Bread Pudding

I had all this old homemade bread sitting on the counter that I couldn't bare to see go to waste... and I LOVE bread pudding, and came across some slow cooker bread pudding recipes on the bettycrocker website the other day... So it's Saturday morning and I decide to look more closely at these recipes... Well, they call for things I don't have, and I definitely don't have 3 hours to wait for something to cook. (My plan was to make this for breakfast, not lunch!) So then I just googled bread pudding and came to allrecipes.com and one of the first recipes I clicked on had LOTS of good reviews, and I had all the ingredients, so... here it is...

Bread Pudding

6 slices day old bread

2 Tbls. butter, melted

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

3/4 white sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2) Break bread into small pieces into an 8 in. square baking dish. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over the bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

3) In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until all bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

4) Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Mmmmm... I hope you enjoy this! I look forward to adapting this recipe... maybe I will add some chocolate chips, and serve it warm as a dessert, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! :)

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

I got this recipe from a Mom friend of mine, whose son goes to preschool with Chloe. She made these for her son's half-birthday treat and Chloe brought home half of hers which means I got to try them! Wow! I immediately asked her for the recipe. At first I made the recipe just as it was (3 sticks of butter in all!!) and now I have cut the recipe in half and just make half a batch each time.

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 1/2 sticks margarine

1/2 cup + 1/8 cup sugar

1/2 cup + 1/8 cup brown sugar

1/2 Tbls. vanilla

1 egg

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

chocolate chips

M & M's

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter, sugars, vanilla & eggs in a large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in M & M's and chocolate chips (sorry, I don't usually measure these!)

Drop dough by level 1/4 cupfuls (yes, it's a big glob! hehe) about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork. (I used the bottom of the 1/4 cup to press them down.) Bake 13-15 mins. or until light brown around edges (centers will be soft). Cool 1-2 mins. and move to wire rack.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies... They are of course quite wonderful when warm from the oven, along with a glass of ice cold milk! Enjoy! :)

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
• Sweetened whipped cream or ice cream(optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter in medium bowl; add eggs and vanilla. Stir together sugar and flour; add to butter mixture. Stir in milk chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and nuts; pour into unbaked pie crust. (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and omitted the nuts.)

3. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool about 1 hour on wire rack; serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream, if desired. 8 to 10 servings.


To reheat: One slice at a time, microwave at HIGH (100%) 10 to 15 seconds.




My Notes: This pie is incredibly rich and it tastes like you're eating cookie dough -- it's truly delicious, and I definitely recommend warming up each piece (if you aren't serving it right away) and serving it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream! :)