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

4 months...

19.3 lbs.


27.5 in.

4 months today!

Totally worth it!

xo
Ralonda

change of plan...

Sleep deprivation is a cruel, cruel thing.


My plan, when I found out we were expecting,
and after the morning sickness dissipated and I could regain
my normal thinking, was to be a "greener" mom.

I mean, I was already somewhat "green" to begin with...
I just wanted to be "greener".


So, it was only natural for me to research
and start buying cloth diapers.

Only to be hit with the reality of the cost of these suckers.
WOW!
I was going to have to test them out before purchasing
the lot for baby Jude's diaper career.

Famous last words:
"I'll only use disposables for the first few months or so,
then I'll switch to cloth!"

ummm... yeah!

Then I discovered something...


Disposable diapers are different from what I remembered twelve years ago.

They're cloth like... soft!

Not as bulky as either.

They certainly fit in my purse better for a
quick errand away from the house...
and, if we do have an accident, I can just toss it!

In fact, today's disposable diapers ARE more earth friendly!

My husband likes the disposable diapers best!

My recent ad on Craigslist read:

"Sleep deprived mom decided not to go with cloth... I'm sticking with Pampers!"
"I barely have time to do my own laundry, let alone diapers too!"


I sold them to the first bidder!

xo
Ralonda

lets eat cake...

Spring is HERE!
Spring is HERE!!
Spring is HEEEERRRREEEE!!!

Lets all run out our front doors, breath in the
fresh air and do cart wheels in our fresh new grass...
that is, if you've got any yet!

In honor of this new season, where everything
is new again, lets eat cake!

In fact, lets eat some Vanilla Cake with,
are you ready for THIS?...
Key Lime Buttercream Frosting!

Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy... pass the fork right now!

If you're a fan of Key Lime Pie,
then you're gonna love this!

I couldn't stop licking my fingers on this one!

And the cake... I'm not gonna lie to ya.
Mine got a little too done... I think it's my oven or
my sleep deprivation (please note: I'll probably be blaming
all my mishaps on that for the next year... or twenty!)

Anyway, aside from a little well done, the cake is delicious.
Even the cake batter is to die for... not that I would know anything
about THAT. It's just something I heard. :)

You could totally make this cake for any occasion
and frost it with any flavor of frosting.

Now, go celebrate Spring and bake this cake NOW!


~Vanilla Cake~

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
3 cups CAKE flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk

~Beat sugar and butter at medium until creamy and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
~Add eggs, one at a time, beating until yellow disappears after each addition.
~Beat in vanilla and almond extracts.

~In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
~Add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and
ending with flour mixture.
~Beat at medium-low speed just until blended after each addition.
(Batter will be thick.) Use immediately.

~Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees in 2 greased and floured 9-inch round
cake pans for 30 to 35 minutes, checking with a wooden pick for doneness.


~Key Lime Buttercream Frosting~

1 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (32-oz) pkg. powdered sugar
4 to 5 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. Key lime zest
3 Tbsp. Key lime juice.

~Beat first three ingredients at medium speed until creamy.
~Beat in Key lime zest.
~Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk and Key lime juice,
beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.
~Beat in up to 2 Tbsp. additional milk for desired consistency.

Happy Spring...
and Happy Birthday to Amy!
xo
Ralonda

happy st. patrick's day...

As I reminisce about where we were

and what we were doing

last year for St. Patty's Day...

Visiting some dear friends that live in a suburb of Chicago.

I can't help but reflect on how our lives are so very different now...

It's all good.

Hope everyone had a fabulous day...
I even got to enjoy some beer THIS year
and wasn't nominated as the designated driver!
Well, that's because we stayed HOME! :)

xo
Ralonda

roasted garlic...

What does one do with a bunch of garlic?

Grab your knife and chop off some heads!

Find an old pan and coat it with olive oil.

Drizzle olive oil over the garlic.
Salt and pepper too.

Pop in a 375 degree oven for about 30 to 40 minutes.

While the garlic is filling your house with a fabulous aroma,
take a few pictures of something you love.

Then use the freshly roasted garlic in your mash taters
or spread it on some bread with butter... mmmmmm

You're welcome!
xo
Ralonda

parmesan oven fried zucchini...

Hello friends...
I realized it's been almost two weeks since my last post.
I bet you were wondering where I got off to.
Well, no where in particular really... I wish that were the case.
Time just flies, or rather the days just sort of run into each other,
when you're severely sleep deprived.
Anyway, I've got a few posts up my sleeve...
lets ignore the laundry and hope baby Jude cooperates
long enough for me to share.

This here is what I call, Parmesan Oven Fried Zucchini...

If you have zucchini lovers in your house, then you, like me,
are always trying to find new ways to cook it up.

I came up with this last week... and it was delicious.

I also came across this dipping sauce and thought it would be fun.

And it was!

Parmesan Oven Fried Zucchini

2 to 3 zucchini, halved and cut into slices
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 c. Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

~Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

~Mix together in a shallow dish the salt, breadcrumbs,
Parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper.

~Coat the zucchini with the olive oil then with the breadcrumb mixture.

~Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.


Apricot Dipping Sauce


1/4 c. Apricot jelly or preserves
1 tablespoon water
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Dash Tabasco sauce

~Mix together all ingredients in a dipping bowl.


Enjoy!

Be back soon... promise!

xo
Ralonda