waffles the next morning =)

During her final month, we had many fun conversations and sweet reminiscing. I asked her what was her favorite thing that her mom made. She said "Cakes! She made the best cakes." And my grandma made THE best waffles ever.

Here is her recipe. Passed down from our Swedish ancestors, generation to generation. And yes! I'm sharing it. I don't hide recipes, I share them! You know that. =)

I will tell you one of her baking secrets too. Always use fresh baking powder!

3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
2 cups buttermilk
1/3 C cup oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
1 Tbs sugar

Mix all ingredients. Beat egg whites (separate) and fold in (absolutely critical step for a light fluffy waffle).

Enjoy! She liked them with ligonberries or strawberries. How do you enjoy your waffles? Breakfast or dessert or both?

French Toast Stratta by M. Lazaro

This is a terrific brunch meal. I served it at Bella's dedication. Delicious. Always gets rave reviews. What's great is that you make it the night before, so the day you're serving all you have to do is put it in the oven.

Serves at least 6 adults.

1 loaf white bread
8 oz cream cheese
10 eggs
1.5 cups half and half cream
.25 cup syrup
.5 cup melted margarine

1. Take off crusts and Cube bread and place 1/2 in greased 9x13 pan.
2. Dot cream cheese and cut into small cubes.
3. Layer w/ remaining bread.
4. Bowl: Combine eggs, cream, syrup and margarine. Mix well.
5. Pour mixture over bread.
6. Cover and place in fridge overnight.
7. Bake @ 350 for 45-50 minutes (keep checking).

Monkey Bread

We eat this every christmas. Not low in fat, but not bad if eaten once-a-year! =)
2 packages of pillsbury biscuits, cut into 1/8s and make into balls.
1C brown sugar
1/2C white sugar
1.5 sticks of butter
2T cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a ziploc bag place *white* sugar & cinnamon
3. In a bowl mix butter & *brown* sugar; microwave until melted.
4. In batches of 5-7 balls/time, place them in ziploc bag & shake until covered. Place in bottom of well-greased bundt pan. Do this until all balls are covered and placed in bundt pan.
5. Pour butter/brown sugar mixture over the top of balls in pan.
6. Bake for 35min.

Easy Chocolate Croissants

1 8-count tube refrigerated crescent rolls
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate

Heat oven to 375° F.
Unroll the dough and separate it into 8 triangles.
Place about 10 chocolate chips on the bottom third of each triangle and roll the dough up around the chocolate.
Transfer the croissants to a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper, if desired, for easier cleanup).
Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: Makes 8 croissants

Russian Crepes by R. Bavin

This is a *wonderful* crepe recipe from one of my COM 100 students this fall. She's Russian and was doing a presentation on Norway, so she made these crepes. Come to find out, her recipe was identical to one of my Norweigan students.

So you can have them as crepes or eat them like thin Swedish/Norweigan pancakes, but they're great any way you cook them. :)

2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
2 Tbs of vegetable oil
... mix all together in a bowl; mixture should be liquidy not doughy.

Use a frying pan. Use Pam or vegetable oil to oil up the frying pan. Pour liquid mixture (about 1/4 cup) into heated pan and spread evenly through pan; should be thin. Turn crepe over when bottom is golden brown. Both sides should have a golden color when it is done. (takes about 2-3 min in a hot pan for each crepe).

Flip onto plate; spread unsalted butter on crepe right away (while crepe is hot so butter melts) and spread evenly. Sprinkle sugar over butter and roll crepe. Eat and Enjoy!
You can also put fruits, honey, cream cheese, etc. into crepe instead of just sugar and butter! (Whatever the eater prefers).

Zucchini Bread by Stacy Ford

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour (spoon in)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Mix wet ingredients first
2. Stir in dry
3. Bake in two 8 inch greased loaf pans @ 325 for 60 to 80 minutes

Lemon Blueberry Biscuits by Aunt Chris

Makes 12 biscuits

2 c flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 C melted butter
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 C blueberries
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
8 oz. lemon yogurt
1 egg, beaten

Glaze: 1/2 C powder sugar, 1 Tlbs. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. lemon peel

1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Combine butter, egg , yogurt and lemon peel.
3. Mix the two together and add blueberries.
4. Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake @ 400, 15-18min

Put on glaze while warm.

Fun Kid's Sandwiches

Here’s a new idea for a fun sandwich of anytime of the day…stolen from Parents
Heat up waffle iron
Spread a T of whipped cream cheese on a slice of bread, top w/ a banana and strawberry slices
Spread thin layer of raspberry jam on another piece of bread.
Sandwich together
Spray waffle iron w/ cooking spray
Place in iron and cook 1 minute.
Looks so pretty!