Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is the ultimate comfort food. It is also so very flexible that one would have topractically try to mess it up. One time, a batch of Amish Friendship Bread (the culinary equivalent of those old-school chain letters that haunt one's existance) was such failure that I just cubed it, let it dry out, and I'll be derned if didn't make a killer bread pudding. Then again, any dessert consumed with bourbon sauce, The Bachelor, and the company of fellow blog contributers. . .

Anyway, the bottom line is this: Comfort food + Easy = Me loving it.

So I had made these whole wheat dinner rolls a while back (like way back), and there were a few left. I always let them hang around on the counter for a while with the intention of bread pudding, but these were really like little rocks. Like, get-the-rolling pin-out-and-hammer-them-to-pieces rocks.

I had also just procured four adorable ramekins, so the stars were obviously lined up and screaming bread pudding at me.

Bread Pudding

makes 3 servings in 1/2 cup ramekins

1 and 1/2 c. dried out bread, cubed or broken

1 c. milk

2 eggs

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

a sprinkle of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350. Divide the bread among the ramekins (this can also be done in a baking dish on a slightly larger scale).

In a bowl, mix up the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and spices.

Pour over the bread. This will probably cause the bread to float up a bit.

For a few minutes, weight a plate on top of the ramekins to hold the bread down so it soaks up some of the custard mixture.

Put them in the oven and wait anxiously for 20 or 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out like they're done. Cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Notes: This is a very basic recipe. Because I only had skim milk, I added a few thin slices of melted butter. You could probably throw in another egg if you wanted it a little richer, or more sugar if you like things sweeter.

Raisins are a fun addition, or take out the cinnamon and nutmeg and add chocolate chips.