bread pudding with jack...

Oh my goodness!


YOU have got to make THIS!
I'm serious... really!
Make it this weekend... you'll be glad you did!

Here, let me plan your weekend for you...

Make it Saturday afternoon/evening (it doesn't take long).
Refrigerate overnight.
Grill steaks Sunday evening for dinner.

Enjoy as a Sunday night dessert...
you can even top it with a little whip cream!
Make your man happy!

Then be sure to do an extra mile on the treadmill Monday!

I'm just here to help.

Have a great weekend friends!

*Bread Pudding with a Jack Sauce*

2 cups sugar
5 large beaten eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups stale or day old cubed Italian or French bread
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter softened
1 cup chopped pecans or raisins, optional... I left them out.

For the sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup Jack Daniels Whiskey

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
~Grease a 13x9-inch pan.
~Mix together sugar, eggs, milk and cream in a bowl.
~Add vanilla.
~Pour over bread and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
~In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar,
butter and pecans (or raisins... if you choose to use them).
~Pour bread mixture into prepared pan.
~Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top.
~Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until set.

Sauce:
~Mix together sugar, butter, egg and vanilla in a sauce pan over medium heat.
~Stir together until sugar is melted.

~Add the whiskey and stir until blended.
~Pour over pudding. Serve warm or cold.

*Actually, I poured the whiskey sauce over each serving...
and it definitely was better the next day with the
pudding cold and the sauce warmed in the microwave!

xo
Ralonda

P.S. For my photography friends; These pics were taken without the flash!

shrimp & photography...

I've had my Canon Rebel camera for a little over a year.
And I'm just now "getting into" photography.
When I say, "getting into" I mean, learning about the ISO,
various lenses, shooting without flash, etc.
And shooting in low light situations without using the flash
totally has me stumped. I'm terrible at it.
In all my free time (now there's a joke for ya... ha ha ha, hee hee, ho ho,
ha ha ha, *clears throat*... ok I'm done... that was funny!),
when I'm not posting here, or... um... chatting with friends on
facebook I'm trying to teach myself photography.

Here is a picture of some Spicy Shrimp I took
a couple of weeks ago... It was SO good!
And yes, I'm gonna share the recipe!

Anyway, this picture was taken with the flash.

And this one was taken without the flash.
There was no natural sunlight streaming in
because it was... well... night time!

See, I'm not only funny, I'm smart too!

Here's another one using the "auto" setting on my
camera dial and it decided for me to use the flash.

I generally prefer "natural light" photography...
but in this case, I like seeing all the color of the food.

See, this picture does nothing for me.
Yeah, I definitely prefer the flash sometimes.

Now add shrimp to your weekend grocery shopping list
and make this this weekend!

*Spicy Shrimp*

Shrimp
Olive Oil
Tabasco
Worcestershire Sauce
Lemons
Salt & Pepper
Butter

1. Rinse and remove the shells and tails from the shrimp.
2. Place shrimp on large baking pan in single layer.
3. Drizzle about 1/2 cup olive oil over the little suckers.
4. Generously sprinkle black pepper over... be very generous!
5. Now for some salt.
6. Squeeze the juice of about 3 to 4 lemons over them.
7. Now generously drizzle Worcestershire sauce all over 'em...
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
8. Now for the Tabasco... some like it hot, so do what you like!
9. Now, grab your stick of butter, cut pats and place all over the shrimp.
10. Place under your broiler for about 10 minutes.

*You could also grill the hot lil' suckers and I'm sure they would be fabulous too!

Serve with rice and veggies... YUM!


Enjoy!
xo
Ralonda

banana bread...

Next time you have aging bananas and plain or
vanilla yogurt on hand... make this!

Because I promise, you won't regret it!

And if you have unexpected guests arrive just in time for dinner
serve 'em this bread as an appetizer while you feed your
four month old first... they'll love you forever!

*Banana Bread*

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Spray a loaf pan with a non-stick spray.
~Combine the flour, baking soda and salt
together in a large mixing bowl.
~In a separate bowl, cream together the
butter and brown sugar.
~Add in the eggs, bananas, vanilla, cinnamon,
nutmeg and yogurt; mix well.
~Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture
just until blended. Do not over mix.
~Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour.

Oh, and next time I make this,
I'm sprinkling brown sugar on top
when it's about half-way done.

Enjoy!
xo
Ralonda

laughing now...

Three weeks have past since my last post.
He's not napping as much.
Becoming more vocal.

Now it's getting FUN!

Oh, and in case you're wondering,
he's still not sleeping through the night.

Happy Friday!

I've got several delicious recipes to share, so stay tuned...
xo
Ralonda