New Year's Day Brunch Bread Pudding

     My daughter gave me a new cookbook for Christmas and I couldn't wait to try out some of the recipes. I decided the Breakfast Bread Pudding with Peaches and Blueberries would be perfect for brunch on New Year's Day. After all, this is the day where we eat anything and everything because we know we have to "be good" again starting tomorrow...right?

     The ingredients were simple and easy to put together. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, spray a 9x13 pan with PAM and you are ready to put this breakfast dish together.

     Cut an 8 ounce loaf of stale Italian Bread into cubes (about 8 cups), or if you cook like I do...tear it into pieces. Put the cubes into the greased pan. Add a 1 pound bag of frozen peaches and 2 cups of fresh blueberries to the bread in the pan and sprinkle with cinnamon. The recipe calls for 1/4 tsp., but we like cinnamon...I just sprinkled away! Toss the bread, fruit and cinnamon together in the greased pan.

 In a separate bowl, beat 6 eggs. 

Slowly whisk in 2 cups of whole milk, 1 cup half and half and 3/4 cup of sugar. 

Stir in 1 tsp. of vanilla and a pinch of salt.

     At this point, it looks and smells like it could be frozen custard. Tempting to get out the little ice cream freezer, but I did promise my husband breakfast!

     Pour the egg mixture over the bread and fruit and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. You can also get to this step and put it covered in the refrigerator overnight. Press down on the bread pieces to make sure they all get soaked into the milk/egg mixture. After waiting 30 minutes, put into the 350 degree oven for 1 hour. 

 

When it is done, it looks like this!

     This is the cookbook. The recipe says it makes 8 servings at 344 calories each. True confession: We each ate almost 2 servings. I will worry about that tomorrow!

     I may have mentioned Broadbent's in Kentucky in a previous blog post. We get all of our bacon there and have for so many years I can't remember when we didn't. It is simply the best. My husband also loves the ham steaks and these little biscuit ham slices. I find them too salty (but I had one anyway) for my taste, but the bacon is perfection. We get ours on trips to Florida, but they do have a mail order catalog. 

I usually drink my coffee black, but I had a little 

of that half and half left over...and it is a holiday!

     We were supposed to wait until the casserole cooled a little so it would be in pretty squares on our plates. It smelled so good, we just couldn't wait. This recipe is a keeper. We both loved it! 

Wishing you all the Happiest of New Years!

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup...Casserole??

 

     Often when my husband is home for lunch, we see Mr. Food segments at the end of our news program. A few days ago we happened to catch a segment called Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Bake. Because we were kids in the 60's, tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich was a staple in both of our homes. We watched the preparation of this dish with a mixture of interest and horror. It sounded awful, but when all was said and done...it looked pretty good. So, I decided to give it a try.

 

     The only change I made to the Mr. Food recipe was using 1 T. of butter instead of 3 to lighten the dish. I also used a mixture of shredded cheeses because that is what I had at home.

 

Ingredients:

3 T. softened butter  (I used 1 T. and melted it)

1 pound French bread sliced into 22 slices 

2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided 

(I used cheddar and 4 cheese blend)

1 can Campbell's Cream of Tomato soup

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

 

     Spread or brush butter on one side of the 22 bread slices and place on baking sheet. Bake 5 to 7 minutes, turn over and bake another 5 minutes. You want both sides to be slightly toasted and crispy to the touch.

 

Split your cheese into 1 1/2 cups and 1 cup.

 

Mix the soup with the milk until blended.

 

Remove the toasted bread from the oven

and place 11 slices into a 9x13 casserole dish.

It didn't say to grease the dish,

I wish I had sprayed it with PAM

 

Sprinkle the 1 1/2 cups of

cheese on top of the bread.

 

Top with remaining 11 slices of bread.

 

Pour soup mixture over the top

 

Bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees

 

Remove from oven and top with remaining

1 cup of cheese

 

Return to oven for 10 minutes.

 

 

     The verdict...it was really good. My husband loved it, he even had a second helping which is very rare for him. My son came the next day and ate the leftovers warmed in the microwave and loved it too. He asked for the recipe! He liked that it was not only easy, but cheap to prepare. I thought it was really good. I think it would be a great companion to serve with chili or soup. It warmed up well the second day but the piece leftover the 3rd day was drying out according to my husband. I do think this is best served right from the oven. The bottom remained crisp and the top wasn't too soggy and only had a slight tomato taste. If I wasn't trying to be a "healthy" eater, I would use the full amount of butter and even more cheese between the slices of bread. This is hardly a gourmet meal, but quick, easy, inexpensive and tastes a bit like our childhoods. Sometimes that is all you need!

 

Spinach and Tortellini Casserole-Foodie Friday

I've been doing some family stuff that I'll share with you next week...

if I haven't visited your blog lately...I will be around soon.

Thank you for the notes of concern...everything is fine!

     This is a simple recipe that is wonderful to make ahead and just pop in the oven after a busy day. It is also a way to get your family to eat their veggies...just surround them with lots of cheese!

Ingredients:

1 bag (10 oz) frozen cheese tortellini

1 cup (or more) fresh mushrooms, sliced

pinch garlic powder

pinch pepper

1/4 cup butter (divided)

6 oz. evaporated milk

5 oz. brick cheese, shredded or sliced into small chunks

1 package (10 oz) frozen chpped spinach, thawed and squeeze the water out of it

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

     Cook the tortellini according to the package directions, drain and set aside in a large bowl. In 1 T. of the butter, saute the mushrooms sprinkled with the garlic powder and pepper until tender. Put mushrooms on top of tortellini in large bowl.

     In the same pan, melt the remaining 3 T. of butter with the evaporated milk. Bring to a low boil and stir in the brick cheese until melted and smooth.

     Add drained spinach to bowl with tortellioni and mushrooms. Pour cheese sauce over the top and gently toss, coating everything with the sauce. Put in greased casserole dish and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly and cheese is melted and lightly browned.

I am linking today with Michael @ Designs by Gollum for

Foodie Friday. Michael hosts the best

cooks on the web each Friday, check it out!



"Just Like Your Mama Made"

     One thing that I find difficult about sharing family recipes, is that they don't exist. While my dad is here, I'm trying to cook things for him that he might not fix for himself. He is cooking and of course he has access to every restaurant you can imagine, but there is something nice about old family comfort foods. One of my mom's go to recipes was Chicken Tetrazzini. Of course I don't have her "recipe" written down anywhere. This is one of those foods that we both tend to make using what we have on hand at the time. Yesterday as I prepared dinner, I took notes as I went along so that I could share it here. One thing to remember about this recipe is you can tweek it based on what you have on hand. Use turkey if you don't have chicken, use more or less veggies, you could change the pasta shape if necessary...you get the idea.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease 1 or 2 casserole dishes.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups celery (chopped)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper (or any color)
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced (canned would be fine)
2 T. butter
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth
1 lb. thin spaghetti
3 cups cooked chicken (in bite size pieces)
3-4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

This recipe will make one large 9 x 13 pan with a little left over or 2 smaller casseroles. It freezes beautifully.

     For my chicken I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I boiled mine, cooled and cut them into pieces. You could use any cooked chicken, even the meat from a roasted chicken from the store. When  the chicken is almost done, you can prepare the sauce.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Sauté celery,

peppers and mushrooms until wilted.

Stir in 2 cans cream of mushroom soup and set aside.

     In large pan cook the spaghetti according to directions. Add the can of chicken broth to the water in which you are cooking the pasta. When the pasta is done, it is time to assemble the casserole.

Fold the 3 cups of chicken into the

veggies and mushroom soup mixture.

Stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese to the mixture and stir gently.

     Add the cooked spaghetti along with some of the pasta broth/water. I used all but 2 cups of the cooked pound of pasta and enough of the broth to create a slightly soupy mix. You don't want it to be too dry before baking as the pasta will swell as it bakes. Mine looked like the above picture, before baking.

     I decided to bake mine in 2 pans last night. The smaller pan went into the freezer for next month. Spoon mixture into prepared pan(s) and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or so, until cheese is melted and casserole is hot and bubbling around the edges.

Serve with a salad and hot bread...enjoy!

     My dad's comment last night after dinner was that it was "just like your mama made"! I really couldn't ask for a better compliment than that! I am joinging Michael @ Designs by Gollum today for Foodie Friday. It is the best place in all of Blogland to find wonderful recipes!

A Little Comfort Food, A Little Bargain Hunting and A Blogging Friend's Success

     I wish I could tell you that these beautiful blue flowers are in my yard. They aren't. They were actually at my local grocery store in huge pots. I didn't buy them because they don't match anything I have on my porch or deck, but I fell in love with the color and just had to share them.

     I finally found a desk at a neighborhood garage sale. I want to replace my one drawer desk and my dad loves having a project to work on while he is here. It was $15 and it came with the hutch top which I won't use with the desk because I don't want to block my window view.

I am going to use the hutch in my dish room once it is painted.

I'll keep you posted with the progress.

     I cook more when my dad is here. I also had the grandsons overnight on Saturday night. I decided to try a new recipe of an old favorite, Mac and Cheese. I got the recipe from the book Roast Mortem by Cleo Coyle. Her Coffee House Mystery series is a favorite of mine.

Penne Mac & Cheese

1 pound dry penne pasta (cook according to package for al dente)

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese

1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese

5 1/3 T. butter

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 cups whole milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees-grease 3 qt. casserole. Cook pasta, drain and put in casserole dish.

In separate bowl mix the three cheeses together. Set aside.

     Melt butter in saucepan. Remove from heat. Add salt, pepper, flour, Worcestershire sauce and stir until smooth. Gradually add milk. Return pan to stove and stir constantly over medium heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat and stir until sauce thickens.

     Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 of the cheese mixture. Stir until smooth and pour over the pasta. Do not stir the pasta and sauce. I did have to press on the pasta a little bit to force a little of the sauce down into the casserole dish so it would overflow.

Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake 20-25 minutes until brown and bubbly.

Enjoy...it is yummy.

One of my favorite blog friends is Kat @ Low Tide High Style.

Kat not only loves the water the way I do, she has been a

very supportive friend to me and I'm sure to many others.

The current issue of Romantic Country is available right now.

I got mine at Wal-Mart.

See that...Kat's name in the magazine. She has a featured article...a must read!

Way to go Kat! How exciting!

I am joining today with:

 Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Sally @ Smiling Sally for Blue Monday

 Mary @ Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

Linda @ Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Please visit all of these lovely ladies and enjoy their blog events.