Potato Waffles

NOTE to self:   Your waffle maker isn't just for breakfast!!!

I think the thing I miss most about watching T.V. is that I no longer enjoy all the ideas from the Food Network channel.  This is one of them... Your waffle maker can be used in creative ways!  THINK:  Easy-Bake-Oven.  It's not just for breakfast waffles: waffle ice cream cookies, or prepped cake mix and you have spongy ice cream sandwich layers; leftover mashed potatoes and you have an enormous savory hash brown...  What else can we come up with???  Please comment with anything else you want to add!  

The following recipe will be for the potato waffle.  I  LOVE  IT!  And in my opinion it is the easiest, tastiest, fastest way to reheat and use up any leftover mashed potatoes.  

BONUS:  You don't need a huge amount to feed everyone this side dish.

2 cups mashed potatoes - (i.e.: the leftovers)

3 eggs beaten

1/3 cup Gluten-FREE flour  OR  All-Pourpose flour

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Cooking Spray

Waffle Maker

Pre-heat your waffle maker for 10 minutes.

Beat eggs.  Add the flour of your choice, salt and pepper.

(NOTE: Gluten-FREE flour mix recipe at the end of this blog post.)

Flour will be lumpy.  Mix until minimally lumpy.  :0)  

Combine with mashed potatoes and mix throughly.

Spray both the upper and lower portions of the waffle maker.

Scoop 1/4 - 1/3 cup of mixture in to the center of each waffle section.

Cook until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

Serve with leftover gravy, ketchup OR if y'all are in Texas - Whataburger Spicy Ketchup.

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(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

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Click Link FOR:    Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAMA JO’S CORNMEAL PANCAKES / BOTH Gluten-FREE & All-Purpose Flour Recipes

Greg Schroeder look away... This breakfast item is indeed listed under DINNER and BREAKFAST.

Breakfast for dinner will never be on Greg's "YES!" list, but it is on our's!!!  Especially this one.

This southern recipe was handed over to my mother years and years ago when I was a little girl.  She was taking oil painting lessons from Tom.  I never met him; and I never knew his last name (I still don't!) but this was originally his recipe and called "Tom's Southern Pancakes".

The original recipe was a little too ambiguous on the amounts and I have had to converted it in recent years to a Gluten-FREE version... and then as a waffle version (MAKE  IT  WITH  BACON  PIECES  IN  IT!!!)...

Sssooooooo...  the following is the Mama Jo version(s) of the Tom's Southern Pancakes.

And if your name is NOT Greg Schroeder PLEASE enjoy this for dinner OR breakfast.  I promise you'll love them as much as we do... day or night.   :0)

MAMA JO’S CORNMEAL PANCAKES: 

Gluten-FREE

3 cups Gluten-FREE flour mix

2 cups cornmeal 

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda 

8 egg yolks (Gavin, don't throw these out... )

1/2 cup vegetable oil

5 cups buttermilk

8 egg whites, beaten until foamy

In a LARGE bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Mixing by hand, combine with dry ingredients in the following order:

- Add buttermilk and mix 

- Add oil and mix 

- Add egg yolks and mix.

Mix thoroughly by hand.

Beat egg whites and FOLD into mixture.

Use PAM or some form of cooking spray for your griddle.  

Makes 20-30 pancakes.

FOR  WAFFLES:  

Add 2 additional EGGs (egg yolks/egg whites) and an additional 1-2 cups buttermilk.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

RECIPE  WITH:  Un-Bleached  All-Purpose  FLOUR

3 cups flour

2 cups cornmeal 

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 quart buttermilk (4 cups)

6 egg whites, beaten until foamy

In a LARGE bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Mixing by hand, combine with dry ingredients in the following order:

Add buttermilk and mix - Add oil and mix - Add egg yolks and mix.

Mix thoroughly by hand.

Beat egg whites and FOLD into mixture.

Use PAM or some form of cooking spray for your griddle.  

Makes 20-30 pancakes.

FOR  WAFFLES:  
Add an additional EGG (egg yolk/egg white) and an additional 1 cup buttermilk.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

Click Link FOR:    Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

My favorite oil painting that my mother did of
Mirror Lake at Mt. Hood, Oregon.
So lovely!

CREAMY White Bean, Potato and Bacon Soup (Surprise! ...NON-DAIRY)

Surprise!
This creamy soup is "NON-dairy".
"SANS-dairy".
Or you could say "dairy-FREE".

Really doesn't matter how you pose the phrase.  Still creamy.  Still NON-dairy.

"How???"  you're asking...

My answer is it's the potatoes (make sure you have at least 2 different kinds if not all three!), all the beans, and then a slow/low simmer.

BONUS:  it's even creamy (if not more so!) after coming out of a deep freeze in the freezer.

Enjoy!





1 pound bacon - cut into 1 inch pieces

1 VERY large or 2 medium onions - diced

12-15 potatoes - peeled and cubed into small pieces
POTATO  NOTE:  USE  2 or all 3 of the following:  Red, Yellow Yukon, and/OR Russett

1 garlic bundle (8-10 cloves) - minced
1-2 cups ham - diced  (OPTIONAL)

6 cups water
1/4 cup CHICKEN "Better Than Bullion"
3 teaspoons - SMOKED paprika
3 teaspoons Kosher salt

4 cans (15 oz. each) Great Northern Beans - drained and rinsed
OR
2 pounds DRY Great Northern Beans - pressure cooked - drained and rinsed

In an LARGE cooking pot brown the cut bacon until very crisp.

Remove and set aside.

DO NOT DRAIN BACON GREASE.

COOK diced onion in bacon grease on MED-HIGH until slightly brown and caramelized.

ADD cubed potatoes and stir mixture consistently - and be diligent!
NOTE: The potatoes tend to stick to the bottom of the pan!
Cook for 15-20 minutes.

When potatoes are tender, add minced garlic and turn heat down to a  HIGH SIMMER; cook for 5 minutes stirring mixture consistently.

OPTIONAL  ADDITION:  diced ham

ADD:  water, chicken "Better Than Bullion", smoked paprika, Kosher salt and Great Northern beans (remember to drain and rinse either way you did your beans!).

COOK at a low SIMMER for 30-45 minutes until beans and potatoes are tender.

ADD additional smoked paprika and Kosher salt to taste.

ADD your very crispy bacon!

Serve hot with toasted Natural Yeast Bread slices.


If by chance you have any leftovers, this soup freezes up beautifully!  :0)  Having leftovers doesn't happen very often any more!  Recipes that used to feed our family twice feed us once!  Someday I hope to have my freezer full of leftover soups and chilis to pull out after a crazy-busy day... I used to!  For now I am grateful for a house full of happy (and hungry!) kids.

This recipe is a pantry cleaner for sure!
It seems like I am always making this towards the end
of the month when I am using up what I have left in the pantry...
Hence the ambiguous numbers for the potatoes.
No need to go to the store and buy 4-5 of each kind.
WHAT  DO  YOU  HAVE  IN  THE  PANTRY?

BREAD  LINK:      Baking with Natural Yeast - BASIC LOAF

Clink Link FOR:   Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

A special acknowledgment for Preston:  

THANK YOU for your amazing patience!  

I think I promised to share this recipe with your mother nearly 2 (maybe 3???) years ago...  

So glad to find out that this is still a favorite of your's!!! 

Split Pea Soup - Tried and True

2 pounds split green peas

1 pound bacon

1 large onion

12 carrots

1 bundle of garlic

12 cups cold water

1 ham-hock (OPTIONAL)

3 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Before you start cooking:
take your 2 pounds of split green peas and soak in filtered water.

In the large pot you are going to use for your Split Pea Soup, brown: 

1 pound of bacon; cut into 1 inch pieces before browning.

Set aside your brown and crispy bacon for when your soup is done cooking.

In the pot, leave the bacon grease and add:
1 large (2 medium/small) onion, diced

When onion is translucent and starting to caramelize, add:

10-12 carrots (2 pounds), peeled and sliced

1 bundle of garlic, minced

Add to everthing you’ve cooked in a soup pot:
12 cups cold water

2 pounds split green peas - rinsed

Optional:  Add a ham-hock bone for the remaining cooking time.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour.

Stir consistently - you DO NOT want to scorch the bottom of your lovely soup.

Add water WHEN and IF necessary; IE: the cooking water is gone and your split peas are still looking crunchy...

Add 3 teaspoons Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper.

Simmer for an hour - (ADD 1 cup of water... if necessary.  See note above about adding water!)

Simmer for one more hour and TASTE - ADD Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste.

Stir in your browned bacon into the soup.

Serve with cornbread or or toasted natural yeast bread.

Before you start cooking:
take your 2 pounds of split green peas and soak in filtered water.

When onion is translucent and starting to caramelize, add:

10-12 carrots (2 pounds), peeled and sliced

1 bundle of garlic, minced

Add to everthing you’ve cooked in a soup pot:

12 cups cold water

2 pounds split green peas - rinsed

Optional:  Add a ham-hock bone for the remaining cooking time.

Simmer for an hour - 

(ADD 1 cup of water... if necessary.  

See note above about adding water!)

Simmer for one more hour and TASTE 

- ADD Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste.

Stir in your browned bacon into the soup.

Dear Blake Brown:
In your defense - coarse black pepper and chia seed look nearly identical.
  
Dear Everyone else:
Make sure you are adding coarse black pepper - and NOT chia seed.

Link to recipe for:    Basic Natural Yeast Bread

Link to recipe for:    Cornbread - Gluten FREE


Click Link FOR:     Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

Best EVER Pork Tenderloin

"BEST  EVER"  ???  

Can I really say that and get away with such a statement?

Yup.

PROOF:  Tonight, Gavin walks into the kitchen without being told what dinner is, he looks around and sees nothing... but then - he smells, closes his eyes and says, "YYYYYEEEESSSSSSS." 

It is the best EVER pork tenderloin.  (And it puts the "tender" in tenderloin...)

2 - 4  1 pound pork tenderloins (for Costco shoppers = a tenderloin 2 pack in the pork selection of meats)

1/4 cup olive oil  (Bertoli’s is preferred)

6 teaspoons Italian seasoning

3 teaspoons garlic powder

3 heaping teaspoons cumin 

3 teaspoons Kosher salt 

3 heaping teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

3/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

6-8 Tablespoons of fresh LEMON juice

6-8 Tablespoons of fresh LIME juice

6-8 Tablespoons of fresh ORANGE juice

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a 9X13 casserole dish with a double layer of foil.

Combine all dry seasonings and set aside.

Combine all citrus juice and set aside.

Place  you meat side-by-side on the foil in the 9X13 baking dish.

Pour olive oil over the meat and then pierce tenderloins all over with a fork.

Sprinkled 1/2 the dry mixture over the meat; FLIP each tenderloin and sprinkle remain 1/2 of the dry mixture on the other side.

Pour ALL of the citrus mixture over all of the meat.

Place in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes until each tenderloin reads at least 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.

Remove from the oven and let rest 10-20 minutes before slicing into 1 inch pieces.

USE  YOUR  MEAT  JUICES  FROM  THE  PAN.  (Do not discard…)

Serve meat with and save juices from the pan.  

(They will help keep the meat tender in the fridge and then help you again when you re-heat leftovers!!!) 

Serves 12.  OR the Davis family of 6  :0)  

WE  EAT  A  LOT  OF  FOOD  LATELY…

If you need to - cut recipe in 1/2 and keep cook times and temps the same.

Oranges were a surprise from a neighbor,
lemons from a friend
(thanks Jennell!)
AND our own backyard,
limes are honestly OLD and from Kroger...
:0)

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