Iced Coffee

One thing that we are hooked on in this house is iced coffee!  We have spent many a dollar on the popular ones that come pre-made and then enough was enough.  I came up with a recipe that in OUR opinion is as good as if not WAY better that the store bought.  Oh, and did I mention it was easy?  Like a no-brainer easy????

Mix up the flavors for whatever variety YOU like.  In this house?  We are partial to Caramel Truffle.

Iced Coffee

• 12 c brewed coffee, your choice of flavor and regular or decaf 
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk, regular, low fat or no fat

Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk into your serving pitcher.  Pour the warm/hot coffee into pitcher next and stir.  No, seriously, that's it!  Depending on how sweet you like your iced coffee you may need to use more or less of the sweetened condensed milk.  

And, oh, the variety and add ins.....

Use a peppermint flavored coffee and shaved dark chocolate on top for the Holidays!  Or, how about a chocolate flavored coffee with crushed peppermint on top?  The choices are endless.....ENJOY!

   

I LOVE comments! Let me know what you think......

Lemon Blackberry Bread Pudding

I almost always have a half eaten loaf of some artisan bread that I made.  We always WANT the bread but with a family of only 3 we never quite get through the whole loaf.  One thing that I do with the leftover bread is make homemade italian bread crumbs.  Easy peasy and really, who doesn't always need bread crumbs for something?  

The other day I was stocked up on breadcrumbs and couldn't quite figure out what to so with the bread.  Oh, hello!  Lightbulb (and duh) moment......Bread Pudding!  While none of us are HUGE fans of Bread Pudding I still thought that I might be able to make something appealing to us.  After a quick inventory I new I had blackberries that were on sale for only 2/$5 at the store and some pretty lemons were staring at me from the counter.  Oh, it was on!  

Here is the Finley take on a Bread Pudding that I hope you will give a try - it was super easy and it was so scrumptious!  I actually described it to my mother as "It was 'oh my god did I make that?' good"! 

First up - take that day or two old bread and cut it up into approximately 1 inch cubes.  You don't want them too big that it's hard to soak up the custard and you don't want them too small that they fall apart.  It's science people!

After your bread is ready mix up the custard portion of the recipe and toss in your blacberries.  You might want to hold a few blackberries out so you can use them on top of the finished Bread Pudding for presentation.  (So Pretty!)  Pour the custard over your bread cubes and fold until all pieces are covered.

You need to let your mixture sit for at least 30 minutes so it has the time to soak up as much custard as it can.  Be sure to give it a stir ever 10 minutes to let it all evenly soak in.

Once your 30 minutes are up pour your bread pudding into a 2 quart casserole dish.  If the dish is a little shallow your bread pudding will most likely rise up and start to spill over the sides.  I used a casserole dish that was 2 inches deep.

Bake this delicious goodness for approximately 40 minutes.  While your bread pudding is baking get your Lemon Glaze ready - it is SO easy and SO, SO sinful!

This recipe truly is easy and absolutely delicious!  I hope that you give this one a try and if you do......let me know how it turns out!  I love comments!!!!!

Lemon Blackberry Bread Pudding

• Day old Italian Bread cut into 1 inch cubes (many other breads can be used - it's just what I had on hand) - I used about 3/4 of an Italian Round
• 2 5.3oz blueberry greek yogurt
• 4 eggs
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1 c sugar
• 2 4.4oz containers of fresh blackberries 
• Zest of one lemon (2 lemons total for bread pudding and glaze)
• Dash or two of nutmeg
• Dash or two of cinnamon
• Lemon Glaze (Recipe follows)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk eggs until well blended.  Add in the blueberry greek yogurt, heavy cream and sugar and mix well.  Stir in the fresh blackberries reserving a few presentation.  Add in the cubed bread and mix well.  Let stand for 30 minutes or until most of the custard is absorbed.  Don't forget to stir every 10 minutes!

Pour custard into baking dish and bake for approximately 40 minutes.  You want the top to just start to brown slightly.  The center of the custard will be springy.

Serve with a few fresh blackberries on top, Lemon Glaze and if so inclined a dollop of whipped cream!  ;)  I am always inclined!!!  LOL

Lemon Glaze

• 1 c confectioners sugar
• Zest of one lemon
• Juice of one lemon

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk.  You may need to adjust amounts depending on the amount of juice you get from your lemon.

Well, friends, that's it!  I hope you and yours love this one as much as we did!

I LOVE comments! Let me know what you think......