Pumpkin Bread Pudding

The first time I made this recipe I thought I was in heaven. I love this time of year because of all the yummy pumpkin infused goodness that comes with it, and this recipe is definitely one of those your family will look forward to each year.

Ingredients:
1 1 to 1 1/4 lb pumpkin
3 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups eggnog
5 eggs, well beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup golden raisins
8 cups french bread cut up into 1" cubes
Warm Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350*.
Cut pumpkin into quarters, cleaning out seeds and strings.
Place pumpkin, cut-side down, on a lightly greased baking pan. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until almost tender.
Remove peel, cut baked pumpkin into 3/4" cubes.
In a large bowl, stir together milk, eggnog, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spice. Sprinkle raisins on the bottom of an ungreased 3 quart rectangular baking dish.
Spread bread over raisins.
Pour egg/milk mixture over the bread. Let it sit for 5 minutes, letting the bread saturate slightly.
Carefully stir in the cubed pumpkin.
Bake for 50 minutes or until the pudding is puffy and a toothpick comes out of the center cleanly.
Cool pudding slightly (it will fall in the center, that's okay!) and then drizzle with warm caramel sauce.

Warm Caramel Sauce:
In a saucepan, melt 10 caramel squares with 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
Stir in 1/4 tsp crushed anise seed and 1/4 tsp rum flavoring.
Cool slightly before pouring over pudding.

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I decided the next couple week's recipes will be dedicated to some delicious and unique desserts you can make for you family get togethers. And since pumpkins and apples are fall traditions, they will be the basis of these recipes. Today is a wonderfully rich knock off of Cheesecake Factory's Pumpkin Cheesecake. It is decadent and creamy...everything you could want from a cheesecake.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbl melted unsalted butter
1 cup + 1 Tbl granulated sugar
3 8oz packages softened cream cheese
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350*
Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1 Tbl sugar in a bowl. Cut together using a fork to coat the crumbs but keep it crumbly.
Press crumbs into bottom and 2/3 up the sides of a 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes and then set aside.
Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, and spices and beat until creamy.
Pour into the pan and bake 60-70 minutes until the top becomes a little golden
Cool to room temperature
Place in fridge and chill (preferably overnight)
Top with whipped cream and serve!

Teacher Appreciation Apple Pot

Now that back to school time is upon us, why not make a cute little apple pot as a gift for your new teacher! It is great for their desk, and can be used to store all sorts of things! Materials Needed: 3 inch Terra Cotta Clay Pot 3 inch Terra Cotta Clay Saucer Small Wooden Spool Fun Foam Paint Clear Acrylic Sealer Spray Glue (hot glue gun preferred)

Instructions: Wipe down your terra cotta pot and saucer with a damp cloth and let dry completely. Paint the clay pot and saucer red (figure 1) - let dry. Paint a face on pot (figure 2). Paint the wooden spool green. Once all your paint is dry, spray it with the clear acrylic sealer. Flip the saucer upside down and place it as a lid on top of the clay pot. Glue the wooden spool on to the bottom of the saucer (figure 3). Cut a small leaf shape out of fun foam and glue it to the wooden spool. Your apple is now done! A great place to keep treasures, candy, or other small items. Of course, if you don't have the time to make a gift, you can still show your appreciation with a gift from our website. Our beaded badge holders make a wonderful teacher gift as it allows them to wear their school id badge with style.

Back to School Flower Pens

With it getting closer and closer to back-to-school time, we are going to start giving out some great tips on back-to-school crafts that will get your kids excited about going back. What better way to cheer them up than with flowers? This craft is for a flower topped pen or pencil.

You'll need: a silk flower, stick pen or mechanical twist pencil, super glue, and floral tape (optional items are crafters' tape (can usually be found in the scrapbooking aisles...it's double sided and will state that it holds ribbon, paper, etc) and ribbon)

-First, cut the stem off the silk flower to about 2" long.
-Strip off any rubber exposing just the wires.
-Place a dot of super glue under the flower and place it centered on top of the pen/pencil.
-Wrap the wires around the pen/pencil, keeping the flower centered on top of the pen/pencil.
-Now wrap the entire pen/pencil with floral tape to keep the wires covered and in place.
-If you want the "natural look, you are done! But if you want it to be brighter, keep going...
-Wrap the pen/pencil with the crafter's tape, removing the top side of protective paper as you go to expose the sticky side.
-Now wrap the pen/pencil with the ribbon, pressing gently to make sure it adheres as you go.
-Place a dot of super glue along the top seam and bottom seam of the ribbon just to give it added strength.
-Let it dry, and you are ready to write your schoolwork in a bright sunny style!

Of course if you don't feel you are crafty enough, or just don't have the time, we do sell these pens at my craft site Dayna Lane Gifts. Otherwise, have a great time getting ready for school and keep a lookout for more great back-to-school craft ideas!

Sea Creatures Mask

So I've been inspired by my planning for our trip to Key West in August for the Lobsterfest craft fair to do some beach themed crafts.  This one is a Sea Creature Mask and is a lot of fun to make, whether you can do it at the beach or at home in a sand box.

What you need:
Beach stuff such as shells, sea glass, driftwood, etc
Plaster of Paris
Water bucket
String

What to do:
In a perfect world, you would do this project at the beach, picking a moist hard packed strip of sand just above the wet tidal sand.  But if you are landlocked, just pour some sand at least 3-4 inches deep and 10 inches tall (an old cake pan works great for this), and wet it and pack it tight.

1) Dig an oval/face shaped hole into the sand that measures about 5-8 inches tall by 2 inches deep.
2) Arrange you beach findings to make a face.  Remember to tell your kids that they are looking at the face in reverse, so to put the side they want showing face down into the sand.
3) Mix the Plaster of Paris in the water bucket based on the package instructions (if you are lucky enough to be at the beach, just use seawater).  A standard box will make 3-6 masks, depending on their sizes.  Usually a think creamy consistency works best.  Too runny and the plaster will seep under your findings and cover them up, too thick and the plaster will dislodge messing up the mask.
4) Pour the plaster over your hand, held about an inch or two above the hole, to break it's fall and make sure your findings don't get disturbed.  Make the plaster layer about an inch thick.
5) Tie a knot at both ends of your string.  When the plaster begins to thicken, press the knots into each side of the mask to create a hanger.
6) Once the plaster begins to harden, but is not too firm, dig the sand away from the mask (rather than just pulling the mask out).  Then use water to gently wash away any flaws as you will have a few moments to manipulate the plaster's surface before it hardens completely.

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  Pictures will be posted soon.

Tequila Lime Chicken

Tequila Lime Chicken

A long long time ago, when I was in high school, I was on the Dance Team so we had to be at every football game.  After games, we always ended up at Applebees, and for awhile they had this amazing Tequila Lime Chicken on the menu.  But a few years later I went off to a college where there were no Applebees (and when I went home to visit, they had taken it off the menu) and so I had to find a recipe to help curb my cravings.  This recipe I found (and as usual, modified) actually was tastier than the one I loved!

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1 cup water
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (Oy Vey's Veri Veri Teriyaki Marinade is my favorite)
2 tbl lime juice
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp gold tequila (I use Sauza Gold)

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
Spanish rice
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
2 cups crumbled corn chips (or I found some tri-colored tortilla strips in the dressing aisle next to croutons that work perfect for this)
Salsa

Mexi-Ranch Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbl milk
2 tsp minced tomato
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp minced canned nacho  jalapeño slices
1 tsp minced onion
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried dill weed
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
Dash garlic powder
Dash ground black pepper

Prepare marinade by mixing together all the marinade ingredients.  
Pour over the chicken in a shallow bowl or in a ziploc bag and marinate for 3 hours to overnight.
Prepare the Mexi-Ranch dressing by mixing together all the dressing ingredients and chill  3 hours to overnight as well.
Preheat the grill and cook the chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side.
While the chicken is cooking, preheat the oven to Broil.
Arrange the cooked chicken in a baking pan.
Spread a layer of the dressing (there will be plenty left over for dipping) on top of the chicken, and then sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese on top of each piece.
Broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
Spread a bed of corn/tortilla chips on a section of 4 plates.
Place a dollop of salsa on top of each chicken breast.
Slide a chicken breast on top each bed of chips and serve with yellow rice.

Spicy Southwestern Cornbread

Spicy Southwestern Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbl baking powder
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 jalapeño peppers chopped
1 small can creamed corn
1 small can whole kernel sweet corn
1 can drained black eyed peas
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil

Preheat oven to 400*
Grease a 9x13 pan
Mix together cornmeal, flour, salt, baki soda, and baking powder
Whisk together eggs, oil, and buttermilk
Add dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture and mix until combined 
Add onion, peppers, corn, and peas and stir gently until combined
Pour mixture into pan and bake in oven for 40-50 minutes until top is lily browned and toothpick comes out clean from center


Variations:

Caribbean Cornbread:
Omit onion, peppers, and peas.  Instead add 1 can crushed pineapple drained and 1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Sweet & Cheesy Cornbread:
Omit onion, peppers, and peas.  Instead add 1/4 cup raw sugar and 1/2 cup whole milk mozzarella shredded cheese.