Hearty Bacon Waffles

Wait!  Before you recoil in disgust at the name of this recipe, just hear me out.  When my husband (then fiance) told me to get excited about having waffle pancakes when we went to meet his family, I was hardly excited.  But the image that popped into my head of a waffle topped with butter, strawberries and whipped cream with a greasy slice of bacon on top was far from the truth.

Never fear, folks.  That's not what this recipe is.  Rather, these whole wheat waffles (which, by the way, don't taste like the gross wheat flavor some of you are probably thinking of) are hearty and delicious.  With crumbled bacon cooked right in, they are delicious by themselves or topped with warm applesauce and cinnamon sugar.

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I was extremely skeptical before I took my first bite, but now when I go to visit his family, the conversation goes about like this: "Hi!  How are you?  Are we having waffles for breakfast?" I request these pancakes every time we go to see his family.  And I made them myself for the first time the other day.  Am I turning into a wheat person?  Times, they are a-changin'.

Also, did you know that they sell pre-cooked, crumbled bacon at Costco that's perfect for this?  Okay, here we go.

Hearty Bacon Waffles

1 cup wheat berries (if you have a fancy blender that will mill it into flour for you...) OR 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Crumbled bacon (as much as you want!)

1. Preheat your waffle iron so it's all ready to go.  Who wants to wait for waffles any longer than necessary, really?  Let's get going!
2. If using a fancy blender (like a Blendtec or a Vitamix), blend the wheat berries with 1 cup of the milk for 30-60 seconds or until well combined.  Then add the rest of the milk.  For the rest of us, just combine the wheat flour with all of the milk.
3. Add the oil, eggs, baking powder, and salt.  Mix until well-combined.  Get our your crumbled bacon and put it where it's handy by the waffle iron.
4. Pour some waffle batter into the waffle iron, then sprinkle as many bacon crumbles as you want over the batter.  Close the lid, and cook until the waffles are browned and delicious.
5. Bacon waffles!  Eat them as they are or topped with warm applesauce and cinnamon sugar.