We might have overdone it.

This is our last day of summer vacation. My kids celebrated by watching Mr. Bean on youtube all morning and eating chocolate chip Belgian waffles with syrup and whipped cream for breakfast. I celebrated by staying in bed past 7, scrubbing all of the bathrooms, cleaning the house, and doing a million loads of laundry. There's nothing like starting the new school year off with a spotless house. And now that the kids are going back to school, it might actually stay that way!

In case you're in the mood for waffles, here's our tried and true family favorite recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup oil
2 egg yolks

2 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your waffle oven. We use the Belgian kind that flips. It has a timer, too, so perfectly cooked waffles are a cinch. I don't know what we would do without it.

In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Combine the buttermilk, milk, oil, and yolks in a measuring cup with a fork. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, adding the sugar gradually until the egg whites are thick and glossy. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just blended. Fold in the egg whites with a spatula.

Cook the waffles. Once out of the waffle maker, you can keep them warm in a warm oven, or put them on a cooling rack so they don't get soggy.

This recipe makes about 6 light and crisp Belgian waffles.

I like to use mostly whole wheat flour in our waffles. I like the white whole wheat kind. It's much less whole wheat-y, if you know what I mean. Also, what are your thoughts on coconut oil? I used it in our waffles today for the first time. The smell was a little too much for me, but the waffles tasted great.

We usually serve ours with lots of butter and real maple syrup. Today we added chocolate chips and whipped cream.

Happy last day of summer!