I’m back to the most important meal of the day – brunch, obviously. So maybe you’re not a sweet breakfast/brunch person. Why ever not?

For me, I typically need something a little sweet – usually in the form of fruit of some kind, but C needs his three egg omelet on the weekends and will only yield to something sweet for a side. So when I’m trying to compromise, I make some of my “sweet” breakfast favorites into something more savory. The bacon is of course optional if you’re going vegetarian but I wouldn’t cut out the spice.

Savory Waffles with Bacon and Chiles

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 c buttermilk (I’ve also tried it with kefir – still good)
• 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c corn meal
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 c chopped green onions (divided)
• 2-3 T green chiles (roasted and diced)
• 2 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled/diced
• 1/4-1/3 c shredded Pecorino Romano cheese or other dry hard cheese such as parmesan
• Additional eggs for topping

Directions

1. Cook bacon as desired (pan, oven, microwave) until crisp. Let cool and crumble.
2. Beat buttermilk and eggs in a large bowl. I
3. n a medium bowl sift together flour, cornmeal, paprika, baking powder, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Stir in bacon, green onions, chiles, and cheese.
5. Cook waffles until golden brown in your waffle iron. Spray with non-stick spray between each batch to keep from sticking.
6. While the waffles cook, fry over-easy or sunny-side-up eggs in a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan. Top waffles with the runny eggs for a scrumptious “syrup”.

I actually didn’t like fried eggs, much less runny eggs until just two years ago when I had it with polenta for the first time. Needless to say I was hooked and now it’s my go-to whenever I’m looking to add some more protein to a leftover pizza, polenta, or stir fry.

Dig in!