Recipe Round-up: What's for dinner?

That's the BIG QUESTION, isn't it? I try my best to plan ahead, but tend to fail miserably by the second or third dinner. Then I'm left with that BIG QUESTION again. What a pain in my neck! It doesn't help that, even though I love to cook, I'm a lazy cook. I like easy. I like quick and dirty meals that require minimal preparation and thought. I really like recipes that allow me to delegate most of the work to my boys and/or my husband. For recipes that fit the bill, I turn to breakfast! Andrew makes some really amazing waffles, JP's old enough to scramble eggs, and Devin's a pro at getting the bacon onto a cookie sheet and into the oven. All I have to do is sit back and wait.

Now, I'm going to ask you to trust me with this recipe. It might sound a little out there, it might not even sound good to you. This is where the trust comes in. Trust me! These waffles are the BEST. WAFFLES. EVER. Period. End of sentence. Stop looking for another recipe...unless you're the one person on the planet who doesn't like bacon. If that's you, move along. Nothing to see here...

Crispy Cornmeal-Bacon Waffles

Ingredients:

• 8 bacon slices
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal (buy a fine ground cornmeal, please.)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups buttermilk (I use Saco buttermilk powder and make it according to the package directions. Saco buttermilk powder is great! No need to rush out and buy buttermilk on some random Tuesday night)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
• Additional melted butter or nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Additional pure maple syrup
• Brown sugar and or cinnamon/sugar 

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper, lay out out bacon strips. Sprinkle liberally with brown sugar. Feel free to add some cinnamon sugar if you like. We skip the cinnamon, I'm allergic. )^; Put bacon into a cold oven, set the temperature to 400°F and walk away. Come back 15 minutes later. Is the bacon just crisp? Yes? Take it out. No? Walk away for two more minutes, check again. Once it is just crisp, take it out and allow it to cool just enough to avoid burns. Crumble and set aside.

Whisk flour and next 3 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and 3 tablespoons maple syrup in medium bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir just until blended. Fold in 1/4 cup melted butter and crumbled bacon.

Preheat waffle iron (medium heat). Lightly brush waffle iron with melted butter or spray with nonstick spray. Working in batches, spoon batter onto hot waffle iron, spreading evenly over grid. Close waffle iron and cook until waffle is brown, crisp, and set, about 6 minutes, depending on type of waffle iron. Transfer waffles to plates. Serve with maple syrup. Eat, enjoy. Thank me profusely. Name your next child after me. Go ahead, you know you want to...

Join me again next week for another yummy recipe! TTFN!

Leila