Abuelo’s Capirotada Mexican Bread Pudding

Capirotada Mexican Bread Pudding

½ pound of French bread cut into 1/2" pieces

Eggs - 6

Milk - 6 cups

Sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.) - 1 can

Evaporated milk - 1 small can

Sugar - 1 cup

Ground cinnamon - 1/8 tsp.

Vanilla extract - 1/8 tsp.

Raisins - ¼ cup

Pecan pieces  - ¼ cup

Step # 1

1. Cut bread into ½ in. pieces. Place loosely on cookie sheet
2. Place in a pre-heated 350° F. oven for approx. 10 minutes or until golden brown

Step # 2

1. In a mixing bowl place eggs, milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
2.  Using a wire whisk or an electrical hand mixer, mix well.
3.  Add toasted bread, raisins and pecans, mix and let it set for approx. 5 min. until toasted bread absorbs liquid.

Step # 3

1. Fill a full size roasting pan ½ full of water.
2. Place bread / liquid into a 4" baking pan.
3.  Place baking pan with bread mixture uncovered inside roasting pan of water. (This will prevent drying / scorching of batter)
4.  Bake at 350° F. for approx. 1 hr. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick or a knife in the center of capirotada, when it comes out dry it is done.

Scotch Envinada Sauce

Scotch or sherry wine - 1 cup

Sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.) -1 can

Heavy cream - 2 cups

Step # 1

1. In a sauce pan bring scotch or sherry wine to boil
2.  Reduce until you have about 1/3 of the liquid
3. Transfer to a stainless steel bowl and place in refrigerator until cool.
4.  When liquid is cool, add the sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream.
5.  Using a hand mixer or electric mixer, whip until the consistency of a creamy sauce.

Serve over warm Capirotada. Garnish with caramel sauce and whipping cream as desired.

Rudolph's Nose Cookies

Rudloph's Nose Cookies
1 box (18.25 oz) Devil's food cake mix

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted


1 egg

Vanilla frosting (about 1/2 tub per batch)

maraschino cherries (no stems)

Directions

Mix first four ingredients into a stiff dough. (Dough dries quickly and then is hard to roll--add a

 little oil to help with the dry-out factor:-) ) Roll in 1-inch balls. Press an indentation into ball (like

 with the round end of a wooden spoon or something like that). Place 2 inches apart on 

ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes. If dough is puffed, use the 

end of a wooden spoon to recreate indentation. Cool for one minute. Remove from pan and

 continue to cool. Spread frosting in indention (or apply with star-tipped pastry bag). Top with 

cherry.

Papa Haydn - Portland, OR

Papa Haydn is the place to go in Portland for dessert. They have a location on the East side and the West side.

Dessert Case at Papa Haydn West

Baked Alaska

Autumn Meringue

6 Layer Glace

Cassata

I had the pleasure of going here twice last week. I had actually never been here before and there was one near the violin shop I was going to. So, after hearing about it, I decided it was time to finally try it. It didn't take long to figure out why it's so popular.

Humming Bird Cake

I split a lunch with my friend, because we wanted to make sure to have room for dessert! This is half of the Reuben, which was more than enough. Papa Haydn has good food too.

Papa Haydn - East

The restaurant on the East side was opened in 1978 and was remodeled in 2007. They did a great job preserving the beauty of the building and added a heated patio and bar.

Papa Haydn East
5829 SE Milwaukie Ave
Portland, OR 97202

Christmas Treats

This year we decided to try some new recipes. Here are two we tried: Chocolate Cake Batter Chex and Turtle cookies.


Chocolate Cake Batter Chex was really easy to make and it is so yummy. In Texas this is basically the same recipe we use to make Texas White Trash. This is a great recipe to do with your kids!

Chocolate Cake Batter Chex

5 cups corn chex
10 squares chocolate flavored almond bark
3/4 cup yellow cake mix
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Sprinkles

In a gallon size ziploc bag mix together the yellow cake mix and powdered sugar, set aside. In a large bowl measure out your  5 cups of chex and throw in some sprinkles. Melt the almond bark and pour over the chex and sprinkles. Once the almond bark and chex is mixed up pour it into the ziploc bag and shack it up with the cake and sugar mix. Once it's mixed up well that's it. Your done!

• To make this recipe into Texas White Trash just add pecans, pretzels, and peanuts.

Turtle Cookies are not as simple as the the other recipe. These are multiple step cookies, but they are quite delicious and worth the effort.

Turtle Cookies

Cookie batter:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1/8 tsp. salt

8 T. butter, softened

2/3 c. sugar

1 egg yolk

2 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Reduce mixer to a low speed and add flour mixture until just combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate until firm.

Coating:

2 egg whites

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Whisk egg whites until frothy.  Place chopped pecans in a separate bowl.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip half the ball in egg whites, and then roll that half in pecans.  Place balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each dough ball. Bake at 350 degrees until set, about 12 minutes.

Caramel Filling:

10 caramel candies

2 T. whipping cream

Microwave caramels and cream together in a small bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 1 minute.  Once cookies are removed from the oven,  re-press the indentations.  Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel mixture. 

Chocolate Drizzle (optional):  

1/4 cup chocolate chips or white chocolate chips

1 Ziploc bag

Place chocolate chips in a small Ziploc bag.  Set the bag in a bowl of warm water to soften.  Gently knead the chocolate with your fingers until melted and smooth, placing back in the warm water for a minute or two as needed.  Snip a very small hole in the corner of the plastic bag.  Drizzle chocolate over the cooled Turtle Cookies.

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Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Crumble

Every Christmas I like to make something special for breakfast. By special I mean I make something instead of having the kids eat cereal. This year instead of making eggs and bacon or waffles, I decided to go all out and make a real treat. I call it Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Crumble.  Adapted from the Lady Behind the Curtain's recipe: Cinnamon Blueberry crumble. I didn't really change a whole lot, but I've never used the type of cinnamon rolls she mentions and based on the amount of blueberry pie filling I thought I could actually make way more and I did, three times more!

Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Crumble

2 cans Pillsbury cinnamon rolls 8ct.
1 large can blueberry pie filling
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup flour (or yellow cake mix)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1-2 packets of icing


Grease a baking dish large enough to hold 16 cinnamon rolls. Cover the cinnamon rolls with the pie filling. In a separate bowl mix the softened butter, flour, brown sugar, and pecans. Once mixed shake out over the pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until the cinnamon rolls have completely cooked. Once it's done top it with the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls.

I decided to make this breakfast casserole for Thanksgiving morning, but instead of using blueberry I used Strawberry pie filling. It was just as good.

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Mint Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownie Ice Cream Cake

A while back I bought an ice cream cake from Cold Stone and was a little taken back by the price. I wondered if I could make one. I wasn't sure how hard it would be. After searching Pinterest I realized how easy they are to make. They are way cheaper to make then they are to buy.

Mint Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownie Ice Cream Cake

1 package brownie mix (get whatever kind you like best)
1 carton mint chocolate chip ice cream
1 package mint Oreos
1 package regular Oreos
1 jar hot fudge

Bake the brownie mix according to it's directions in a 9x13 pan. Make sure not to over cook the brownies. You want the brownie to be soft enough it will hold the Oreo mint cookies you press into it all along the sides of the pan. Once your brownie base has cooled enough add the cookies all along the side. The add an ice cream layer on top of the brownie base.

Next crush up some regular Oreos and sprinkle them across the ice cream. I tried to use the mint ones, but they do not crumble up well.
Next pour the hot fudge over the crumbled cookies and ice cream layer. Spread around the hot fudge.
Finally add another layer of ice cream and top it with some more crushed Oreos. Put it in the freezer until your ready to eat it.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished cake and it didn't last long once I got it out of the freezer. The kids gobbled it up in no time!

Hazelnut Rice Crispy Treats

Have you ever had flavored rice crispy treats? I had never even thought about tweeking the original rice crispy recipe until I discovered Pinterest. I could not believe how many unique recipes existed for rice crispy treats. I mean some people really go all out. I on the other hand like to keep things simple. I decided the easiest way to add some uniqueness to my treats was to add flavored syrup. Torani recently sent me two bottles of sugar free syrup to try out: Pumpkin Pie and Hazelnut. I already add Torani syrups to hot chocolate and coffee on a regular basis, but until now had not tried them in food. I must say the treats turned out quite tasty. The best part is you could use any Torani syrup flavor in your rice crispy treats.

Hazelnut Rice Crispy Treats

6 cups Rice crispies and/or rice chex
1/3 cup Butter
7 ounce jar of marshmallow cream
2 tablespoons hazelnut syrup

Melt the butter then add marshmallow cream and hazelnut syrup. Once these are mix together well add the rice crispies. Blend well and then pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Spread the mixture out evenly and let cool.

This is a sponsered post for SheSpeaks and Torani.

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Italian Creme Cake

Here is my Italian Creme Cake recipe. It's originally based on my husband's aunts cake, but I don't do layers or shortening.  Mine's a little different from most, but my family loves it and I hope yours does too.

Ingredients for cake: 1 cup butter
5 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups white flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup almonds or pecans
1 cup coconut
1 buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 cake pan.

Separate the eggs. Beat the whites until stiff and set aside.

Cream the egg yolks, butter and sugar and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, nuts and coconut.

In another separate bowl add the vanilla to the buttermilk.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk ingredients into the egg/butter/sugar mixture.

Last, fold in egg whites.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

Rum Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
 2 ozs cream cheese
 2 tsp of rum extract (optional!)
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all the ingredients and spread over cooled cake.

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Yum Yum Bars

Yum Yum bars are a recipe I discovered a long time ago in my all time favorite cookbook, The Wild Wild West: Cookbook Cuisine from the Land of Cactus & Cowboys. It's a local cookbook from where I'm from, Odessa, Texas.
Yum Yum Bars

1 pkg Yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
2 eggs
Mix the cake mix, butter, and eggs together. Spread in greased 9x13 pan. The batter will be thick.

8 ounces cream cheese

1 egg

3 cups powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese, egg, and powdered sugar together. Spread on top of cake mixture.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes of until golden brown.

Chocolate Goodness Cake

I didn't want to tell my kids the real name of this cake, Better than you know what cake.  So, when they asked what kind of cake it was I told them Chocolate Goodness cake.
Chocolate Goodness Cake
1 package German Chocolate cake mix
Eggs
Oil
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk]
1 jar of Caramel or Butterscotch (last time I got the mix of both)
whip cream
toffee bits (I use the crushed up Heath)

Bake the cake according to the directions on the box.  Let the cake cool and them poke holes in the cake using the end of a wooden spoon.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake.  Set it in the fridge while the cake absorbs the milk.  Next pour the caramel over the cake and then set back in the fridge.  Once  both have been absorbed top with Whip cream and toffee bits!

Furrs cafeteria: Millionaire Pie

Furr's cafeteria's Millionaire pie is the best pie I've ever had. I was thrilled to find the recipe.

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 lb margarine (if using margarine, NOT tub or spread product) or 1/4 lb butter, softened (if using margarine, NOT tub or spread product)
2 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (9 inch) pie crusts, baked

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 cup canned crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans

First cream together 2 cups powdered sugar and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Second add eggs, salt and vanilla and continue to beat until light and fluffy.  Spread mixture evenly into baked pie crusts. Then chill.

Next whip the cream until stiff.  Blend in powdered sugar; fold in pineapple and pecans.  Do not over mix!  Last spread mixture on top of filling and chill thoroughly.

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Sopapilla cheesecake

Looking for a yummy Tex-Mex dessert?  Try Sopapilla cheesecake! I get more compliments on this dessert and it was so easy to make.

Sopapilla Cheesecake
13x9 pan sprayed with Pam
350 degree oven

Ingredients:
4 cans of crescent rolls
2-8 oz. blocks of cream cheese softened
2 c. sugar-divided
2 tsp. vanilla
1 stick of butter
1 can of pie filling (optional)
cinnamon-to sprinkle on top or 1 tsp. to mix with topping

Lay 2 cans of rolls on bottom of pan. Smoosh them together to make a crust. Mix cream cheese, vanilla and 1 c. of sugar and cream together. Spread on top of rolls. Top with pie filling. Add the last 2 cans of rolls on top. Melt butter with sugar and cinnamon and pour over top. Bake for 35 minutes.



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Chocolate Banana Coffeecake

I wanted to make the kids a cake tonight but I didn't have the complete ingredients to any cakes so I just made one up. It was surprisingly good.

Chocolate Banana Coffeecake
2 bananas
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 pkg chocolate instant pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

In bowl mix bananas with mixer. Add cake mix, pudding, eggs, oil and mix for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix graham crackers, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Pour half the cake mixture into bundt pan then pour sugar mixture on top. Cover with the remaining cake mixture and back 60 minutes at 325 degrees.

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