Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Maple Sauce

My friend, Kendra, knows I love bread pudding. She saw this recipe and passed it on to me. I tried it last week and it was amazing. I didn't have ginger, clove, or pumpkin spice on hand. So, I just left them out and it was still amazing. I did substitute cinnamon in the maple cream sauce.

Ingredients

5-6 cups white bread, cut into cubes
1 cup pumpkin spice egg nog (cream or regular egg nog may be substitued)
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
3 Tbs butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
dash of clove
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, pour milk and eggnog over cubed bread and stir to coat.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with brown and white sugar. Add pumpkin, butter, vanilla and spices. Add to the bread mixture. Stir well. Pour into an 11"x 7" baking dish. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar mixture and make for 45-60 minutes, until set.

Serve with Maple Cream Sauce and whipped cream.

MAPLE CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:

3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 Tbs butter
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

This meal is in my top 10, maybe even my top 5! It is incredibly good and I crave it. So we just had it for dinner.

My kitchen has been over worked since discovering a fantastic food blog, My Kitchen Cafe.

In fact, stop reading this and put it on your google readers right now, you will thank me.

Melanie knows what she is doing! Ive loved every recipe Ive tried!

Okay, Stroganoff talk....Make it, it wont disappoint.

The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

Put in crock pot:

2-3 pounds stew meat

1 tsp. salt

dash of pepper

1 onion, sliced

Mix in a bowl and pour over meat:

¼ tsp. garlic salt

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ cups beef broth or stock (made up from cubes or granules)

1 tablespoon ketchup

Cook in crock pot on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When cooked make a simple roux by whisking 1/3 cup flour with enough apple juice (about 5-6 tablespoons) to make a thick but still pourable flour mixture. Whisk the roux into the crock pot and add 4 ounces sliced mushrooms.

Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Then stir in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes (pasta is my favorite option!).

Easy Potato Soup

This is by far the easiest and best tasting soup I have ever made! The original "recipe" calls for potatoes and carrots. I, however, use whatever else I have in the fridge in addition to it. This recipe is really a can't mess up!

Approx:

7 potatoes sliced
2-3 handfuls of baby carrots sliced
3-4 green onions sliced

(I also add random amounts of broccoli and cauliflower as well...whatever I have in the fridge)

Add enough water to barely cover vegetables and cook until tender. DO NOT DRAIN WATER! Add:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
7-8 slices Kraft singles
Butter, salt and pepper (to taste)

Puree all together until desired consistency. I have taken this to several functions, and I always get requests for my recipe! ENJOY!!