Baked Chicken and Savory Herb Waffle Sandwich

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing husband! He is the love of my life and the inspiration for a lot of the food I make. He is the one who got me interested in cooking outside the box and for that I am indebted to him. Love you babe!

Wow! All I can say is wow! Okay. That's not true. I may actually have more words to try and describe the deliciousness that was this sandwich.

It started off as an idea, which turned into some googling, some changing of ingredients, some original ideas, and ultimately the "best dinner we have had in a long time", according to Steve. I don't disagree. There was so much flavor bursting out of this sandwich with every bite. It's making my mouth water right now just thinking about it again!

It was juicy and oh so flavorful.

There were different textures and flavors that complimented each other in a way that can't even be put down in words. I'm not even afraid of hyping this up too much because it was out of this world, delicious!

This is the first meal that I have made that really, truly amazed me. I kept thinking how good everything smelled while I was making it. I remember saying "I sure hope this tastes as good as it smells", multiple times. This dish did not disappoint!

Either part of this sandwich could hold it's own and be the star of the meal. But together...oh together...they form this sort of chicken/waffle union that is right on the money!

Savory Herb Waffles ( adapted from savory herb waffles)

• 1 C. white whole wheat flour
• 1 C. all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. parsley
• 1/2 tsp. rosemary, ground
• 1/4 tsp. fennel seed, ground
• 1 C. Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 C. Havarti cheese, shredded/chunked
• 1 C. heavy cream
• 1 C. skim milk
• 3 eggs, separated
• 2/3 C. sour cream
• 1/2 C. vegetable oil

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic salt, parsley, rosemary, and fennel seed. Add in cheeses, toss to coat, set aside. Place egg whites into stand mixer bowl and mix on medium speed until stiff peaks form. (around 6-8 minutes)

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix egg yolks, heavy cream, milk, sour cream, and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix by hand until full incorporated. Once egg whites have formed stiff peaks, fold into the batter mixture.

Heat waffle iron and cover VERY liberally with cooking spray. Scoop the correct amount of batter for your waffle iron (mine was a heaping 1/4 cup) and cook on a medium heat setting until all waffles are made. When waffles come off of the waffle iron, let each one cool on a wire rack so they stay nice a crispy.

Baked Herb Chicken

• 1 C. chicken broth
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• garlic salt
• parsley
• rosemary
• fennel seed

Preheat oven to 375.
Place chicken in a glass baking dish. Cover with chicken broth. Sprinkle each chicken breast with garlic salt, parsley, rosemary, and fennel seed. Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven.

When you take the chicken out of the oven, flip it over and let it soak up some of the extra chicken broth for about 5 minutes. Move the chicken to a cutting board and carve into slices.

Build your sandwich! Serve with a fresh spinach salad. Enjoy!

We added crisp sauteed peppers. Hubby had bacon too.

SIDE NOTE: I knew L wouldn't be daring enough to try it as a sandwich so I gave him some of the carved chicken and the waffle separate on his plate. He LOVED the chicken and the waffle. He did however ask for pure maple syrup to dip the waffle in. He was definitely onto something there because that bumped up the intensity of this sandwich yet again! Maple syrup really helped to pull all of the flavors together even better (if that was possible)! Way to go little man! Sometimes it's the simple ideas that are right under your nose that are the best ones!