Dash Multi-Mini Waffle Maker Review: How Do You Waffle?

"Brinner" breakfast for dinner, has become quite an enjoyable time in our household. I don't think there should ever be set rules for when something should be eaten. Do what makes your tummy happy. So after making delicious stacks of pancakes usually on weekends, sometimes for a good start to the day and other times, a nice way to start the evening, it was time to try waffles! 

I cannot believe how many waffle makers are on the market! Prices ranged from $40 to *gulp* over $1000.  I like a quality product that is easy to use and gives me the results desired, plus a good price is always on my mind - frugal shopper here!

Dash's Multi-Mini Waffle Maker fit my wish-list of what I wanted in a waffle maker! The size was perfect too, as our kitchen area is small and so it fits well in our appliance drawer, without taking up a ton of space. 

After making waffles several times now, here are my honest thoughts below!

Gluten-free waffles made with Dash Multi-Mini Waffle Maker

Here is Bill pouring the batter into the waffle maker!

PROS

✔No complicated instructions; plug in, pour batter and close the lid

✔As you can see from the photo, it has a great drip-channel feature to control any overflow of batter

✔4 mini waffles are made in approximately 5-6 minutes! (depending on how crispy you like them)

✔Nonstick surface made without PFOA

✔Easy to clean once cooled with a damp cloth

Cons: 

❌Would love if this plate was fully removable, so you could insert other waffle shapes, as Dash has so many cute ones to choose from. 

💜So what do you like to put on your waffles? Send me an email or leave a comment below. I love hearing your comments!  

💜Visit  their website! https://bydash.com

💜If you want to purchase this waffle maker, feel free to use my code for $10 off!  your purchase! Who doesn't love to save money?  In return, I do get reward perks, so I would appreciate it!

Dinner In A Box: PC Chef Meal Kits

Tonight we tried PC Chef's Meal Kit: Oaxacan Pork Tacos Meal Kit with Mango Salsa and Smashed Avocado.    

Serves 2, time: approx. 25 mins

                                                   

Who is PC Chef?

We’re on a mission to make dinnertime feel effortless. Our subscription-free meal kits simplify the planning and prep with pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step instructions, so you have more time to eat together more often.

What is included in the box?

• Ground pork (raw)
• Mango spears
• Avocado
• Roma tomato
• Diced onion
• Lime Pickled jalapeño peppers
• Cilantro Oaxacan-style spice mix (black pepper, onion powder, cinnamon, oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder)
• Mini tortillas
• *Nutritional info is on the link at the top of the page

                                                    

This meal was really tasty!  I tweaked it of course to our liking.  Immediately discarded the jalapeño peppers (actually they are sitting in a container in my fridge for anyone who wants them!).

Instead of mashing the avocado like a guacamole, I cut it into more chunky pieces and just tossed it into the mango salsa mixture.  I also used a lot less seasoning on the pork because opening up the pack, yikes, a whiff of it and I had a feeling it would be a little too spicy for me - mild eater in the house! I also had my husband look up how to prepare fresh cilantro as I've never made it before. The love it or hate it battle of cilantro is strong in the culinary world, but i'm in the middle ground camp. Also added some pickles on the side.

This is the first time I've made dinner from a meal kit.  It was a cool experience and pretty easy to do. The price of these kits can be a little expensive (this one was $18), but you are paying for the convenience of pre-portioned ingredients and planned out step-by step instructional meals that won't have you slaving away in the kitchen for hours on end. Plus clean up is a snap. 

One thing that PC has mentioned in their FAQ is that they are working towards better environmental practices. I loved seeing the recyclable cardboard box, but opening it up, eek. I was struck immediately by the amount of plastic used for some of the ingredients, like the mango spears, diced onions and the spice pack/cilantro. 

Have you tried any meal kits from PC or elsewhere? If so, drop me a note and tell me. I'm always curious to hear other suggestions.

Recipe: How To Keep A Magician Fed For Days

Although magicians don’t always share secrets with their audience, I’m going to let you in on a recipe for Shepherd’s Pie that you’ll want to tell everyone about!

We lead busy lives and if you’re a professional magician, the last thing you want is to fumble while dazzling your audience with a card trick or feeling fuzzy-minded performing a spectacular illusion. It takes passion for the craft, skill and countless hours of practice to perfect the art of magic.  Trust me, I know, as I have been with my magical man for almost a decade now.

Creating balanced meals that will fuel your body is important and so this is the version I do. It’s healthy, fairly simple to make and lasts for several days in the fridge. Of course,  you can tweak it to meet your culinary tastes and dietary requirements.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 medium potatoes, peeled or unpeeled (whatever you like) and then quartered with a knife. 

• 2 cups (or more!) of assorted vegetables—I use a standard frozen vegetable mix often, as it’s more cost effective. You can use fresh veggies, but you will need to saute those separately in another pan.

• 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef, pork, turkey, veal, or chicken. Whatever is on sale, that’s the meat of choice for this dish. *Vegetarians/Vegans – you can of course use veggie/vegan meat replacement and just follow the instructions as you normally would to cook it.

• Seasonings of choice. Ex. oregano, basil, garlic, curry, turmeric, chives, parsley, sage, etc...

WHAT TO DO:

1 Boil the potatoes: Place washed, peeled (or unpeeled, if you like the skin on) and quartered potatoes in a large pot and cover with enough water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender (about 20 minutes). Use a timer.

2.  In a frying pan, add your meat of choice and cook it up (you don’t want to see ANY pink my non-veggie friends!) Make sure to add whatever sauce and seasonings you want.

3. Revisit your mash potatoes. Use a fork to pierce for tenderness. You want them nice and soft so they will be easy to mash. When the potatoes are done cooking, remove them from the pot, drain the water, and place them into a bowl. Add butter or margarine, any seasonings of choice, and then mash away with a fork or potato masher until they are the consistency you want.  Set aside.

4. Preheat your oven to 400°F.  Wait for that oven beeeeeeeeep!

5.  Get out a large baking casserole dish (approx 8 x13), and pour the meat mixture on the bottom. Add a heaping amount of frozen veggies or your mixture of sauteed vegetables. Then spread the mashed potatoes evenly on top.  *Feel free to grate your favourite cheese or cheese alternative, if you’re looking for a richer cheesy potato flavour once it finishes cooking.

6. Bake in the oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes. I like to set my oven to broil for the last few minutes to get the potatoes a little extra brown.

7. Take out the dish WITH oven mitts and let cool down for a couple minutes. Cut into pieces and serve!

Straight out of the oven!

Healthy Yet Fiery Start To Autumn

I made this delicious vegetable dish today that I wanted to share with my readers.

It has chopped kale, broccoli, zucchini, roasted sweet potatoes, onions and peppers. I sauteed everything in a pan with a few squeezes of fresh lemon (i'm kind of on a lemon kick right now), and then topped with some sunflower seeds. I also added a bit of balsamic dressing afterwards and it was really tasty!

I was ready to snap a photo when I started to hear loud bangs, followed by people screaming outside. THIS was actually what was going on about a block away. A shed caught on fire somehow and it just escalated from there. Thankfully it seems like the fire department has things under control, so i'm back in the house, safe and sound. *breathe*

Saturday fire on Balfour St.

Back to my veggie bowl...

What are your favourite veggies for this season? :)

Superfood: Kale it up!

Kale is pretty popular right now and it's readily available in most grocery stores, so I bought a nice fresh bunch. After the kale chip experiment didn't work out, I thought that steaming kale was the right route to go. So I created a really healthy and simple meal that everyone enjoyed.

Steamed kale with a drizzle of olive oil
topped with mixed nuts and raisins
butter and Epicure seasoning (herb and garlic!) spread over 12 Grain bread and topped with tomatoes.

Bake the bread in the oven until crispy and then serve. :)

Cooking: Mango-pineapple spiced oven roasted turkey

My dad said it was about time... I knew it was too and so on Dec 3, 2011, my mom arrived armed with a roasting pan, thermometer and all the utensils needed to guide me in cooking a turkey!

The only hard part for me was lifting it to wash off the turkey, get out the guts and then putting it into the actual oven with the roasting pan. So it's kind of a 2-person job unless I got a smaller turkey next time, if I have to do it solo.