waffled by breakfast

As my waffle iron experiments come to an end for a class assignment, I decided to go big. One rule I learned is to not waffle anything too liquidy, but what about eggs? They start out liquidy but with a little heat, they end up solid. Well, I thought if I'm going to cook eggs, I'm having bacon, too.
I put on a pot of coffee and plugged in the waffle iron. In a cereal bowl I scrambled one egg and did not add any milk. When the iron was ready, I poured in the egg and heard a lot of sizzling. I let it set for about 15 seconds then closed the lid. I didn't lock it like I usually do and it's a good thing because after about 30 seconds the eggs started to cook and they puffed up. Also. some of the egg oozed out the back side making a mess. I watched the lid rise slowly and peeked in. The lump looked like it was about done so I tried to lift it out and what a mess. The eggs were cooked, but they didn't lift out all at once. Scrapping the bits out from between the grate holes I thought, "Whose bright idea was this? Eggs in a waffle iron."
Not to be discouraged, I cleaned up and plugged in the waffle iron again. I mixed another egg without milk. Even though this is a non-stick surface, I figured a little cooking spray couldn't hurt. After I sprayed some cooking oil on both sides, I poured the egg in again. Not as much sizzling this time. I let the egg set again for about 15 seconds then closed the lid. Again, I did not lock it because this time I knew it would puff up. There was no oozing out the back this time because I put some of the egg in the left side waffle compartment. After about 30 seconds, the lid started to rise up and I let the egg cook for another 30 seconds after that. Then I lifted the lid and was able to take the whole cooked piece out with a fork in one swoop.
With the iron good and hot, I loaded a few strips of bacon and closed the lid on this part of the experiment. I lifted the lid and checked on the bacon about every 30 seconds. It was cooking pretty well and I liked that it wasn't curling up because I had it pressed. Since I like my bacon very crispy, the kind of crispy that occurs just before it starts to burn, I let the bacon cook for a good 3 minutes.
I lifted the pieces out and let the grease drip back onto the waffle iron. I slid the pieces next to my waffled scrambled eggs. I tasted the eggs and they seemed okay but I added some salt and pepper when they were on the plate. I learned from a previous chicken cooking experiment that spices are best added after waffling so they don't burn. The bacon turned out quite crispy, which I liked.
I poured a cup of coffee and sat down to my waffled breakfast.
I give this plate of food a 3 out of 4 only because I like my eggs cooked with spices rather than adding them in later and the eggs are a little tricky.

experiment in action...

eggs puff up and ooze

now I know to use cooking spray for eggs

a complete waffled breakfast!

a waffled tot

From a Pinterest post, I had a brief view of some tater tots being cooked in the waffle iron and immediately thought, "Yes! of course! why the hell not?" The photo being on Pinterest, there were no instructions and the link after link led to a dead end. It's okay, I'm able to figure out these things and I'm not afraid to experiment.
I happened to have a bag of frozen tater tots in my freezer. When I reached for my waffle iron, I realized I had not cleaned it after the Thanksgiving experiment. Oops! Boy am I glad for non-stick surfaces.
While the iron was heating up, I wondered if the tots needed to be frozen when I put them in or thawed out? I couldn't tell from the picture. Once I got the green light, I started placing frozen tots on the grates one at a time, close to each other like I saw in the picture. Then when one side was full, I closed the lid slowly. I heard the hissing and popping noises from the ice being assaulted. Finally, with the lid closed and locked, I wondered how long to wait. Two minutes seems to be a magical number, so I went with that. The hissing and popping subsided and I lifted the lid. The tots seemed to be browning okay, but the whole thing seemed watery, so I tilted the iron and drained the water onto a paper towel on the counter. I closed the lid and waited another minute. This time when I lifted the lid, I found browned tots that had been mashed into a crispy hash brown! I was able to lift the whole thing out with a fork and place it on a plate. I squirted ketchup on top and stuck in my fork. They were cooked all the way through and a little crunchy on the sides.
Now with a few tots semi-thawed, I placed those in the waffle iron and closed the lid. Not as much popping and hissing this time. When I lifted the lid, there was less water, but I still had to drain it a bit. These new tots tasted the same. So, placing frozen tots in the iron works well. You might not feel the need to drain the little drops of water, but I wanted to.
I give this one 4 squares. A good experiment and tasty!

waffled leftovers

Thanksgiving was on it's way and I was excited to try out something I invented in my mind: what about mixing all the leftovers and putting THAT concoction in the waffle iron?
So I did.
All through dinner, I talked about my invention to my guests and asked what they thought. Most of them were laughing at the idea that I would even use a waffle iron for anything but waffles. Then my friend Serina spoke up and said, "It's true, she has a blog about it." Oh sure, mention a blog and everyone's all ears after that, as if someone is thinking, "Oh a blog, oh, ok then it must be true."
After the bacon-covered turkey breast, ham slices, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and a load of other things had been consumed, table cleared and dishes washed, I announced that it was time for the experiment to begin.
Everyone gathered round my kitchen counter while I chopped a leftover piece of turkey I had wrestled away from someone. I then mixed in the stuffing (regular Stovetop brand). The person who made the stuffing made it quite wet and I wondered how well it would fare in the iron. The first scoop was placed in the waffle iron and I said to everyone I didn't think it was going to crisp up very well. Sure enough, after I waited the two minutes and checked, the mixture had not cemented the way I had hoped. I added bread crumbs to make the mixture more dry thinking that would crisp better. I recommend using a drier version of the stuffing. So follow package directions, but use less liquid.
I mixed in another dab of chopped turkey and added that to the waffle iron. After closing the lid someone mentioned that we didn't have anymore gravy. Well, can you blame them for eating it all? I mean, I had used the drippings from the bacon-covered turkey to make it. It was just too delicious, so I wasn't very angry. After the two minutes were up, I checked on the  new mixture and it was browning on the edges and seemed like it was setting up better than the last try. I closed the lid and let it cook another 30 seconds.
Now I put the new experiment on a plate, added cranberry sauce and stuck my fork in. With 6 pairs of eyes on me, I took and bite. Crispy, chewy and turkey-cranberry delicious. Yes, it did need gravy, but I let everyone else take a bite and most everyone else agreed that it was good, but could have used the gravy to fill the flavor holes.
I give this a 4 out of 4 holes rating. Okay, something new to try with your leftover Thanksgiving dinner!

first, the mixing and the chopping

then the first failed experiment

improvements made, the final product

Waffled Chicken

Okay, so I know that bread and tortillas cook great in the waffle iron, and I know what type of cheese to avoid. Now I wanted to explore the culinary puzzle further. What about chicken?
I wondered if the chicken would give enough to succumb to the flavor hole makers. I had grilled chicken once on a table top grill press, so I figured using a waffle iron would be close enough. I didn't know what temperature the waffle iron would get to though.
I let the iron heat up until the light turned green, then I placed on thawed chicken tender on the iron and slowly closed the lid.  There was some sizzling noise, but no popping. Since I wasn't sure how long the the chicken should be shut up in there, I waited two minutes. Two minutes so far seemed to be the magic number with everything else. When I checked on the piece, it appeared cooked on the outside, but after cutting it in half, the inside was still quite pink. I put the two halves back in the waffle iron for another minute. The next time I took out the chicken tender, the now two pieces were browning on the outside and fully cooked all the way through. The chicken was cooked, but, in my opinion, flavorless.
I topped the next piece of chicken with my favorite seasoning: seasoned salt. Then I slipped it into the waffle iron and waited the full three minutes to cook. When I removed it from the heat and cut it open, the chicken was cooked, but the spices were burned and did not taste good. So, with the last chicken tender, I let it cook for three minutes, then I sprinkled on the seasoning. Again, the chicken was cooked and filled with flavor holes, but did not take well to the seasoning.
I believe anyone looking to cook chicken without imbuing flavor into it along the cooking process, would enjoy this method. But for me, I like the flavor you get when you pan fry or bake with the spices rubbed on while cooking.
I give this experiment 3 out of 4 squares.

pizza waffles

Yes, you read it correctly. Just what is a pizza waffle? Well, I suppose you could put pizza toppings in a waffle batter mix, cook it and top it with marinara sauce, but what I tried was leftover pizza.
Here's the story. I had actually put leftover pizza slices in a waffle iron before I started this blog, but now I wanted to try this gluten free pie I got from Pie Five.
The crust is quite thin and brown since it uses alternative flour rather than regular wheat flour. I ordered mine with olives and mushrooms and ate a slice on the way home then two more while watching t.v. The next day, I took out the two leftover slices from my fridge and warmed up the waffle iron. Next, I folded the triangle into smaller triangle and cut off the excess crust. Once the iron was heated, I slipped the two pieces on and closed the lid. This kind seemed to cook a bit faster than the Papa Johns regular hand-tossed crust I had before. After about a minute, I peeked in and saw that the cheese that had oozed out was crisping -- an indication that whatever you're cooking is heated through.
I love the pizza waffle because it's like a tiny calzone with flavor holes. With the Papa Johns pizza, I had poured the garlic butter sauce over it and let that drip through the waffle iron impressions. I didn't have any sauce this time, but my leftover gluten free pizza was still delicious.
4 out of 4 stars for this one too.

More cheese and waffles please

After the processed cheese debacle, I still wanted to try another cheesy delight. I thought cheese quesadillas because they are basically like grilled cheese except for using a tortilla of course. I wondered if the flour tortilla would be too fragile though.
                  To the kitchen.
I used a shredded cheese blend of cheddar and Jack. I folded the tortilla in half like I would if I had cooked it in a pan on the stove top. After the waffle iron was heated, I placed the filled tortilla between the irons and closed the lid. I didn't experience any of the familiar crackling and popping I'm used to hearing. I also didn't see any steam escaping from the sides.
After about  30 seconds, I checked on the treat. It wasn't crispy and the cheese had only started to melt. Maybe I didn't let the iron get as warm as it needed? I noticed that the waffle iron impressions had not torn the tortilla at all, so I closed the lid and let the quesadilla cook some more. After about a minute and a half longer, I had a cheese filled tortilla that was just turning brown. I set it on a plate, topped it with sour cream and garlic salt. I think it would have been good plain too to or even sprinkled with taco seasoning.
Either way, ole!
A great, quick snack. 4 out of 4 stars.

waffled by cheese

After my success with cinnamon rolls and toast, I was feeling pretty confident about my waffle skills. At about eleven o'clock in the morning one day, I started to feel a little hungry. When I looked in my fridge I found a slice of processed cheese, a slice of deli mozzarella, some wilted lettuce, a bottle of beer,  half a loaf of bread and some mushrooms that were about to go stems up. I figured why not try a grilled cheese and mushroom sandwich in the waffle iron?
Since I wasn't making the traditional grilled cheese I didn't need butter, but I wondered if mayo would be good to put on the inside.

to mayo or not to mayo?

                                                      I mean, how would that taste while being grilled?  I assembled a half sandwich with mayo to try it out. I added a slice of the processed cheese and a few mushrooms. Then, I placed the creation on the heated waffle iron and closed the lid. Shortly after, I heard a lot of crackling and popping going on between the irons. When I lifted to lid to investigate, cheese was giving out on all sides and creeping out toward the edges of the waffle iron. At least now I knew what the commotion was. I wasn't sure if I should close the lid or not, so I did. What more could happen, right? More crackling and popping pursued so I removed the mess and river of cheese that would not coagulate or crisp. Ok, so processed cheese is no good. Got it.

When I assembled the next sandwich, I used the deli mozzarella, mayo and mushrooms. I placed the new sandwich on the irons and closed the lid. This time crackling and popping was very minimal. I peeked inside after about a minute to see that the cheese had oozed out but was crisping. I closed the lid and waited another minute. Now I lifted the lid and found a perfectly cooked waffle-shaped grilled cheese. My only problem now was, what, if anything, should I put in the "flavor holes"? If I had been able to use deli Cheddar, then I think a nice apple jelly would have been good. Since I had mozzarella, I think some marinara would have been good, but I didn't have any. Put that on the grocery list for next time.

So, in conclusion, I don't recommend processed cheeses, but deli slices seem to work great. The first sandwich gets a half of a square out of 4 and the second gets a 3, only because I didn't have anything to fill the "flavor holes".

the river of uncoagulating cheese

the good sandwich!