Protein Waffles

Waffles are a great breakfast food, but if you don't add a little protein into the mix, they can leave you feeling hungry again much too early in the day.  These waffles have 175 calories per serving, plus 19g of carbs, 8gg of protein, and 7g of fat.  If you add in some yogurt or spread with some peanut (or other nut) butter, you can increase the protein further.  Plus, they're delicious!

Protein Waffles
(14 servings)

1 very ripe medium banana
1 c. 2% milkfat cottage cheese
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 c. milk
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. coconut oil

3/4 c. oat flour
1/2 c. hemp hearts
1 1/4 c. flour
4 t. baking powder

In a blender, combine all wet ingredients (listed before break).  Add in half of dry ingredients, pulse a few times to incorporate, then add rest of dry ingredients and blend.  Allow batter to rest about 5 minutes.  Heat and grease waffle iron.  Makes 7 round Belgian waffles (14 servings).

**If you don't have hemp seeds/hearts, increase oat flour to 1 1/4 c. total.  Or substitute whole wheat flour for the oat flour.  Omitting the hemp seeds will change the protein and fiber content.  You must have 2 1/2 cups of dry flour for the batter.

Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

As promised, I'm writing about another of my freezer cooking recipes.  I do want to state out-right that I didn't find a flaw with the recipe, just that for our family, the recipe just doesn't seem to fit us well.  I will definitely use this recipe for entertaining (read: Super Bowl-type party), but I will not be adding it into my regular rotation.  Though the kids absolutely loved it, I just don't find it versatile enough to be a meal staple for us.

Sweet and Tangy meatballs
1 bottle barbeque sauce
1 bottle/jar of (grape) jelly
40 meatballs
1 c. chopped onions

Combine all ingredients and divide between two bags.  Lay flat to freeze.  Cook in crockpot on low for 2-4 hours.  Serve with rice or noodles.

Macaroni and Cheese

I made this for our toddler, so I omitted salt and pepper from the cooking process.  Also, since I used Parmesan, you would need significantly less salt, as it is a very salty cheese.  I used 1 1/2 c. cheddar, 1 1/2 c. Parmesan, and 1 c. cubed American.

1 lb elbow macaroni

1 stick butter

1/2 c. flour

1 c. milk (plus additional, if needed)

1/4-1/2 c. sour cream

1 Tbsp. (dijon) mustard

4 c. cheese

Breadcrumbs (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Thyme (optional)

Cook macaroni 3-5 minutes shy of al dente.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish and preheat oven to 350º.  In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat; whisk in flour.  Continue whisking until roux turns a golden brown (this is important, otherwise your mac and cheese will taste like flour); slowly whisk in milk, continuing to whisk to break up lumps.  When mixture is smooth, add in sour cream, dijon, and salt and pepper.  Using a spoon, stir in cheese and continue stirring until mixture is smooth and melty - you may need to add more milk to create a thick sauce.  Drain pasta completely and transfer to baking dish; pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir to combine.  Sprinkle top of pasta with breadcrumbs (if you want a crunchy top) and season lightly with thyme.  Bake for at least 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

To reheat, moisten slightly with chicken broth or milk and microwave in 45 second intervals until desired temperature is reached.