Cherry Bread Pudding

A friend asked me for a bread pudding recipe, and I realized that I'm generally not a fan, except of this one. It's soooo yummy. It's a recipe my mom gave me, and she says it's served at the cafe at the Door County Coffee & Tea Company in Carlsville, Wisconsin.


Cherry Bread Pudding

1 Cup Dried Cherries – soak in hot water
9x13 cake pan full of cubed bread (about 10 cups but do not over pack)
9TBS Butter
1 ½ Cup Brown Sugar
¾ tsp Baking Soda
3 – 12 oz. cans Evaporated Milk
1 ½ Cups Milk
6 Eggs
½ tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Cinnamon if using Cinnamon Bread Rolls
2 tsp if using plain bread



Directions:
Cube bread and drain cherries. Toss together and place in greased pan.
Melt butter in saucepan, stir in brown sugar and cinnamon.
Dissolve soda in milk, add gradually to sugar and butter mixture. Stir until blended. Set aside.

Beat Eggs lightly.
Add salt and vanilla.
Combine with cooled milk and sugar mixture.
Pour custard over bread cubes and drained cherries.
Let stand at least 15 minutes to absorb.
Cover with foil.

Bake at 325 at least 1 hour and 10 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Lime Cake

You're noticing a theme? Limes were on sale at the grocery store this week. This is an adaptation of a recipe from  The Cake Mix Doctor.

1 yellow cake mix
1 3 oz package lime jello (sugar free works too)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup hot water
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.

Place the cake mix, jello, oil, water and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for two minutes more. The batter should look thick and well-blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is light brown and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan - about 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the over and place it on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze:

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 tbsps lime juice
1 tsp finely grated lime zest (I've made it without...)

Combine all glaze ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a serving platter. Spoon glaze evenly over warm cake so it drizzles down the side and into the center.

Lime Grilled Chicken

I found this amazing recipe on www.cookingforengineers.com.(Check the pictures out there) However, when I printed out the recipe, it took up 15 pages.... Note if you do visit that site, I halved the recipe.

Step 1: Marinade
4 lbs chicken (I used chicken thighs, but any will do)
2 cups water
2 tbps salt
1 lime
1 tsp garlic powder (or one clove of garlic)

Rinse your pieces of chicken. Dissolve the salt in water. Add the juice of the lime and the garlic powder. Stir. (By the way, to juice the lime without any special tools, roll it on the counter a few times, slice it in half, and squeeze. If any seeds fall in, don't worry.) Place the chicken in a zip top bag, pour the liquid in and close. Try to get as much air out as possible so all of the chicken is submerged.

 Let the marinade do its magic for an hour or two, but not more.


Step 2: Season and Cook
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lime (save the other half for garnish)

Take the chicken out of the marinade, and rinse each piece under running water. Discard the marinade. Place the chicken in a nice big bowl. Let it sit while you combine the seasoning.

Combine the first four ingredients above in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

If any liquid has collected in the bottom of the bowl, soak it up with a paper towel. Add the seasoning, oil and the juice from half the lime. Toss several times to coat.

Grill the chicken. (Here's the part I really can't help you with) Don't crowd the pieces, turn every five minutes.

ENJOY!

Zucchini Creole (Slow Cooker)

This is an adapted version from Life's Little Zucchini Cookbook: 101 Zucchini Recipes  It's sooooo good.

2 lbs Zucchini, seeded and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb shrimp (preferably raw, deveined)
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 2 cans diced tomatoes, including juice)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons parsley

Throw it all in a slow cooker, tomatoes and butter on top. Cook on high for 2 to 2.5 hours. You can also add a diced eggplant. Just increase the butter a tablespoon or two.

Note: You'll want to serve with salt. It makes a HUGE difference.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

When your mother and mother-in-law comment on the same dish, you're probably doing something right. This is a really easy dish to prepare for a crowd.

1 pork roast
1 chicken bouillon cube

Sounds complicated, doesn't it?

Take the pork roast, put it in your slow cooker. Toss in the bouillon cube. Add enough water to cover about one third of the roast. Put on the top and let it cook on low. I usually let it cook for about 8 hours, while I'm at work. ( I should note that I usually start from a frozen state.)

IMPORTANT: Check with a meat thermometer to be sure the roast is thoroughly cooked.

Take chunks of the roast and shred it with two forks, discarding any fat, bones or anything else that doesn't look like you want to eat it. Return the shredded pork back to the liquid.

Serve the pork with a slotted spoon. I like it on buns with my favorite barbecue sauce.

Stuffed Zucchini

Until yesterday, I had never made stuffed zucchini. But I thought this was quite good. I have to give credit to Life's Little Zucchini Cookbook for the inspiration.

2 medium to large zucchinis
2 boxes of your favorite stuffing mix (I like chicken flavor)
1 lb of ground turkey or beef (I suppose pork might be good too.)

Brown the ground meat and drain. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your favorite stuffing mix according to package directions. Slice the zucchinis lengthwise and scoop out the white, fluffy seedy center.

Mix the meat and stuffing together. Pack into the spaces in the zucchini. Heap if you need to. Place the zucchinis on a sheet pan. Cover (tent) with aluminum foil if you prefer moister stuffing. Leave the foil off if you don't.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Impressive Cake

This recipe (well, more like a tip) came about quite by accident.

One cake mix (chocolate, yellow, white) or other layer cake recipe
A small jar of jam (strawberry and raspberry are my favorites)
One recipe vanilla buttercream frosting

Prepare the cake using the two-layer method.
Cool.
Spread the jam on top of layer cake one, stopping about a half-inch from the sides.
Place layer cake two on top, wiping away any jam that oozes out (it makes it harder to frost.)
Frost the whole thing.

If you aren't going to be serving soon, you may wish to spread a little frosting on the top of layer one and bottom of layer two to keep the jam from seeping into the cake too much (and thus, tumbling over.)