Loaded Baked Potato Waffles #FoodieExtravaganza

Take all the lovely ingredients of a fully loaded baked potato, stir them into waffle batter and bake till golden in a Belgian waffle iron. Perfection squared. 

Last month my Foodie Extravanza group celebrated peaches and I missed the whole thing because of traveling. It made me a little sad, but with the choice of London or cooking peaches, I had to go with London! But it did make me doubly determined to participate this month, especially when I heard that we were celebrating waffles. Waffles can be sweet or savory so, if you know me at all, you know which way I was sure to go. And since my mother, well documented on this site as being a lover of all things potato, was visiting, a waffle with all the fixings of a loaded baked potato seemed perfect. And indeed it was. Serve them plain with extra sour cream, chives and cheese. Or pop a fried egg on top.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to see all the lovely waffles we are sharing. Many thanks to Summer from Summer Scraps who is hosting this month!

Ingredients for six or seven square Belgian waffles
5-6 slices streaky smoked bacon (just less than 4 1/2 oz or 125g)
1 cup or 125g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream plus more to serve, if desired
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 egg
1 potato (about 7 1/2 oz or 210g)
1/2 oz or 15g green onions, plus more to serve, if desired
1/2 cup or 45g grated extra sharp cheddar cheese, plus more to serve, if desired

Method
Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry it until crispy. Remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on some paper towels. Put a little of the bacon fat in a small bowl and set it aside. Yep, we are going to grease the waffle iron with it for extra flavor.

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add in the grated cheese, crispy bacon and green onion tops and stir well.

Whisk the egg, sour cream and milk together in a smaller mixing bowl.  Peel and grate the potato and add it immediately to the egg bowl and stir to stop the potato from oxidizing and turning brown.

Looks like the grated cheese, doesn't it?

Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Now fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Using a pastry brush, grease your waffle maker with a little of the reserved bacon fat.

Pour the manufacturer’s recommended amount of  batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to rise when baking.

Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking.  On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready.  I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green the second time so the waffles are nice and crispy.  But if you like them less crunchy, by all means take them out earlier.

Serve topped with a little extra sour cream, green onions and even grated cheese, if desired.

If you have any batter left over, go ahead and baked the waffles and store them, wrapped in cling film, in the refrigerator or freezer. They reheat beautifully in the toaster. A couple of days after making these, I toasted one and served it with a couple sunny-side up eggs on top, more bacon on the side. Sadly, I didn’t take a photo but it was wonderful. The runny egg yolk nicely filled many of the waffle holes. Soooo much better than plain toast!

Enjoy!

My helper is always right there, on clean up duty, just in case I drop something. Hope springs eternal.

We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food! And each month we all incorporate one main ingredient into a recipe or choose to celebrate a certain dish and put our own twist on it. This month that dish is waffles! We hope you all enjoy our delicious waffles this and come see what next month's new ingredient or dish will be. If you would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our bloggers Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

Check out all the fabulous waffles we've made this month!

Savory Waffles

• Bacon and Cheese Waffles from Housewife Eclectic 
• Cheddar and Jalapeño Waffles from Rhubarb and Honey
• Lasagna Waffles from Love in the Kitchen 
• Loaded Baked Potato Waffles from Food Lust People Love
• Savory Bacon and Veggie Waffles from Fearlessly Creative Mammas 

Sweet Waffles

• 4 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Waffles from Keep It Simple Sweetie 
• Caramel Apple Waffles from We Like to Learn as we Go
• Cinnamon Swirl Waffles from Summer Scraps 
• Maple Bacon Waffles from Ashlee Marie
• Strawberry Shortcake Waffles from Mrs. Penguin 
• Sweet Potato Waffles from Sew You Think You Can Cook 
• Sweet Potato Waffles with Pecan Honey Butter from Wicked Spatula 
• Pumpkin Pie Waffles from Eazy Peazy Mealz 
• Waffle Crusted Apple Pie Parfait from The Freshman Cook 

Ambidextrous Waffles

• Oat Sourdough Waffles from Passion Kneaded 

Ploughman’s Lunch Muffins #MuffinMonday

A traditional ploughman’s lunch of cheese, bread and pickle is offered at every pub of note across the United Kingdom. Close your eyes and eat a couple of these muffins alongside a pint of ale. If you can conjure the smell of stale cigarette smoke, consider yourself on an English holiday. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. I adore a pub lunch! 

First, a clarification: When I say pickle, I’m talking about something that is a cooked mixture of spices and vegetables, perhaps with some raisins and tart apples, not pickles of the dill/cucumber variety, although those might well be incorporated in a homemade version. Think sweet and sour chunky chutney. I buy the Branston brand which is made in the United Kingdom and is essential on any sandwich my British husband makes. There is always one jar in the refrigerator and a backup jar in the cupboard. A few jars make it into each shipment when we move, just in case the next place doesn’t have a supply. This pickle goes beautifully with extra sharp cheddar and beer in a savory muffin.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1/2 teaspoon regular sea salt
Few good grinds fresh black pepper
7 oz or 200g extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup or 145g Branston Pickle
3/4 cup or 180ml beer

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan liberally with canola, butter or non-stick spray or line with paper muffin cups. Since we are going to be baking with cheese, I suggest you also lightly spray the paper liners with non-stick spray if you are using those. I find that helps the paper peel off the muffin more easily.

Grate your cheese.  Put aside a large handful of about one ounce or 25g for topping the muffins.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper and stir well.

Add in the larger pile of grated cheese and stir again.

In another bowl, measure out your oil, egg and Branston Pickle. Add in the beer and whisk with a fork to combine.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Top each with some of the reserved cheese.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.

Enjoy!

For those who are paying attention, it says Est. 2010 because that's
when we finally bought the piece of furniture that is the bar in our house.
Simon received the pint glasses as a Christmas gift the same year.

***This post has an Amazon affiliate link for the Branston Pickle.***

Broccoli and Cheese Muffins #MuffinMonday

Cheesy muffins with broccoli make the perfect addition to a brunch menu.  They are equally welcome alongside a bowl of soup for a light lunch or dinner. 

Happy Sunday!  Your eyes are not deceiving you and don't bother to check your calendar thinking you have missed a day.  It is indeed a muffin recipe a day early.  Because this is a special week here at Food Lust People Love.  IT'S CHRISTMAS WEEK!  Which means that I have joined with a group of like-minded bloggers to bring you prizes to win from our generous sponsors and loads of great Christmasy recipes.  We'll have sweet and we'll have savory but we'll all have delicious!  It starts tomorrow so come on back and I hope to see you munching one of these wonderful cheesy broccoli muffins as you sign up for the giveaways!

Ingredients
3 1/2 oz or 100g fresh broccoli florets
Drizzle olive oil
2 cups or 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Few good grinds of fresh black pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon)
8 1/2 oz or 240g extra sharp cheddar
2 eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml sunflower or canola oil
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (We prefer Lea & Perrins.)

Method
Cut your broccoli florets into tiny florets and chop the stem bits into small pieces.   Pan-fry them in a non-stick pan with a drizzle of olive oil for a just a few minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan liberally with canola, butter or non-stick spray.  I don’t recommend using muffin liners when baking with cheese because the muffins are hard to remove from the paper.

Grate your cheese.  Put aside a large handful of about one ounce or 25g for topping the muffins.  When the broccoli is cool enough to handle, count out 12 small florets for decorating the muffin tops and set aside with the handful of cheese.

Put your flour, baking powder, pepper and salt in a large bowl.  Add in the grated cheese and stir.

Now add the bulk of the cooled broccoli and stir to combine.

In another bowl, whisk together the oil, milk and eggs and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.  This is a really stiff batter, almost a dough.  But trust.  When the muffins bake, all that cheese is going to melt and you will end up with lovely tender muffins.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Top each with some reserved cheese and a tiny floret of broccoli.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

All done!

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.  If, despite liberal greasing, your muffins still stick to the pan, just run a knife around the outside of each muffin and they should pop free.

Enjoy!   See you back here tomorrow for the start of Christmas Week!

Loaded Baked Potato Muffins #MuffinMonday

Imagine a loaded baked potato full of sharp cheddar and crispy bacon bits and sour cream and onion tops.  In a muffin.  No kidding.  I think this is my favorite muffin so far.  Have I said that before?  Probably.  But this time I really, really mean it.  I ate two back to back, standing at the kitchen counter.  And then I had to go sit down and clutch my chest.  So rich, so good.  Serve them with a salad and call them lunch.  Or dinner.  But make these muffins.

Ingredients
6 slices bacon
230g or 8 oz potato
Sea salt
Black pepper
Handful green onions
8 oz or 225g extra sharp cheddar
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil

Method
Fry your bacon until it is crispy.   Set on paper towels to drain.  I use a single piece of paper towel on top of newspaper.  Keeps the ink off the bacon and doesn't waste a bunch of paper towels.

If your potato is thin-skinned, by all means, leave the peel on, otherwise peel it.  Then cut it into small squares.

Fry the potato pieces in the bacon grease until fork tender and nicely golden on all sides.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and liberally grease your 12-cup muffin pan.

Chop your green onions and bacon into little pieces and grate your cheddar cheese.

Set aside a little of each to use for topping later.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.

Add in the grated cheese, bacon bits and green onions.  Stir well.

Add in the cooled potatoes and stir again.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk your egg, milk, sour cream and oil.

Fold your liquids into the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter between the prepared cups in the muffin pan.

Top each with some of the reserved cheddar, onion tops and bacon bits.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are lovely and golden.

Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.  You may need to run a knife around the edges if the cheese is sticking to the pan.

These are fabulous warm and almost as good cold!

Enjoy!

I’m on a touring holiday right now with my mom so if I don’t answer comments right away, please know that I am still delighted when you leave them and will respond as soon as I have internet access again.