Raisin Bread Pudding

• 10-12 cups cubed day old white/wheat bread or 1 loaf of french bread
• 5 cups of whole milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of raisins
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 stick of butter

Sauce

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp rum extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

In a large bowl, soak bread in milk for about 30 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, spices, vanilla, and eggs. Combine the sugar mixture to the bread mixture. Preheat the oven at 350'. Melt the 1/2 stick of butter in a 9x13 glass baking dish until melted. Once melted, pour the excess butter in the bread mixture. You just want to coat the glass dish.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until bubbly and hot.


For the sauce, cream the butter and sugars. Add the vanilla and corn starch. Slowly stir in the egg, then add the rum and lemon juice. Heat and stir over a low heat for about 7-12 minutes. Serve warm over the pudding.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp AP flour
• 1 pkg dry yeast, about 2 1/2 tsp
• 1 cup warm milk (microwave 30 seconds)
• 2 beaten eggs
• 3 tbsp melted butter, cooled
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups AP flour
• 1-2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar, or more :)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 3 tbsp softened butter
• 4 oz softened cream cheese
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, add warm water, salt, sugar, 2 tbsp of flour, and dry yeast, whisk to blend. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in microwave and cool until warm (NO hot ingredients can go into the yeast mixture, it will kill it) Add to yeast mixture. Then add the warm milk and beaten eggs, mix until combined.
Sift the whole wheat flour and 3 cups of AP flour. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture, then add an additional 1 1/2 cups of sifted AP flour and stir/mix until moistened.
Dump your dough ball onto a lightly floured board or counter top and knead for about 2 minutes or until the dough has come into a soft ball. Use enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the board/counter top.

Grease a medium size bowl with soft butter and place the dough ball into it. Butter the top of the dough with 1 tbsp of softened butter. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a draft free, warm space. Allow to rise for 1 hour. Press with fingers and when you leave fingerprints in the dough, it's ready.

Punch down the dough to release the air. Plop the dough onto a lightly floured board/counter top. Roll into a large rectangle, about 16x24. Smear the remaining 2 tbsp (or more) softened butter over the dough, distribute evenly. I will tell you, I used about 1/2 stick of butter.
Generously sprinkle the rectangle with cinnamon. I did not measure the cinnamon but make sure you have an even coating. Evenly distribute the brown sugar over the rectangle. If you like, you can add chopped walnuts or pecans.

Starting at the bottom of the rectangle, roll to the top, rolling as tightly as possible into a log. Punch the end together to form a seam down the roll.
Generously butter two 9 inch cake pans. Cut the log into 1" pieces and place into pans. Cover with the kitchen towel and allow to rise again for about an hour.

While the rolls are rising, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until blended. Add the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp of milk , and vanilla. Beat on low speed. Add the last remaining milk and blend until combined.
Preheat the oven to 350 and bake the rolls for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes. Do not cool any longer than that because the brown sugar/butter mixture will harden and the rolls will be hard to remove.

Invert onto a plate to get it out of the pan and then onto a serving plate so that the cinnamon rolls are right side up. Ice with the frosting and enjoy!

If you'd like the rolls in the morning, right after you shape them into cinnamon rolls, cover with plastic wrap and kitchen towels. Refrigerate overnight. Go right from the fridge to the 350' preheated oven. They may take a few minutes longer to bake.

Noodle Doodle Goulash

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup
• 1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
• 1 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perins)
• 1 cup elbow or spiral noodles
• Spices: 1/2 tsp each of Tony's, lemon pepper, "just a dash" or two of Italian seasoning (McCormick), dried parsley, garlic powder, minced dried onion, salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook the beef , onion, and spices over medium heat until no longer pink, drain and set aside. While your beef is cooking, boil your noodles, drain and set aside.

To the large skillet, combine the beans, soup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and beef bouillon. Then add the beef back to the skillet and the cooked noodles and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve with sweet corn bread or garnish with grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Very quick and easy :)

Tres Leches

• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 14oz can condensed milk
• 1 12oz can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp chocolate syrup (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9 glass baking dish with bakers joy (flour/oil). Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside. Cream butter and 1 cup of sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, cocoa powder, beat well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden. Pierce the cake several times with a skewer or serving fork. Set aside to cool. Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake, a little at a time.

In a large COLD glass mixing bowl (I kept the bowl in the fridge until the cake was cooled), whip the whipping cream, the remaining 1 cup of sugar, and the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla extract until thick. Spread over the top of the cake and drizzle with the chocolate syrup. Keep the cake refrigerated and serve cool.

Tater Tot Casserole

• 1 bag of frozen tater tots
• 1 family size can of Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1 can of cream style corn
• 1 cup of evaporated milk
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese ( I used the nacho blend)
• 1 1/2 lbs of ground meat
• Spices: 1 tbsp of minced dried onion, 1 tsp each of garlic & onion powder, Tony's
• Salt & ground pepper

Brown your ground meat with your spices, drain, set aside. In a large bowl, mix the soup, milk, corn, and 1 cup of the cheese until blended. Then add your tater tots and hamburger meat. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a greased 13x9 Pyrex baking dish and bake, uncovered for 45 minutes at 350. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese. Bake an additional 15 minutes until golden and the cheese has melted.

I would recommend letting this "set" at room temp for about 10 minutes. It's SUPER hot! Enjoy!



Fruity cupcake brownies (low calorie/sugar)

• 1 box of devils food cake
• 1 can of pumpkin puree
• 1 medium can of fruit cocktail (in fruit juice/no sugar added)
• 1/2 cup of toasted coconut
• 1/2 cup of chopped pecans
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1 tbsp of powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and with an ice cream scooper, scoop into paper lined cupcake pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.

Next time I think I might mix in a little cocoa in the powdered sugar or drizzle dark chocolate on top. This recipe is a twist on "Hungry Girls" Yum Yum brownies.