Greek Yogurt Cherry Waffles

C is obsessed with waffles. OBSESSED. He wants them ALL THE TIME. For breakfast. For lunch. Anytime. However, I've never understood the appeal of the frozen waffle. They look so dense and flat and boring. As a result, I'm always experimenting with different waffle recipes that are appealing and tasty. This was a great Movables recipe that uses flavored Greek yogurt as the flavoring base. They were light and fluffy with lots of flavor. Best of all, the freeze beautifully! Now THAT's a frozen waffle I can get behind.

You need:

3 large eggs

1 c. whole milk

1 c. black cherry Greek yogurt (or any flavored Greek Yogurt of your choice)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. honey

2 c. flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk, yogurt, vanilla, butter, and honey. Whisk until creamy. In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix until evenly combined. Cook according to your waffle iron's directions. 

Granola

THIS is a really crunchy, yummy granola.

We've started following "Farm to Family Table" on the PBS App, and as a result we've tried out a lot of healthy dinners and treats that are simple, clean, and healthy. The kids were bowled over by how good this granola looked, so we tried it out this afternoon. It did not disappoint, and it let me continue to cook through my freezer and pantry as we desperately attempt to have as little as possible left in the deep freeze when we move. NOTE: We doubled up on the fruit because of C's nut allergy.

You need:

2.5 c. old fashioned (NOT quick) oats
1 c. raw nuts
1 c. mixed dried fruits (I used dried cherries, cranberries, and blueberries(
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. applesauce
1 tbsp. coconut or vegetable oil


Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix the first seven ingredients in a bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients. Add to the dry mix. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Spread the granola over the parchment in a single layer. Baker for 30 minutes, tossing every ten minutes.

Super Moist Banana Wee-Breads

Where did all of these bananas come from?!

Right. Thank you, Trader Joe's, for your fun-sized, kid carts.

Don't get me wrong - shopping with A and C is a lot of fun. We get up early every Saturday morning and head out together to do our shopping. They know each aisle well, and they can spot the hidden buffalo and pick out good looking avocados with enthusiasm.

Just don't shop with them when you are recovering from the flu. And bronchitis. And you can barely see straight. Because when you say, to yourself, "ok, so, we need bananas," you'll put a bunch in your cart. And so will your eldest. And so will your baby boy.

And then you have a lot of bananas.

They browned and ripened faster than I could eat them, and we had already indulged in enough gingerbread cookies to make a batch of V's banana bars. That's when I thought to turn, again, to The Mom 100 Cookbook. Because every mom has, at one point, been stuck with a lot of ripe bananas.

I've been making banana bread for years, but I'm always interested in new recipes that change things up a bit - different spices, different ratios - so I decided to tweak her "moist banana muffins" recipe a bit. The original calls for 12 large muffins, but I have this great Pampered Chef four-mini loaf pan which is great for freezing the extra three loaves for future munching, so I used that instead of a muffin pan and baked them for 30 minutes. However, if you want to make muffins, bake for 23-25 minutes. If you want to use one large loaf pan, bake for 45 minutes.


You need:
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 very ripe bananas
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt (or buttermilk or sour cream or heavy cream)
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pan. In a medium bowl, mix the first three ingredients. In your mixer (set with the paddle attachment), mix the sugar and butter until well-blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Mix in the bananas, yogurt, zest, and cinnamon. Slowly, mix in by hand your dry ingredients until just combined (don't over mix!) Pour into your baking receptacle of choice and bake according to what's above. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.