Changes

Well, might as well let the cat out of the bag.

Come December, there will be another tiny mouth to feed around here. And since I'm currently in the throws of being either constantly hungry or exhausted or both, I might not be able to try a new recipe every week like I have been previously. Not to mention when I'm pregnant I regain the palate of a 4 year old...But my hope is to get back into the groove more once I get my energy back.

I did try a fruit dip recipe that I brought to Sunday dinner at my in-laws this past week. Here's the link, it was really good and simple. I can see myself making it more throughout the summer because I can't resist fresh raspberries...really almost all summer fruits.

Buttermilk Waffles

Give me breakfast foods any time of day and I'm happy.

And since I've been craving brinner and looking for a good waffle recipe, I made these.

I didn't take pictures of the steps to making the batter as I wasn't sure if I'd end up posting this, but it was all easy. Wet, dry, mix. Add whipped egg whites. This does take a bit more time than usual due to whipping the egg whites, but if you just get them going in a stand mixer while you get all the other ingredients together it should be quicker. I should have done that, but oh well.

Here's the final batter:

It was definitely light and airy. I had to turn my waffle iron up to maximum heat in order to keep them from turning out soggy. I've never been able to get a crisp waffle with our current iron, so I'm starting to wonder if it's part of my problem. These were really tasty though. The recipe says you can use a regular waffle iron or a Belgian waffle iron with this, and I'd like to try it with a bit better of an iron to see if I can get them nice and crispy on the outside. I wouldn't call this a fail though, I'm keeping the recipe to hopefully try again. Taste is the main important factor and these do not disappoint! 3 stars.

Baked Garlic Parmesan Potato Wedges

I'm not entirely sure what persuaded me to try these outside of having all the ingredients on hand and a craving for fries. Specifically Red Robin fries...oh goodness. Somebody take me there ASAP.

Anyway, this was another super simple recipe. Cut up your potatoes, season them, then pop them in the oven.

Mine baked for the full 35 minutes, and I was worried about them being over seasoned. Surprisingly enough, they really weren't over seasoned. They were a little heavy on the garlic, but not awful. Which is saying something from me who hates garlic. I'm coming around to it. Husband thought they were a little heavy on the parmesan as well, but I disagree. So next time I'd probably decrease the garlic powder by half and as for the cheese...I'm not sure. 3 stars.

Mexican Chocolate Brownies with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! AKA excuse to eat Mexican food day! I thought about trying another enchilada recipe today, (I still have one I'm curious about) but ultimately decided I wanted chocolate instead, so these were up.

I admit I don't generally make brownies from scratch, but these weren't hard. I only used 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne as I wasn't sure about the heat.

Here's my melted chocolate, butter, sugar, and salt.

After I added the eggs and vanilla.

This is what it looked like after I added the dry ingredients. This turned out to be a super thick batter.

I pretty much never buy parchment paper, so I just sprayed my pan really well with Pam.

Coming out of the oven, they looked like this.

Without the parchment paper, I let them cool completely in the pan. Making the frosting was easy, and I didn't frost them as thick as the original blogger did.

This frosting is rad. It is SO good. It's like a cinnamon roll without the actual roll. Getting the first brownie out of the pan was difficult, but that's how it always is. I really liked these. At first I found myself wanting a bit more heat, but then it hit me. I don't think I'd increase the cayenne to 1/2 teaspoon, I like the subtlety these had. It's not a smack you in the face kind of heat, it comes on slowly and surprisingly, these weren't overly cinnamon-y. The cinnamon adds a nice warmth. And seriously, I would keep this recipe just for the cinnamon buttercream, but I found myself being pleasantly surprised with the brownies as well. 4 stars, I'm keeping this one. Olé!