Sunday, September 21, 2014

Audrey's Awesome Waffles

 
 
 
We have a gadget problem in my house....or I should say I do.  I get it from my Granny who had every gadget on earth.  One I love that we inherited from her was her crepe maker.  In all my years watching her cook, I remember her using it once. She had a fascination with gadgets big and small and especially garden tools and tillers.  We all (my extended uncles and Scott) had to take them off her hands saying we'd use them so she wouldn't hurt herself!  I still haven't used the crepe maker yet, but still considering it for someday soon!
 
Yesterday as we shopped in Kohl's my youngest daughter realized that we didn't have a waffle maker.  We fixed that and bought a really economical one from Black and Decker for $20.00.  With my 20 % off coupon that I guess they gave us just for coming in, we got a really good deal. 
 
I strayed away from the flip handle waffle iron remembering the hotel fire alarm going off once from an over zealous group of FFA kids on a trip to Houston. Imagine batter everywhere and people leaving their rooms in pj's with the burnt spell of waffles. Not something I wanted to recreate in my own house. Maybe that's why I've never bought a waffle iron?!
 
We fixed that issue yesterday, Audrey googled on her own a few recipes and created what we think are Audrey's Awesome Waffles!  They made about 5 servings which will be perfect frozen up or refrigerated for her breakfast later this next week.
 
These waffles would be great with chocolate chips or blueberry's added with whipped cream or chocolate sauce.  We ate our waffles with Blackburn's Butter Pecan Pancake and Waffle Syrup.
 
Enjoy and go buy yourself a waffle iron if you don't have one!  They are easy and fun!  
 
Alise - The Ranch Kitchen


Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Tailgating Recipes from the Ranch on Sure Champs Blog today!

Our annual tailgating picture!
 
 
 And a fun weekend was had by all!  This past weekend we hosted our annual Nolan Family and Friends Tailgate in College Station, Texas at Texas A&M University!  This annual tradition is now going on 8 years strong and it's a favorite thing for us to do each fall while watch some Fighting Texas Aggie Football!


For this month's Sure Champ Blog submission of Recipes from the Ranch, I decided to share our weekend and foods with our readers!  Tailgating has become an institution in the south, be at a high school, college or even pro parking lot.  It's a time to feed the masses before, during and in our case again after the game.  More than anything for our family it's a way to connect with our daughters and their friends becoming a part of their college experience.  Tailgating at Texas A&M has brought us closer to our daughters, their friends, our friends and given us memories we will never forget.


Our first experience was probably the funniest when we smoked out a neighbors RV from our smoker's smoke....he woke up in the middle of the night thinking his camper was on fire, until he smelled the BBQ smell!  We made friends with him and his entire family by inviting them to tailgate with us and thankfully they forgave us! 

One of our favorite memories was our every other year Texas A&M vs. Texas Thanksgiving Tailgate when Scott and the girls.....shh.....slid down a certain 'mountain' there on campus....we don't have much snow in southern Texas, but a plastic tub and a little ingenuity made for a fun night and some soaked kids!

This past weekends tailgate was another winner and the men decided to go with the 'surprise' factor or what they probably thought was the 'wow' factor and serve along side my husband's famous catfish, some fried froglegs.  Not many of the women ate them, but the men tore them up! 


For dessert we had fried apple, pecan and peach pies that will now become a tradition!  Oh my...these were like the best thing ever and a great idea by our friend David.  We couldn't have put this tailgate on without his help, his wife Kelly's (their remoulade sauce and fried pie idea), Tim and Erin Lockhart and their Cattle in Motion TV's & fajita lunch, and Ken and Felicia Marks (her wonderful dips and dessert) and all these sweet couples foods they brought!  These men and their Cajun Cooker/fryer have definitely gotten their system down and fed over eighty hungry kids and parents with the ease of seasoned cooks! 
 

                       The cooking crew! We couldn't have done it without David and Ken!

 
The night was a cold one for Texas and for those who stayed behind to watch the game outside our RV, we all covered up in the blankets I had luckily stashed a year before.  A husband should never underestimate why a women packs as much as she does and always remember that her wisdom will eventually shine through!

 Our girls and their friends!

 
 

My cousin Krissy and I!


I hope you'll stop by the Sure Champ's Tailgating Recipes from the Ranch Post today and check out some of the best foods we shared this weekend while there in Aggieland!  These dishes aren't just for tailgating, but for anytime you feed a crowd or want something fun and different to serve at home!

Enjoy and have  fantastic start to your fall!


Alise - The Ranch Kitchen


Special thanks to Gayla and Kelly for their help! 


 Ryon was the first to rsvp and we are so glad he and his family came!


                                                             My dear friend Dena.

 The Lockharts - center - were awesome to help us host!

 Our Williams family friends who are faithful TRK followers! So proud Catherine is an Aggie ZTA now!

 

Our dear friend the Marks who helped so much!

 

Gig'em Aggies!