Ham and Cheese Buttermilk Waffles

If you have been following me  my Instagram account shabangskitchen, then you'll know I've taken this waffle maker that I got for the Indian on our last anniversary, and pretty much gone outer limits with it.  I'm not even halfway through all my crazy ideas for the things I'd like to make in it.

One of the my favorite things to make are kicked up Buttermilk Waffles!  Like this one:

Green onion, ham and bleu cheese waffle

I make up my own waffle batter.  You can use the pre-made ones where you just add water and egg, but just keep in mind you're also eating a lot of other preservatives and stuff.  I would urge you to try and make your own waffle batter.  It's really not that hard.

All you needs to make your own batter is:

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

4 tbsp melted butter

That's it!  Just blend all your dry ingredients in one bowl and your wet in another.  Then you just marry them together and mix it all up.  Done.  The beauty of this recipe is that you can also refrigerate any unused portion and cook later...But I never have any leftover batter.  Probably because I make a mix of regular and kick up savory ones.  They toast up nicely in the toaster oven after refrigerating if you don't eat them all in one sitting. 

For the kicked up waffles, you can use anything you want really.  I really like the combo of chopped honey ham, scallions (green onions) and cheese.  You can use shredded chicken, sliced turkey or no meat if you prefer.  Leeks also work really well in kicked up waffles.  I get all my toppings ready and on the side.

After the waffle iron is heated and ready to go, I add the batter as usual.  

Then I sprinkle in as much or little of the chopped green onions as I want.

Then add chopped ham and top with cheese.

Cheeeeeeeeeeese.  Sharp cheddar cheese to be specific.

Close it up and after about 2 minutes...Viola.  Done.  A good tip is to watch for when there is no more steam coming off of it.  You might need to gently pry your waffle off the iron, but it should come off pretty easily. 

I also do a version with bleu cheese.  Not everyone likes it, but I do.  

In place of cheddar, I sprinkle blue cheese...

aaaaand we have another successful savory waffle.

Feel free to experiment with different things.  Just be careful not to add any veggies that would prevent your waffle from crisping up.  Like tomatoes and mushrooms give a lot of liquid when cooking so your waffle would be mushy.

The beauty of this is that you can also make plain buttermilk waffles at the same time so everyone can get something they like.  And yes, I do eat with a little bit of syrup because I'm a big fan of the salty/sweet combo.

Remember, you can cook them all at one time and refrigerate if you don't finish them.  I use a toaster oven to re-heat and re-crisp.  Happy Brunching!