Nick's Whole Wheat Rocky Road Bread Pudding

The salt from the pecans accents the chocolate's sweetness, while a blend of vanilla, coconut, and cinnamon subtlety introduces the natural vanilla ice cream as it balances the dish's overall richness, and melts perfectly with caramelized bits of the toasted wheat. 

Ingredients:
8 slices of whole wheat bread
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup of white sugar
3 cups of whole milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of butter extract
1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract
1/2 cup of finely chopped peacans
                                                                                     1 teaspoon of cinnamon
                                                                                     1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
Directions:

Toast the whole wheat slices until dry, and then dice them into into about one inch squares.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the 4 eggs until blended well. Then add the 3 cups of whole milk. Slowly pour the white sugar into the egg and milk mixture while stirring. Add the brown sugar in the same fashion (make sure that the brown sugar is free of clumps before adding). Add the butter, vanilla, and coconut extracts. 


Place the toasted bread squares in a 9 inch square baking dish so that the bottom is covered. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the bread. Mix the ingredients by hand to insure that the bread is fully saturated. Add 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and remix the bread.


Place the baking dish in the fridge to chill for an hour. This will give the bread time to soak up all of the tasty goodness.

After the bread is chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
At this point I, I removed the chilled bread from the 9 inch baking pan and filled the 12 slots of a dessert bar pan with the mixture.


I figure this will help cut down on the baking time, and also help me with portion control. As it turns out these bars are the perfect size to enjoy with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.


Place the dessert bar pan in the center of your 350 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the bread bars are no longer squishy in the middle. 


After the bars are finished baking set them aside to cool. Serve with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

Lani's Elmo Seven Layer Dip

Lani's Elmo Seven Layer Dip
1. Re-fried Beans
2. Guacamole
3. Sour Cream mixed with a packet of Taco Seasoning
4. Shredded Letuce
5. Diced tomatoes
6. Shredded Cheese
7. Crushed Olives

Soda Stream and Mio

I bought a Soda Stream a few months ago as a way to help with my addiction to Coke Zero. I was hoping that it would be a healthier alternative to Coke, but I can't see how mixing the soda at home would be any healthier for me than buying it from a store. I mean, that it still uses the same type of syrup (Cola Zero).

Then I stumbled on to Mio water flavorings. It is amazing! Just carbonate your water using your Soda Stream, and then add a few squirts of Mio and you have a tasty, healthier alternative to regular soda. If you don't have a Soda Stream, then you can try with regular club soda or tonic water.

They have a lot of different flavors including energy varieties.

Elmo Cupcakes

This is a really simple way to make cupcake that look like your child's favorite Sesame Street character, Elmo. Just make your favorite brand of cake mix in a cupcake pan. After the cupcakes cool, frost them with white icing. Spray the white cupcakes with red food coloring highlights (Note: They will seem orange at first, but it will turn to a nice red after a few moments.) I like this icing , because it doesn't have a strong "red" flavor. Print out a picture of Elmo's head on your printer, and then cut it out. I separated the nose and eyes from the rest of the head so that I could get the right proportions. I used a tube of Wilton's Orange decorating icing for the nose, and a tube of Wilton's Black decorating icing for Elmo's mouth and pupils. I used vanilla icing for his eyes.