Pumpkin Waffles for General Conference

It's funny the things we remember. I have vivid memories of General Conference weekend when I was growing up. Even if we only did something once, it seemed like a tradition.

Like the soup luncheon in between sessions with our friends. I think we only did it one year, but for some reason that is what I think of when I think of "between sessions". Or the Bingo cards that Sandi made for the younger kids, but that we all filled out anyways. And how we didn't have tv channels so we used to listed to it on the computer, or go over to the neighbors. The boys would dump out this huge bucket of legos and play for 2 hours. One year I made a whole stack of greeting cards. I might even still have a few leftover.

While I was in Peru we listed to conference in a our little house over the internet. But to get a good enough computer connection we had to plug directly into the router. Except the router was hooked up in a room infested with fleas. So we stretched the cord as far as it would go to the doorway and then we all sat in the hallway on our mattresses and hoped the fleas wouldn't attack. Good times. Yay for another temple in Peru!

Wow, that was a lot more rambling than I intended to do. I really wanted to point out that as with many other people, General Conference means good breakfasts. I dont know how I got so side tracked...

In any case. This GC I tried something new. Pumpkin Waffles. And because pumpkins and cream cheese were a match made in heaven I also invented something I will call Cream Cheese Syrup (It is suspiciously a lot like Cream Cheese Frosting).

And so without further ado

Pumpkin Waffles
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

Pre heat waffle iron. Stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Folk them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly.

Cream Cheese Syrup

4 oz cream cheese (1/2 block)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4-1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Heat 1/2 cup milk and cream cheese in saucepan until smooth and powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Add more milk until you have reached desired consistency. Serve warm over waffles.

German Chocolate Brownies

I work out so that I can eat more. It is probably counter productive, but it makes me feel better. I am taking a weight lifting class this semester and loving it. If I am sore after class I feel like I have worked hard and deserve a brownie. If I am sore all weekend, well then I deserve brownies all weekend. And if they happen to be rich, coconuty, and wonderfully chocolate brownies, all the better.

These brownies are truly superb. If you are a German chocolate cake fan, you need to give these a try. And if you like brownies and aren't allergic to nuts or coconut, you too should try them out. They do take a little bit of time, but are definitely worth it.

For Brownies:

½ ½	cup semi sweet chocolate chips cup milk chocolate chips
½	cup butter or margarine
1 ¼	cups flour
1	cup sugar
1	teaspoon vanilla
½	teaspoon baking powder
½	teaspoon salt
3	eggs, beaten
1	cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
½	cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350°F. In 3-quart saucepan, melt 2 cups chocolate chips and the butter over low heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, salt and eggs. Spread batter in ungreased 13x9-inch pan.

Bake 27 to 34 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

For Frosting:

1 cup evaporated milk

 1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 egg yolks

Mix the above ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick then add:

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

2 cup shredded coconut 

Asian Lettuce Wraps

To finish off my kick of Asian recipes I bring you, P.F. Chang's inspired lettuce wraps. I have only been to PF Chang's once, and it was few years ago so I couldn't really tell you if these taste like the real thing. But I can tell you that these are delicious.

We start with this luscious, beautiful thing called Butter Lettuce. This particular lettuce came from our bountiful basket, courtesy of Jake and Richelle who picked ours up for us. Isn't it beautiful? I hear you can also use something called Bib lettuce.

We fill it with a tasty combination of chicken and mushrooms with a nice crunch of water chestnuts. This savory filling has been cooked to perfection with an assortment of asian spices and sauces.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients: 

1 head butter lettuce (10 leaves)
1 pound ground chicken breast
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
4 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (8 ounce size) sliced water chestnuts, drained, finely chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

Directions:

Rinse lettuce leaves, keeping them whole. Set aside to drain.

Cook chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often to break up the meat. Add onion, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili powder. Cook until the meat is crumbled and brown. Add water chestnuts and mushrooms.

Stir in sesame oil. Arrange lettuce leaves on the outer edge of a platter. Spoon meat mixture in center.