#waffleaday

For my second entry into the #50ShadesofWaffles contest, I made a dinner entree with chili, pepperjack cheese and cornbread waffles. It turned out pretty tasty! Included here is the waffle recipe - I didn't make the chili but can get that if you want it. These waffles would make an excellent base for so many things... brisket, roast beef, cajun chicken deli meat and cheese (for an open face sandwich) or even ham and beans for a departure from the usual cornbread. To leave out the mildly spicy taste just omit the jalapeno's and switch the cheese to Sharp Cheddar or leave it out altogether and save some macros.

WAFFLE INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Jiffy Cornbread mix

1/4 cup plain or vanilla fat-free greek yogurt

1/2 scoop plain or vanilla protein powder

4 tbs fat-free Half & Half (or any milk product)

1 egg

1/4 cup Pepperjack cheese

1 1/2 tsp jalapeno juice out of the jar

(Optional) chopped jalapeno to taste

(Optional) 2 tbs kernel or creamed corn

Stir all ingredients in a bowl to make the batter. Use as much milk as needed to make the batter less thick, but not too runny. If you accidentally make it too runny add a little more cornbread mix and protein powder. This should make 4-6 waffles depending on the size of your waffle maker.

MEXICAN CREMA

I topped mine with chili, pepperjack cheese and the most delicious homemade Mexican Crema that is super easy to make. This is the recipe for the crema sauce - you may have had this on fire-grilled corn at a steakhouse, or enchiladas in a tex-mex place. Crema is the Mexican version of French crème fraîche. This recipe is from Simply Mexican by Lourdes Castro.

1 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set it out at room temperature for 3 hours.

Here are the macros for the cornbread waffles from My Fitness Pal. Enjoy!

A fun challenge is going on called #50ShadesofWaffles over on Instagram, and I decided to enter a few items... of course they will all be heart-shaped as my Babycakes Lolly Waffle maker is the only one I have. LOL! Here was my first entry yesterday. I may try to do waffles on Wednesday as #WaffleWednesday is also a thing.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup cake Carrot Cake cake mix

1/4 cup fat-free greek yogurt

1/2 scoop cinnamon protein powder

3 tbs almond milk

1 egg

Stir all ingredients in a bowl to make the batter. Use as much milk or water as needed to make the batter less thick, but not too runny. If you accidentally make it too runny add a little more cake mix and protein powder. This should make 4-5 waffles.

FILLING

1 oz cream cheese

1/3 cup lite ricotta

1 tbs lite sour cream

1 tsp Grand Marnier liquor

dash vanilla extract

Stir the filling until well-blended. Alternatively, just use Mascarpone cheese which works wonderfully with Grand Marnier and is what I like to use, but don't have in the small town I live in.

TOPPINGS

1 singles can mandarin oranges

1 serving cashew pieces (about 50 cashew halves)

SYRUP

2 tbs lite maple syrup or your favorite kind

2 tsp Grand Marnier

Juice from the can of Mandarin Oranges

Mix together well and heat in saucepan or microwave briefly to make warm.

When the waffles are done, you can either layer filling between two of them or just top one of them with filling and toppings. Split the oranges and cashew pieces among the number of waffles you have. Top with warm syrup.