Lorren's Apple Bread Pudding

So, I decided to try a different recipe for bread pudding, since the first two reviews weren't great. I got a recipe for Apple Bread Pudding from allrecipes.com. Here it is:

• PUDDING
• 4 cups soft bread cubes
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 cups peeled and sliced apples
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 
  
• VANILLA SAUCE
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 7x11 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine bread, raisins, and apples. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1 3/4 cups milk, and 1/4 cup margarine. Cook and stir until margarine is melted. Pour over bread mixture in bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs. Pour bread mixture into prepared dish, and pour egg mixture over bread.
4. Bake in preheated oven 40 to 50 minutes, or until center is set and apples are tender.
5. While pudding is baking, mix together sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup margarine in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Serve over bread pudding.

I made the vanilla sauce and poured it over the whole thing for the last 20 minutes of cooking, because others had recommended it and it was starting to look a little dry in the oven. I think it made it a lot more moist. It was pretty easy to make and the verdict... not bad! It kinda reminded me of my recipe for caramel soaked baked french toast. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to fixing myself another bowl after I finish this post.

Savi was so excited about trying her hand at being a "taste-tester". It was right up her alley.Thinking about it...And wanting more! She ate about 3/4 of the bowl happily and then was done.

So ratings? I think Sav and I agree on this one. We give it 4 out of 5 stars. A letter grade of B+. Cole hasn't tried it yet, but he's a chocolate guy. My guess is he won't like it much for dessert but would love it for breakfast!

Joelle's Bread Pudding

I was very excited about making bread pudding. Its a very simple recipe but I feel like everyone's tastes different! There is a restaurant in Greenville, Smoke on the Water, who makes an amazing bread pudding! It comes in little bread pudding balls and has a sauce on top. Its wonderful!

Mine was only so-so.

I used the recipe Katie listed below but added a little bit of brown sugar and I also used Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon swirl bread. I may have added too much bread. After I added the liquid to the bread I thought it seemed too soupy so I added 2 more slices of bread. I doubt it made a major difference, but I bet without the addition of the bread it would have been more custardy. I also made a Vanilla Sauce to put over top. It was basically water, sugar, corn starch and vanilla extract. It was very good and I think added a little punch to the bread pudding.

Now, my appologies... I took Beautiful, AMAZING pictures with my nice camera but can't find my camera cable to load them to the computer! Ok, so they probably aeren't beautiful and amazing, but you will never know, so I'm going to feel free to brag a little. I'm sure I'll find the cable, but I wanted to get my post up ASAP since the week will be over soon! So, please forgive my bread pudding picture, Yes, its a picture of the leftovers. I'm so embarrassed! But, give me bonus points for having pics of my DARLING girls trying the bread pudding, ok? The girls did not try the Vanilla sauce, too much sugar.

Here is Pressy just after her first bite of bread pudding.

Pressley LOVED it!! Gobbled down every bite I gave her.

And, Lyla after her first bite.

She HATED it!! She spit it out on her tray and did her sour lemon face! YUCK!!

So, our ratings (I loved that Katie gave ratings, what a great idea!).

David -- he said it was "Average", 3 stars. C. And he said he was grading a little harsh because he has big expectations. Whatever.

Joelle -- 3 stars. B-.

Pressley -- 5 stars! A+!

Lyla -- 0 stars. F-.

Pressley wants just a little more and has no problem eating straight out of the dish. Thats my girl!

I can't wait to see what Lorren has planned for us next week!

Week 1: Bread Pudding (Katie)

I've been so excited to make this bread pudding and write my first post! Doing this blog together will be so fun!

I've seen a couple cooking blogs, so I think I know how this goes...First, here's the recipe Joelle sent us:

Ingredients:

6 slices day-old bread 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 cup raisins (optional) 4 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk 3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
3.	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 soaking up the egg mixture.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

I didn't have any trouble making the dish - very easy! The only changes I made was to use Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl bread and to leave out the raisins (Brent's request). Here is a picture of the dish BEFORE I put it in the oven:


It was a little hard to tell when the bread pudding was finished. I did exactly 45 minutes, and when I took it out and tapped it, I thought it still jiggled a little too much. But I tested it with a fork, and it turned out to be just right!


I thought the dessert was delicious! Joelle, you picked the right recipe for this week! It was perfect for someone who recently got their wisdom teeth out and can still only eat soft foods :)

Here's Joy and Brent about to take their first bite...


And they loved it! After they'd finished, I asked them to give it a grade and stars...here's the verdict:

Joy: 4 stars, A-
Brent: 4 stars, A-

Now my turn...


I was a little harder critic (that's the cook's job, right?). I would probably give this 3 stars and a "B." Although I thought it was delicious, I think there are still a lot of desserts I prefer (when I can chew :). And I think I've had better bread pudding too. Brent and I went to this restaurant called Molly Malones around St. Patrick's Day and he ordered the bread pudding...now that was divinity! I think maybe it was just richer, and perhaps had a sauce over it? I will have to check when we go again.

Overall though, I would definitely make this again. As Brent said, "I was ecstatic when I got an A- in college." YUM!

Thanks again for starting this blog, Joelle! I can't wait for next week!