Strawberry Vanilla Waffles with Yogurt

Yum

Like many of you our mornings are filled with rushing around getting ready, going to work, and we don't really have time to sit and have breakfast.  We just grab and go.

Oh, but the weekends are a different story!  MGG loves a big breakfast on the weekends.  Some hearty food to start the day off right.  A little leisurely time that we spend together before the demands of chores, exercising, and hopefully some playtime calls.

This past weekend was MLK holiday so we had an extra day off, which was wonderful!  The weather was in the 80's which is not typical of January in Southern California (who said there wasn't global warming with this wacky weather).  So I decided to make use of some fresh strawberries MGG brought home from Costco the other night and make Strawberry Vanilla Waffles with Yogurt.  A nice light springtime style dish to celebrate the nice weather.

STRAWBERRY VANILLA WAFFLES WITH YOGURT

These waffles are bursting with strawberries inside, along with a hint of vanilla.  When you place the strawberries inside the waffles you get the flavor of roasted strawberries, deep concentrated flavor and little more sweetness. Oh my, heaven in a waffle.  Then you top them with a creamy vanilla based yogurt and all is right on a beautiful morning!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend, and make sure to try the waffles to bring a touch of springtime to you winter.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Vanilla Waffles with Yogurt

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt

Preheat waffle iron. 

Wash and slice your fresh strawberries.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Add flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla.  Stir just until moistened.  Add in 1 cup of the sliced strawberries and fold into the batter. 

Spray the heated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.

Remove from waffle iron and keep warm.  Continue making waffles until batter is gone.  To Serve:  Add a dollop of vanilla or plain yogurt and top with slice strawberries.  

Tip:  Flash freeze any leftovers, then store in a freezer bag up to 3 months.  To reheat, place frozen waffle in the toaster. Toast until thawed and heated through.

Tropical Sunset Smoothie

Yum

Last year for our anniversary we took a wonderful trip to Hawaii.  I'm a beach lover at heart and love all the wonderful things that Hawaii has to offer such as tropical weather, hiking, flowers, beaches, and food.

More specifically I love all the tropical flavors you can get there but one of my all time favorite fruits is the pineapple.

Since it's a hot, hot summer and I'm missing Hawaii I thought I would make a Tropical Sunset Smoothie to bring me back.  We had a smoothie bar in our resort and we loved to stop by there and grab a smoothie made with fresh fruit and sipping on it while watching the waves crash on the lava rocks.  

This is my ode to Hawaii, made with juicy sweet pineapple, and plump strawberries which give it that sunset feel.  This Tropical Sunset Smoothie completely reminds me of Hawaii.  I can feel the trade winds blowing and total relaxation is not far away!

Smoothies are simple to make.  All you need is a blender, (I use this one) fresh fruit, yogurt, and some ice.  Poof!  Take yourself virtually to the tropics with my Tropical Sunset Smoothie.  It's a perfectly refreshing drink made for hot summers.

Enjoy!

Tropical Sunset Smoothie

serves 2


1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
6 whole strawberries
6 oz light vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 cup ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Pour into glasses and serve with a straw.

This post contains affiliate links

Nectarine-Blueberry Parfaits

 

It's summer time and the feeling is easy...

Sitting outside on these mild summer nights we've been having is just Heaven! Taking time out to relax with family after a meal helps to wind down the day and slow down the pace. 

We just love long summer evenings. To top of a scrumptious dinner I like to serve a light dessert with some kind of fresh summer fruit. Perfect for summer, and lighter and healthier than our standard ice cream cone! MGG is a fanatic for having a little something sweet, which is usually ice cream. Can't blame him, I'm right there with him too! 

These parfaits are the perfect solution to a light dessert. The creamy yogurt, crunchy granola, and flavors of nectarine and blueberries go so well together. It's a definite winner in my book! These would be wonderful for breakfast, or served at brunch. Kids love them too. You can also vary the fruit used. Peaches would be excellent and are so juicy right now.

What combinations would you choose?

Enjoy!

Nectarine-Blueberry Parfaits

serves: 2

2 6 oz cartons lite vanilla yogurt
1 cup granola
1 ripe nectarine, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Place 1/2 carton of yogurt into each of two dessert glasses or bowls; top with half of the granola Top with half of the nectarines, half of the blueberries. Repeat layers with the remaining yogurt, granola, nectarines, and blueberries.

Tzatziki - Yogurt Dip with Garlic, Mint, and Dill

To go along with our Greek Memorial Day Menu we have to have an all time favorite.

Tzatziki

If you've had Greek food them I'm sure you tried Tzatziki.  It's a tangy yogurt based dip made with cool cucumbers, garlic, mint and dill.  Just perfect for with wedges of pita bread.

Don't stop there though!  Use this wonderful dip as a spread as well.  On top of the Chicken Souvlaki...yum, yum!  Use it inside a pita pocket with a salad or chicken, or lamb tucked inside. Here's MGG's favorite way to eat it.  You take a piece of pita bread and put some rice on it.  Then add some Chicken Souvlaki and top it with the Tzatziki, fold it up and take a big bite! 

Use it as a dressing on a nice Greek salad.  The uses are endless!

I love this dip...straight up or combined with other foods!  Of all the dips I think this is the best during the summer.  The coolness from the cucumbers pleases your hot palate.  

Tomorrow I'll show how to make a fresh, straight from the garden salad with a wonderful feta dressing!

Enjoy!




Yogurt Dip with Garlic, Mint, and Dill (Tzatziki)
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles Series, Small Plates, by Joanne Weir (Time-Life Books, 1998)

2 cups plain strained yogurt (such as Fage)
About 1/2 English cucumber, peeled, halved and seeded
Salt, to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
1 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 2 to 3 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Using the large holes on a handheld grater-shredder, grate enough cucumber to measure 1 cup. Spread out the grated cucumber on paper towels, salt lightly and let drain for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint, dill, olive oil and lemon juice, to taste. Stir to mix well, then season with salt.

Transfer to a bowl and serve.  

 

Yogurt Waffles with Honey Cream

Waffles, Waffles, Waffles

My mom is the waffle queen.  She LOVES them.  She doesn't like them overly sweet.  She likes them with pecans, and will take them any day over pancakes.  She even loves them for dinner!

Me?  Now, I'm more of a pancake person.  Don't get me wrong, I love me a good waffle.  It just doesn't get top billing for my favorite breakfast treat.

One of the best waffles I've had was at a little beach restaurant up in Santa Barbara.  It was a HUGE Belgian waffle topped with a gazillion berries, sprinkled with powdered sugar.  YUM!

So the other day I was looking around a favorite cooking store (heaven!) and spotted a nice waffle maker on sale, which reminded me that I have one and need to use it more!  Next to it was a book called "Waffles - sweet and savory recipes for every meal".  What caught my eye was the to-die-for waffle on the cover (can you say Smores?) and I promptly bought the book.  It was out of my control.  Really.

So in looking through the many many wonderful recipes I found one that I'd like to try first.  Made with yogurt, it appealed to my sense of being healthier! (I keep telling myself that) Less sugar, not laden with syrup.  Just a dollop of some honey cream.  Sounds good huh?

Well, I have to tell you these are the most tender waffles I've ever made.  Better than buttermilk.  I swear.  You HAVE to try them and see for yourself.  I made a large batch and MGG and I each had one.  The honey cream was tangy and a little sweet.  Just perfect on top of the most tender waffle.  Since we had leftovers I separated them into quarters and froze them.  That way we can pop them in the toaster during the week and have a nice quick breakfast treat, with some peanut butter or cream cheese on top!  They were perfect even frozen!!  My Mom would even be proud.

Do yourself, and your family, a favor.....make these waffles!

Yogurt Waffles with Honey Cream

Adapted from the cookbook “Waffles” by Tara Duggan

Makes 4 waffles

For the Honey Cream:

1 c plain yogurt

¼ c honey

Waffles:

2 large eggs

1 c plain yogurt

½ - ¾ c 2% milk

½ c canola oil

2 T honey

1 t vanilla

1 ½ c flour

1 T brown sugar

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

¼ t salt

Honey for serving

In a bowl mix together yogurt and honey to make the honey cream.  Set aside.

Preheat waffle maker.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk (1/2 c to start), oil, honey and vanilla.  In another large bowl mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center and pour in the egg mixture.  Whisk until mostly smooth, there may be a few lumps.  If batter seems too thick (mine was) add another splash or two of milk and stir to combine.

Ladle batter into the waffle maker, spreading batter to the edges.  Cook until done about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from waffle maker and serve right away, or keep warm in a low temp oven.  Repeat making the remaining waffles.   Top with a dollop of honey cream and a drizzle of honey.


Linked to the following parties:  Weekend Potluck

Berry Parfaits

Anyone want a snack?

How about a KISS?

I often eat yogurt as a healthy snack during the day.  It's tangy creaminess makes me feel like I'm cheating.  I usually get the "lite" version which has less sugar and carbs. 

When it starts to get berry season I crave fruit.  Walking through the produce section of the store makes me long for summer!  The other day I spotted the first ripe strawberries of the season (locally grown!) and some gorgeous blueberries.

I had to have them....so I did.

Now this is just the easiest thing to make.  You just need 2 individual yogurt cups (any flavor you choose), some cut up strawberries, blueberries, and some Cheerios cereal for a little crunch!

Here's how you put this together.  Take two pretty glasses.  Add 1/2 container of vanilla yogurt in each glass.  Add some sliced strawberries, blueberries, and some cereal.  Add another layer of yogurt using 1/2 of the container per glass.  I used strawberry.  Add more cereal, sliced strawberries, and top with  blueberries.

KISS - keep it super simple!

Enjoy your snack!

Berry Parfaits

Serves 2

1 individual container of vanilla "lite" yogurt

1 individual container of strawberry "lite" yogurt

sliced strawberries

fresh blueberries

Cheerios cereal

Layer yogurt with cereal and fruit in a glass. Alternating layers with different flavors of yogurt, ending with fruit on the top.