BLOGMAS DAY 4 -- BREAD PUDDING

 Hello, friends!  Welcome back to Blogmas.  I haven't been keeping up on this as I should, but I hope you will forgive me.  I have been super busy and end up falling asleep when I want to post.  But I hope this will make up for it.

Today I am making another of my great-grandmother's recipes.  When Joe's dad was alive I always brought him my bread pudding and he loved it.  I always think of him when I make it.  Joe loves it too and I'm glad because besides it being a great way to use up the ends of the loaf of bread that are a little stale, it is one of my favorite desserts.  So let me show you how this simple dessert is made.

Again, the recipe is in my mom's cookbook.  I'm so glad.

I began by beating two eggs in my dish.  My great-grandmother always used this one casserole dish.  I have that dish, but I didn't want to make a huge amount, so I just used a 9x9 pan.

My legs were hurting so much, so I called Joe in to act as my sous chef.  He got out the sugar for me.  The recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar.  But the last time I made it, it was a little too sweet.  I guess because it was a smaller amount.  So I used 3/4 cup of sugar this time.  The eggs and sugar get mixed together.

Then you add vanilla.  The recipe just says "add vanilla."  No amount.  Joe and I like the taste of vanilla, but not so much that it tastes bitter.  There was just a little bit left in the bottle I had, so I poured it all in.

Next comes the milk.  The recipe says to pour it to within an inch of the top of the dish.  Joe poured for me as I mixed it in.  He kept saying, "More?"  I kept telling him to pour it in.  He finally stopped but I thought it wasn't enough.  It turned out I was right and after we got the bread in, we needed to add more.  Don't skimp on the milk.

Now it's time to add the bread.  We had four slices and four heels left in two bags in the fridge.  Just enough.  I added them to the dish and pressed them down into the milk mixture.  Make sure they are completely soaked with the milk.  They can be squeezed in.  It is easier to make them fit into the square dish I used rather than the round one my great-grandmother always used.

Finally sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon and bake at 375*F (190*C) for 45 minutes.  I sprinkle just a bit of cinnamon.  Joe put on a lot.  He likes cinnamon.  But like most recipes, this is very forgiving and you can put on as much or as little as you want.  Oops.  Sorry this is blurry.

When you take it out of the oven, it will be all puffed up.  As it cools, it retracts into the pan.

Here is the finished product all set for dinner tonight.  If it lasts that long.

Let me know if you make this, and if you like it.

And now it is time to start my day.  I have SO much cleaning to do today.  I'm concentrating on the living room.  And then there is the church bulletin for tomorrow.  I really should pay some bills too.

Hope you all have a great day.

Until later...

Kathy