Eggo Recipe Contest Failures

Since I'm pretty much broke all the time from trying to buy a house I've been entering contests and giveaways multiple times a day.  I'm a bit addicted because so far I have won an XBOX 360 and some diet supplement (which I really need b/c being fat is depressing).

I also figured that I'm already cooking and baking all the time because we're broke and can't eat out and of course to have something to blog about that I should make it worth my while.  I made up the following two two recipes for the Eggo Waffle Off contest.  They didn't win and they were not even finalists but that doesn't mean that they should be shunned.  I thought they were very yummy and so did my Husband and roommate who devoured them. 

My first creation was a Monte Cristo sandwich made with Eggo Waffles (of course!).   I made the whole box of waffles into sandwiches so when I wrote the recipe that's how many servings I made.  Should have probably made it a one sandwich serving.  Probably should have spelled Cristo right too.  My facebook friends kept going eww!  crisco?!   Yep.  Not good.

So here is that recipe if you wanna give it a try.  My husband still asks me to make these for him so it's a good recipe.  Not interested?  Skip on to the next loser....

Eggo Waffle Monte Cristo Sandwiches

10 Eggo Homestyle Waffles, defrosted

30 slices deli sliced ham

30 slices deli sliced turkey

5 slices Swiss cheese

5 TBS Dijon mustard

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 TBS all-purpose flour

5 TBS unsalted butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

5 TBS raspberry preserves (optional)

1.Defrost 10 Eggo Homestyle waffles by placing in microwave for 15 seconds.
2.Prepare batter by whisking together eggs, milk and flour. Pour batter into a shallow pan such as a pie pan.
3.For each sandwich spread 1 TBS Dijon mustard on one side of Eggo waffle, top with alternating slices of 3 slices turkey and 3 slices ham and then top with 1 slice Swiss cheese and another Eggo waffle to complete sandwich. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make a total of 5 sandwiches.
4.Dip each side of 1 sandwich into egg batter, saturating the waffles with the egg batter.
5.Melt 1 TBS of butter in non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When butter begins to bubble place

sandwich into pan. 6.Cook each sandwich 2 minutes (or until golden brown), flip and cook 2 more minutes (or until golden brown).
7.Repeat steps 5-6 with each sandwich.
8.Sprinkle each sandwich with powder sugar and serve with dollop of raspberry preserves.
 

This one is actually my favorite of the two.  The picture just came out so pretty and the flavors are just so much more adult and sophisticated.  I found the goat cheese at Aldi of all places.  They have had a really good selection of cheeses lately.  This sandwich would also be divine prepared with brie instead of the goat cheese.  This one probably lost because it's just too fancy.  Well, that's what I tell myself anyways.

Eggo Apple & Cheese Panini

2 Eggo Homestyle Waffles, thawed
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 tsp dried crushed rosemary
1/2 apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 oz honey goat cheese, crumbled

1. Defrost Eggo waffles in microwave set to 50% power for 30 seconds.
2. Combine olive oil and rosemary in small bowl.
3. Heat non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
4. Brush one side of waffle with olive oil mixture and place oiled side down in hot pan. Arrange apple slices and then cheese on waffle. Top with remaining waffle. Brush top of sandwich with olive oil mixture.
5. Press sandwich with spatula as it cooks. Flip when bottom is golden brown (about 1-2 minutes). Flip sandwich and repeat.
6. Sandwich can be cooked in panini press if you have one.

 Makes 1 sandwich (1 serving).

Pulled Pork Pies

Yesterday was a crazy day.  My husband and I have decided to try and buy a house because we're tired of our rent in our rinky dink apartment going up every year.  So yesterday, right after work, we went to check out a prospective house.  We really wanted it to be the 'one' due to the fact that it's on a street called Heatherstone.  My name is Heather and Peter's name means rock so what a coincidence!

Unfortunately, it just isn't meant to be so I bought these flowers instead.  I was a bit bummed out and they cheered me up immensely.  They don't have frames glued to walls, water damage and locks in odd places.  The house had potential but I don't have the time of money to make it happen.  I'm hoping another home will come up for sale in the same neighborhood.  The one we we're really interested in on the same street had a ginormous lien on it.  Good luck selling that one is all I have got say about that!

We'll that's what I have been up to lately.  I never imagined that buying a home could be so time consuming.  Thank goodness I have Peter, his parents and mine to pick for advice!  It's definitely not like cooking and baking which come naturally to me.

I had to come up with this recipe because I made too much pulled pork.  My husband assured me that their could never be too much meat, especially pulled pork and assured me that it would get eaten.  Thank goodness I doubted him and cut that flippin' roast in half or we'd still be eating it!

Part of me wanted to make the pie crust from scratch but since most of me is lazy I nixed that idea.  Besides, crescent roll doll is infinitely more superior (unless it involves strawberries and rhubarb).

The only sad thing about this recipe is that I am now out of pulled pork and will have to wait until I make too much again to eat these.  Sadness. Good thing there is another pork roast in the freezer.  Yay!

Pulled Pork Pies
by Heather Hutchinson @ Dietetic Sinners

For Pulled Pork:
1 lb pork roast
1 can rootbeer
1 12 oz bottle of BBQ sauce ( I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's but you could even make your own)
1 sweet onion, sliced

Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker.  Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 5-6 hours or until pork is tender and shreds easily.

For Pies:
2 cups pulled pork from above recipe
2 cooked & diced Yukon Gold potatoes (pierce with fork all over and then microwave 4-5minutes or until slightly soft)
1/4 cup diced sweet onion
1 clove garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough
1 tbs butter, melted
1tsp SazónGoya Con Azafran seasoning

Saute pulled pork, potatoes, onion, and garlic in medium non stick pan.  Cook until onion is tender and the pork and potatoes have browned.

Assemble pies by first unwrapping crescent rolls.  Do not separate into triangles but into squares by pressing dotted lines together.  You should now have 4 crescent squares.  Assemble squares unto sheet pan spared with cooking spray.

Place 1/3 to 3/4 cup pork mixture onto one side of each square.  Top pork with a couple tablespoons of the shredded cheese.  Fold dough over pork mixture and use a fork to press/crimp edges together.  Using a small paring knife to cut holes to vent.

Melt butter in small bowl and stirin Sazón seasoning.  Brush mixture onto pies.

Bake pies in preheated 350°F degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

My Thanksgiving 2012

This Thanksgiving I decided that I didn't want to make a ton of food even though I really wanted all the traditional trimmings.  I also didn't want a ton of leftovers!  I can only eat so much day old turkey.

Peter and me love the Thanksgiving sandwich that they have at the Earl of Sandwich only around holidays.  It's got all the flavors of Thanksgiving in a convenient sandwich package.

I'm Too Tired to Cook Cheeseburgers

When ever I come home too tired to cook and too tempted to eat out I make these burgers.  I especially like making these burgers when K-Mart is running a deal where you but 1lb ground beef and get the buns and cheese for free.  Dinner for $2.99?  Heck yeah!  Add chips or fries and lots of pickles and it's a whole meal for less then eating at McDonalds.

These burgers taste similar to McDonalds or maybe Whitecastle.  In fact you could cut them smaller and use slider buns if you wanted.

Gleaning {Cabbage Sloppy Joes}

When I joined Americorp I was so excited. I just knew I'd get to learn, meet new people and do exciting (i.e. interesting things). I was able to meet so many new people and experience different cultures, food and points of view. I just know that if I had stayed in the Midwest I'd be a much boring person (and still single!).

I served in Apopka, Florida (Foliage Capital of the World!) at a place called the Hope Community Center. They work a lot with migrant workers and immigrants. I didn't get to spend much time at the HCC because I was placed at a domestic violence shelter some distance away. While I love working at the DV Shelter getting to spend time at the HCC was a great experience too. Every other Friday was Americorp meeting time. Good times! Most times it was an oppurtunity to kind of relax and enjoy each others company. A nice change of pace from our placements for some of us. Sometimes we did service learning projects as a group. Those were fun too.

Couldn't find any of us gleaning, found this one though ala 2009

 The one I remember most is gleaning cabbage. Gleaning is collecting leftovers from a farmer's fields after the harvest. You would be amazed at how much food is leftover to just rot in the fields of be turned over to become fertilizer for next crop. I think we collected over 2 tons of cabbage for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Picking cabbage is back breaking work. It's done by hand with a little knife and gloves. Gloves that soon become useless because the cabbage is moist from the overnight dew or rain. I had blisters on my hands and such an achy back! Picking veggies and fruits is not good times. I once picked peaches for a month one summer up north for pay. Not fun. Besides the aches and pains and low pay there is also the ick factor. As in the crop has been sprayed with pesticides at some point.

I learned a lot about where are food comes from, who picks it and the environmental and health impacts of producing food. look up info about Lake Apopka sometime. Scary!

Moving on...we got to take some of our cabbage home! So I have a few pounds of cabbage and no idea what to make with it. Cole slaw. Sure, but not my favorite thing. So nothing to do but Google cabbage recipes. This recipe came up. I can't remember where it I found it. Probably recipes.com. So I apologize for lack of credit. Thanks. It's yummy.

For this recipe you'll need half a head of shredded cabbage. I recommend using your knife and cutting board. My food processor shreds it too fine. Also needed: green pepper, onion, ground beef, ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, and slat and pepper. It's a lot of ingredients but this Sloppy Joe isn't from a can.

In a large saucepan cook the beef,onion and green pepper over medium heat. Drain off excess fat. Icky!

Add cabbage. Cook till just crisp tender.

In a small bowl (or container or something else container-ish!), combine ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard. Stir well.

Add to meat and cabbage and than cover pan and let simmer about 10 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

I like to serve on hamburger buns with a side of mac & cheese. Try this recipe from the Pioneer Woman. It's so good!

Cabbage Sloppy Joe's
from recipe.com?

1lb ground beef
1 1/2 cup finely shredded cabbage
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup ketchup
3 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS white vinegar
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBS yellow mustard
1 tsp salt
1 dash pepper

In large saucepan, cook the beef, cabbage, onion, and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are crisp tender; drain.  Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until cabbage is tender. 

2009-2010

 

Beans, Beans the Musical Fruit...

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a awhile.  Mr. Penguin and I will be moving in about two weeks so we have been very busy packing and cleaning up our old place.  We're excited to be moving into our own place with no roommates but also saddened as well.  Mr.  Foo-foo Cuddley Poops was a wonderful roommate but we are soon to be a married couple and I can see how that could be annoyingly bothersome.

Disney Dining: Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café

Frontierland - Magic Kingdom
Counter Service

Thursday was Veteran’s Day and as a result I got a day off from work. Unfortunately, Peter, my fiancé, did not. But as luck would have it I happened to have an unused free admission voucher to a Disney park of my choice for volunteering earlier in the year. This meant that I could go pester my sweetie while he worked (and he could hook me up with a Fastpass or two!) and enjoy a wonderful day in the park.