Four surprising foods you can make with a waffle iron

Most likely, your waffle iron is significantly underused. Sure, we all know waffle irons get a workout during breakfast, but did you know it’s a great tool for making savory lunch and dinner dishes too?  In fact, I’d go as far to say that you can make just about anything in a waffle iron!

So today I’m going to help jumpstart your creativity by sharing a four of my favorite waffle iron recipes!

Also, in case you're curious, this is the waffle iron I own. It is the best waffle iron ever! Nothing sticks to it, and I LOVE that the plates are removable so I can just stick them in the dishwasher. (This is my own personal opinion not influenced by any outside company.)

1. Pizza

One of the greatest things about waffles irons is they’re quick. For example, a homemade pizza would probably take a half hour to make, but in a waffle iron it only takes a few minutes! So just about anything that starts out as dough or batter works well in a waffle iron.

The most important thing to remember while making pizza waffles is to never leave any part of the center exposed because then pizza sauce will leak out and you’ll have a mess on your hands.

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a 13.8 ounce can of refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 6 pepperoni slices

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Lay pizza dough over waffle iron. Spread pizza sauce on top of pizza dough.
3. Sprinkle half of mozzarella cheese over pizza sauce, and add pepperoni slices on top of cheese.
4. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of pepperoni.
5. Fold pizza dough hanging over edge of waffle iron to center of pizza so the center of the pizza is not exposed (you don't want the sauce to leak out).
6. Close waffle iron and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
7. Serve with marinara dipping sauce.

2. Quesadilla

Your waffle iron essentially acts as a Panini press when making quesadillas. The center gets nice and gooey while the edges get a little crisp.

Ingredients

• 2 tortillas
• 1/2 cup cheese
• Peppers, onions, any other ingredients per your preference

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place tortilla on waffle iron and sprinkle 1/2 of cheese on top.
3. Add any other ingredients you want on top of cheese and cover with remaining cheese.
4. Place second tortilla on top of cheese and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
5. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, salsa, or guacamole.

3. Omelet

Now this is awesome!  Waffle irons are a foolproof way to cook omelets. You don’t have to worry about a too-runny center or a messy flip because everything is evenly cooked and timed out in the waffle iron.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, beaten
• Crumbled bacon, peppers, mushrooms, any other ingredients per your preference
• 1/4 cup cheese

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pour eggs into waffle iron.
3. Sprinkle bacon, peppers, etc. on top of eggs.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
5. Serve with a sprinkle of cracked pepper.

4. Cinnamon rolls

I have a whole post dedicated to cinnamon roll waffles because they’re a family favorite! And it’s the easiest thing ever to make. All you do is buy a pack of refrigerated cinnamon rolls and stick one in the center. It’s a good idea when you’re cooking cinnamon rolls for a small group because you can just cook a few of them and refrigerate the rest of the dough for another time.

Ingredients

• 1 (12.4 ounce) tube refrigerated cinnamon roll dough

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place one cinnamon roll in the center of the waffle iron.
3. Cook on high for about 1 minuted.
4. Serve with cream cheese icing that comes in tube.

Beef Taco Cups

Happy Cinco de Mayo! And happy birthday, Dad!

Today I’m celebrating with these cute little beef taco cups.  These would make a great appetizer for a party or you can eat them as an entrée for dinner.

I used wonton wrappers for the shell because they’re easy to work with and they fit perfectly in a muffin tin.  You can typically find the wonton wrappers in the tofu section at your local grocery store. And then I layered refried beans, seasoned beef, and cheese. Yum!

After baking them, I added my favorite toppings – cilantro, onion, tomato, and sour cream! Just like a regular taco, you can customize them any which way you please.

Beef Taco Cups

Yield: Makes about 24 appetizer cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 3/4 cup water
• 36 wonton wrappers
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 2 cups shredded cheese

 Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Brown beef in skillet; drain the fat. Add the taco seasoning mix and water, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Place one wonton wrapper in the bottom of each muffin cup.
4. Layer 1 Tablespoon of refried beans on top of each wonton. Top with 1 Tablespoon of beef and 1 Tablespoon of shredded cheese.
5. Layer a wonton wrapper on top of the shredded cheese and add another layer of beef and cheese.
6. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from tin and top with your favorite taco toppings (i.e. sour cream, diced tomatoes, onion, or cilantro).

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken

Between my cooking segments and my recipe videos, I do a lot of baking for other people! And by now you probably think I just eat cupcakes and brownies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! But fortunately for my waistline, that is not the case.

When it comes to making dinner for myself, I try to make it as quick and easy as possible. Lately, many of my meals have consisted of this recipe for three-ingredient slow cooker chicken.

Three ingredients. Slow Cooker. No Fuss. ‘Nuff said.

What I love about this recipe is how versatile it is. You can use the chicken in tacos, on top of rice, as nachos, or even just plain. I love making a big batch for myself and then eating it multiple ways throughout the week.

I promise, it does not get easier than this!

3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken

Yield: Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken breast
• 1 (16 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 (1.25 ounce) packet taco seasoning

Directions

1. Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken breasts into slow cooker, sprinkle taco seasoning on top of chicken, dump salsa on top.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or until easy to shred.
4. Once chicken is ready, shred with two forks. Mix with remaining salsa in slow cooker.
5. Serve on top of rice, tortillas, chips, etc.

Salsa Verde Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

Let me start this post by saying I am a real person. I work a full time job. And I do not always have the time or the energy to make “made-from-scratch” meals.

So sometimes it’s necessary to take shortcuts in the kitchen.

For example, as of recently I’ve been dying to make salsa verde enchiladas. But every single recipe that I looked at involved making homemade salsa by peeling and roasting tomatillos and garlic and grilling peppers, etc.

And even though I would LOVE to make homemade salsa every time I made enchiladas, I just do not have time for that.

I could pretend I always make my own salsa to seem like a more “credible” food blogger. But that just wouldn’t be truthful.

Instead, I tested out a few store-bought salsas and came up with my favorite – Frontera Tomatillo Salsa. It has the right amount of heat, and there’s no added sugar. And I’ve been able to find it at most supermarkets.

Additionally, as you may have noticed, this recipe is for “stacked enchiladas,” or as some people like to call it “Mexican lasagna.” So basically, instead of rolling up the enchiladas I just stacked layers of tortillas, chicken, and cheese. It saved me a little bit of time, and it was kind of fun to mix things up.

Let me know what your favorite timesaving tips and tricks are in a comment below!

Salsa Verde Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

Yield: Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

• About 2 1/2 cups salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
• 12 - 15 small corn tortillas
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breast (shredded)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese (or pepper jack or Mexican blend)
• Avocado, cilantro, jalapeños for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray an 8 x 8 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Spread a layer of 1/2 cup salsa verde at the bottom of the pan.
4. Layer bottom of pan with 4 or 5 tortillas (they’ll overlap).
5. Add half of the shredded chicken and then sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese on top.
6. Add 1 cup of salsa verde on top of cheese.
7. Add layer of tortillas.
8. Add the rest of the shredded chicken and another 1/3 of the cheese.
9. Add layer of tortillas.
10. Pour 1 cup salsa verde on tortillas and add rest of cheese on top.
11. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove dish from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
12. Garnish with avocado, cilantro, and jalapeños before slicing and serving.

3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

I want to preface this blog post recipe by saying EVERYONE should own a crock pot! I don’t care what your cooking skill level is; crock pots are one of the single most useful kitchen appliances out there.

Why?

1.      Anyone can use it; if you can put ingredients into a bowl you’re already a crock pot master

2.      You come home to an already-prepared home-cooked meal

3.      There’s only one dish to clean (or there’s no cleaning if you use a crock pot liner)

As of lately, I've been trying to come up with recipes that have five ingredients or less as part of my Bachelor Series (more info on why I started that here). So I had the idea of making ground beef taco meat. Taco meat is great because of its versatility – serve it with tortillas as a taco, over lettuce as a salad, or even with eggs in an omelet. And of course, what better way to make it than in a crock pot – slow-cooked in seasonings for hours until it’s exploding with flavor!

And of course, I stayed true to my goal of five ingredients or less. All you need for this recipe is ground beef, taco seasoning, and salsa. I know most cooking blogs frown upon using pre-packaged taco seasoning, but it serves its purpose well in this recipe (it’s quick, easy, and cheap).

Additionally, you could make this same recipe and substitute chicken, pork or even turkey for the ground beef! 

3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

Yield: Makes about 6 (2.5 ounce) tacos

Calories: 148 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 pound 95% lean ground beef

·      1 (1.25 ounce) taco seasoning packet

·      2 cups salsa

·      Tortillas, lettuce, cheese, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado, or any other additions you may want to serve with the meat

DIRECTIONS

1.     Place ground beef in crock pot

2.     Pour taco seasoning on top of ground beef

3.     Pour salsa on top of ground beef

4.     Mix it up with a spoon, breaking the ground beef up into smaller chunks

5.     Turn the crock pot on low and cook meat for about 4 hours, may need more or less time depending on your crock pot model / amount of ground beef

Mix taco seasoning, salsa, and ground beef together in crock pot - breaking it up into smaller chunks

TIP: If you use a crock pot liner there is literally NO clean up! Just remove the liner and throw it away!

My favorite way to serve the taco meat is on corn tortillas with pico de gallo and avocado.

Serve the meat with guacamole and brown rice! Both are very healthy options and make for a meal rich in whole grains and healthy fats