Waffles...

Since we are traveling to visit my mother-in-law today, I really didn't feel like cooking and cleaning up a big meal last night.  (Read: I procrastinated on the laundry and packing again.)  Time for breakfast for dinner.

When I first got this waffle iron I used to use a mix, but then I found an easy recipe that works quite well.  The last time I made waffles for the kids, the girls proclaimed that I make the BEST waffles, and Chloe added, "You should work at Waffle House. They're hiring."  LOL  Obviously she had been reading the sign outside the Waffle House.

When I do waffles, I want quick and easy.  None of that business of separating the egg yolks from the whites for me.  And beating the whites to fold into the batter?  No.  Just no.

I'm not sure where I found this recipe.  When I googled the name, there was a ton of sites that came up, all with similar (if not identical) recipes.

Oh Boy!  Waffles

2 1/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoons salt

2 beaten eggs

2 1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat waffle iron.  Stir together dry ingredients. Combine eggs, milk, and oil, and add to dry ingredients just before baking, stirring only until moistened and fully incorporated.  Batter will be thin. (Lumps are okay).  Spray waffle iron with cooking spray.  Bake in preheated waffle iron.

Makes 8 to10 waffles (or six on my iron)

Let me emphasize: SPRAY WAFFLE IRON WITH COOKING SPRAY.  I was out of spray once, and tried brushing vegetable oil on the waffle iron instead.  There was a huge mess, followed by massive and frustrating clean up.  There were tears involved.  Oi!

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Replay by Ken Grimwood

Purchased for my Kindle several months ago.  I started it a few days ago, and it has been keeping me up late nights.  It is very interesting and imaginative.  Very well written.  I'm about 3/4 of the way through, and I went back to Amazon and ordered a used hard copy so I could lend it out.  

Middle-aged man goes in to the office in 1988, has massive heart attack, and dies.  He wakes up in his college dorm room in 1963 and has to relive his life.  He makes different life choices, marries a different wife, eats healthy and exercises, and even so, in his second go round at 1988 he has another massive heart attack and dies.  Again he wakes up in 1963 and starts over.

Part time travel.  Part mystery.  Part love story.  Really enjoying it.

Bidding and bidding adieu...

My friend, Pam, is in town.  She is such a bad influence.  She drags me to the Tuesday night auction.  (wink, wink)  The room was packed.  Really crowded.  The majority of the items for sale tonight were from a shipment received from France...wine country antiques.

This chair was one of a pair that I was interested in.  They were very comfy.  I decided that my max bid would be $300 for the pair.  I didn't even bid, as they swiftly shot past that.  They finally sold for $800.  Each.    I set my max bid pretty low, because I wasn't deeply in love with them, so I am perfectly okay with them going home with someone else (unlike this heartbreak).

I really wasn't interested in anything else except for these pails.  I have a thing for enamelware.  They are larger than they seem in the photo.  The white one is about 15 inches tall (about 38 cm).  Lucky for me, they didn't come up for bid till very near the end, and the crowd had thinned dramatically, as had the bidding. 

And they're useful.  I'm picturing them filled with balls of yarn, rolls of toilet paper, rolled towels, Christmas greenery or large round ornaments, magazines, kindling, or I could always fall back on using one or both as waste baskets...but they're way too cute for that.

Weekly menu planning...

roast beef
w/ potatoes and gravy
     carrots

meatloaf
w/ baked potatoes
     corn

King Ranch casserole
w/ beans
     guacamole

tuna casserole
w/ broccoli
     salad

grilled chicken sandwiches on ciabotta rolls
w/ grilled onions and green pepper

quesadillas
w/ guacamole

lamb curry
w/ rice
     naan

Today I have the roast, potatoes, and carrots in the slow cooker.  The other meals will get made as the mood strikes me.  I like to have a plan and the groceries in the house, while still leaving some room for spontaneity.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  I was doing a search for myself and the blog on Google earlier.  It is interesting the things you can find.  I learned that there is a punk band named Five Miles North of Nowhere on Facebook.  Their page dates from July 2011.  Personally I'm not keen on their potty language (not that I don't use some myself from time to time)...I'm sure they couldn't care less.

2.  And singer/songwriter Roger Boggs, just last month, posted his song called Ten Miles North of Nowhere on YouTube.  I have to say that it is a fair theme of the years that I spent four miles north of nowhere.  I do think I can play the harmonica a little better than he does in the video though.

3.  There is an online shop called North of Nowhere.  I may need one of their tee shirts.

4.  There are two books entitled North of Nowhere. One by Liz Kessler and one by Steve Hamilton.

...okay, enough of other nowhere people.

5.  I am obviously wasting too much time on the computer.  I have accomplished nothing lately.  I have no excuse for wasting time.  I'm ashamed of myself.

6.  Insomnia.  Enough said.

7.  My to-do list is about a mile long.

Happy Independence Day...

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Platte River Waltz--Orphans in the Storm by Ken Consaul

Not sure why, but it seems every few months I get tucked into a story about pioneers struggling westward.  They always make me so thankful to live today and not back then.  I'm pretty sure I would have been one of the first ones to drop at the side of the trail.  Give me a well-built highway and a smooth-riding car with air conditioning any day.