Easy Bread Pudding

In my opinion, there is nothing worse than stale sandwich bread. I do not care if store bought or homemade sandwich bread, if it is not fresh I refused to use it for sandwiches. That means IF someone does not close the package, bag, or container properly and I find the bread even slightly stale, no sandwiches! Bread crumbs are a first thought for use however, quantity comes into question there. One can only use so many containers of bread crumbs, am I correct? This is my solution: A quick, traditional tasting, easy bread pudding recipe to use up day old bread.


Easy Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

9 slices day-old bread
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Tear stale bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. Sprinkle with raisins.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaked up the egg mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Notes: The original recipe called for 3/4 cup sugar and six slices of bread. After reading the comments, I increased the bread from six to nine slices. In thinking about raisins and the sweetness they deliver, reducing the sugar by 1/4 cup seemed necessary and proved to be true.

This bread pudding is very yummy, not excessively sweet, and oh so comforting! I was delighted with the final texture too. It was firm and a bit brown on top but not crunchy. The ease of preparation, and not having to scald milk formed the “easy” label.

♥

Easy Bread Pudding

2010-05-23T16:35:00-04:00

redkathy

baking|bread|dessert|

Comments

Spicy Whole Okra

Not sure why, but I have been on an okra kick for the last few weeks. Breaded and fried used to be my favorite way to serve okra. Since the inception of hubby’s diet, fried foods have been severely limited and that I know has been a healthy alteration for the entire family. I had a package of sliced okra and prepared this Okra and Corn Creole a while back. From then on, I was addicted and the freezer has been stocked with whole and sliced okra. This is my whole okra recipe using a combination of ingredients from various recipes. I prepared this recipe twice, once with the mushrooms and once without. In both cases, this recipe was very flavorful, nicely spiced, and quite satisfying!

Ingredients:

1 small sweet onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 16-ounce package frozen okra, thawed, or 1 pound fresh okra
1 can Rotel original
1 cup fresh mushrooms

Method:

Saute onion in hot oil over medium heat until onion is tender. Add mushrooms, mustard and cumin, stir, and cook for 3-4 minutes until mushrooms are just soft and the spices incorporated. Add okra and Rotel; cook uncovered about 15 minutes or until okra is cooked through.

Now I know scores of people say okra is one of those “slime factor” vegetables. In fact, I did experience a bit of slime with the Okra and Corn Creole however, this okra recipe had absolutely no slime factor whatsoever. I have no idea why this okra was not slimy. Perhaps you all will shed some light on the subject for me.

♥

Spicy Whole Okra

2010-05-17T00:14:00-04:00

redkathy

side dish|spicy|vegetables|

Comments

Cheesy Spinach Casserole

My family always detested cooked spinach.  Cooked spinach always returned the common spinach objection, Eeeewwww it’s so slimy! I happen to think spinach is delicious both ways however serving dishes the family won't eat, while few, is not something I partake in. So my spinach eating days have been few the last 30 years.  Then I came upon this savory spinach stuffing recipe and just had to try it. Everyone really enjoyed the spinach stuffing. From that result, I learned two things; never tell them in advance your serving cooked spinach, and two, ingredients that counter “slimy” are required. With this new found knowledge, I ventured another cooked spinach recipe. I adapted this recipe a bit, my notes are like this.


Cheesy Spinach Casserole

Ingredients

1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cubed process cheese (Velveeta)
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt – reduced to 1/4 tsp
1 cup soft bread crumbs - 1/2 Panko crumbs, 1/2 Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese - my addition to the original recipe
4 1/2 teaspoons butter or margarine, melted

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, eggs, milk, cheese cubes, onion, and salt. Pour into a greased 1-qt. baking dish. Combine bread crumbs, grated cheese, and butter; sprinkle over the top. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degrees preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Print the original recipe here

The hubby and Red really enjoyed this. Some things to note, I patted the spinach with paper towels to dry it as much as possible and beat the eggs and milk together before combining with the spinach. I believe this combination solved the slimy texture problem. Using a combination of bread crumbs combined with the strong flavor of the grated cheese contrasted the spinach mixture nicely.

Very nice side dish and another cooked spinach hit!I'm so pleased with this spinach recipe I submitted to May's Side Dish Showdown!

Are you hungry? ♥

Cheesy Spinach Casserole

2010-05-08T10:17:00-04:00

redkathy

casserole|side dish|vegetables|

Comments

All-Bran cereals® - Muffins and Coffee Cake

There goes the UPS man startling me once again with a door pounding! Nowadays I jump and immediately smile when that pounding takes place. Food Buzz and All Bran Tastemaker times three, three boxes of Kellogg’s® All-Bran cereals®, thank you very much! I organized a recipe collection almost immediately. Why such urgency; Red eats about four boxes of cereal a week. Delaying would have wiped away a Tastemaker review!

I have for you three All-Bran® recipes, each using one of the three All-Bran cereals® I received, and a few illustrations of my results.
First I prepared Kellogg’s Bran N” Molasses Muffins. These muffins were much darker that the photo displayed at Kellogg’s Kitchen. Always using what is readily available, I substituted vegetable oil for shortening and dark molasses for light. The cereal chose for review is those cute Bran Buds cereal. The flavor was robust and the texture grainy. My son really enjoyed them however they were a bit too course for my liking.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup All-Bran® Bran Buds®
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup light molasses
1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates

Directions
1. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside

2. In large mixing bowl, combine KELLOGG'S ALL-BRAN cereal, milk, and molasses. Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal softens. Add egg and shortening. Beat well. Stir in raisins. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Portion batter evenly into twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin-pan cups coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400° F about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Print Kellogg’s Bran N” Molasses Muffins

Using the All-Bran® Original cereal, I prepared traditional All-Bran® Honey Muffins. This recipe was very tasty and less course that the first. In fact Red liked them so well I didn’t even get a photo of them. If you want to see a fabulous photo, check out Teenie Cakes blog, she prepared this bran muffin recipe as well.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup All-Bran® Original
1/3 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup shortening

Directions
1. Stir together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In medium mixing bowl, combine Kellogg's® All-Bran® cereal and buttermilk. Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal softens. Add egg, honey and shortening. Beat well. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Portion batter evenly into nine 2 1/2-inch muffin-pan cups coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400°F about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Variation: To make sour milk, stir 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup milk.

To substitute milk for buttermilk or sour milk, omit buttermilk or sour milk and use 2/3 cup milk, 1/4 cup honey, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and omit baking soda.
Print Kellogg’s All-Bran® Honey Muffins


My third and favorite recipe was Marmalade Coffee Cake also found on Kellogg Kitchens website. I traded the orange marmalade for sugar free apricot preserves. The one thing I did change in the directions was to allow the milk and cereal mixture to sit for about five minutes, stirring a few times. Even though flake cereal was used, I did not want the texture to be excessively coarse. This method proved true. While the cake portion was dense, the numerous air pockets present a nice contrast. The topmost of the fruit preserves transform into a nice shiny finish whilst adding a layer of sweetness in between. The perfect compliment to a fresh cup of coffee, and a healthy serving of fiber too.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups Complete® Wheat Bran Flakes
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup orange marmalade

Directions
1. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Set aside.

2. Measure Kellogg’s Complete Wheat Bran Flakes cereal and milk into large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cereal is softened. Add egg and shortening. Beat well. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Spread in greased 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Top with marmalade, spreading evenly over batter.

3. Bake at 400° F about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares. Serve warm

Print Kellogg’s Marmalade Coffee Cake

♥

All-Bran cereals® - Muffins and Coffee Cake

2010-05-02T17:11:00-04:00

redkathy

baking|dessert|snack|

Comments