Granola Bars

I've tried quite a few homemade granola bar recipes. This one is awesome.

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups crispy rice cereal (I used Barbara's)
1 cup chocolate chips or other addition

In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter until fluffy. Add honey,vanilla and egg. Mix well. Blend in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients. Press firmly into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Do NOT overbake! I recommend cutting them before they are completely cooled. They firm up when cooled.

Bourbon Bread Pudding

This bread pudding will knock your socks off. I cut the bourbon in half from the original recipe and it's still very bourbon-y.

12 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
9 cups of cubed bread, slightly dried (I used a ciabatta loaf)
4 cups milk
5 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons bourbon
bourbon icing (recipe follows)

1. Preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Brush a 9 x 13 pan with 4 tablespoons of the melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan and set aside.
3. Cut bread into 1-inch pieces and place in a bowl. Pour the milk over the bread and let stand a few minutes until the bread is soft.
4. Combine the eggs, sugar, remaining butter and vanilla in a separate bowl and whisk together until blended.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the bread & milk mixture; add the raisins and stir to mix.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, cover, bake 50-60 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the pudding is puffy and golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven, pour the bourbon over the top of the pudding and set aside to cool 15 minutes before serving. Top with the icing while the pudding is still warm:

8 tablespoons butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons bourbon

1. Place the butter in a pan and melt over medium heat.
2. Whisk in the sugar and stir until all the sugar is blended.
3. Stir in the cream and bourbon and whisk to blend thoroughly, until the icing is thick and creamy. Pour onto the top of the pudding.

Steak Marinade

1/2 cup Bragg's Amino's (or tamari)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced onion (I used 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

We used this on a giant rib-eye and it was fantastic.