Thursday, July 23, 2015
Cinnamon Caramel Bread Pudding
I originally found this recipe in a cookbook my husband's grandmother gave to me for Christmas years ago that came from a local grocery store. I had never had bread pudding until the first time I made this recipe and it was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. I recently made it again for family and received rave reviews. Whenever there's a great recipe we want, we always joke it's a 'secret'. But some things are too good to be kept locked up, so try it, I'm pretty sure you'll love it!
Cinnamon Caramel Bread Pudding1 Loaf Italian Bread3/4 cup Unsalted Butter2 cups Dark Brown Sugar1/4 cup Honey1 cup Heavy Cream5 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract3 cups Half & Half5 Eggs1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt1 heaping teaspoon Cinnamon1/4 teaspoon freshly grated NutmegCut bread into 1-2 inch cubes, place in a single layer and bake at 450* F for 12 minutes, making sure to stir after 6 minutes.
Reduce oven to 325*. In a large saucepan, heat together butter and brown sugar until bubbly. Remove from heat and add honey, heavy cream and vanilla and store until combined. Spread 1 cup of the caramel mixture on bottom of a greased 9X13 baking dish. Reserve and set aside 1/2 cup of the caramel mixture for topping.
Whisk half & half into remaining caramel mixture. In a small bowl whisk together eggs and salt, then add to the caramel mixture. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, store to combine. Toss toasted bread cubes into caramel mixture. Gently fold together to even coat. Let the bread cubes soak in the caramel mixture for 15 minutes.
Pour bread mixture in baking dish and bake for 45-60 minutes or until top is crisp and the middle is almost set. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Cut into 16 squares and serve with reserved caramel sauce drizzled on top.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
babes gonna play
When we first moved into our house we immediately turned the designated dining room into a playroom for the first level. We didn't have a lot of toys and were able to get away with a couple baskets and a cubby shelf from IKEA to store everything. We also turned the largest wall into a chalkboard.
Fast forward one year and we've added a play table, some hand me down toys like my crib and a new kitchen. Not to mention all the weird small stuff kiddos tend to accumulate every week that you really have no idea where it came from.
We are in desperate need for more storage and organization. It's definitely safe to say this is a hot mess most days.
Before we can start working on anything in our house, I have to draw it out on paper just so I can actually see it. I'm a visual person and I always, always, always draw my ideas out before hand.
One of the most needed things for this space is organization. I started designing this spaced based on what items we had that didn't have a home yet. Like our vintage Fisher Price house, abacus and art supplies. We wanted to keep at least part of the chalkboard wall but instead we’re opting for making one that can be hung and moved around to fit our needs.
As for color and character, we want to keep the actual room fresh and clean and allow the toys and fabrics to be the center of attention. I love stripes and you can usually find some form of stripe in every room of the house. I’ve been itching to do some stripes on the wall and opted to try it out in here. Here’s a little more progress...
We also needed to do this on a budget; a lot of our designs are based on DIY and items we already have on hand. So here comes our design board for the room. Full of color in all the right places and creating a place for the kidlits to explore and create!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
the past couple months
I am exhausted from working on our outdoor projects. Absolutely exhausted. Neither Mike or I want to do anything else outdoors for the next month. We've spent all our time in the backyard turning our dirt into a livable and useable space. We are very happy with the progress that we've made and we actually laugh at each other's excitement over what most people would call a normal backyard.
Back in April we had the back grated out. When we first moved in the builder would only grate the first half of the backyard and lay seed. It was pathetic. When the guys came to 'spray' our seed it was raining. Do you think any of it stuck? Nope! Not even a little bit! Hence why we've been living with dirt and sand for the last year and a half. So sad.
So when Kensi and I saw all of this wonderfulness happening out the back window we were jumping with excitement!
Once the back was all grated and somewhat cleaned up from all the tree roots, Mike and I started our projects of building garden beds and putting in our own irrigation system. Yes we did the sprinkler system ourselves, some neighbors thought we had really gone bat-sh** crazy especially once they saw Mike digging the trenches and me laying all the PVC pipe. Little do they know my dad is plumber back in Nebraska and and Mike dug ditches for him.
#plumbersdaughter #soilrelocationengineer
We ended up saving hundreds of dollars doing it ourselves and the sense of accomplishment was unreal. But more than anything, we were so excited that Kensi was able to witness hard work and that you really can do anything yourselves.
For weeks leading up to this Kens was constantly asking when we could begin setting up her playhouse. We bought a set this year it was sitting in our garage making everything smell like cedar. It only took us two weekends to assemble everything and then another to add the sod and mulch. In between all of our work, we had a fence installed....HELLO PRIVACY!
We still have more plans, but at least we have a yard, with grass and I don't have to deal with dirt being tracked in every time we go outside. Now if we can just get some cooler summer nights and we can really enjoy it.
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