Recipe: Easy-Peasy Cinnamon-y Bread Pudding

I hate to throw away food. As much as possible, I cook just enough to serve the number of heads I am expected to feed. But of course, on occasions where leftovers are just inevitable I try my hardest to be creative. And I believe, modesty aside, my creative juices flow better when I'm in kitchen.

Not to say that I don't rely on recipes entirely. I have yet to level up to being an innovator in this field but familiarity with how ingredients would taste or react with each other helps me a lot when I cook or bake.

The other night, a Facebook friend posted her freshly baked bread pudding and I remembered again the bread loaf that I've been keeping in our freezer for two (I think) weeks now. I immediately asked for her recipe and seeing I had everything on hand got me giddy to bake again.

This morning, the little miss and I finally got to work while the Daddy of the house is still asleep. I had about 4 cups of old bread and we tore them up to tiny pieces, dumped them into the baking pan, poured the custard (well, more like milk really) mix and pop it into the oven.

Here's a list of the ingredients:

4 cups of old bread (torn into tiny pieces it was a mix of white and wheat bread but it didn't really matter)
2 large eggs, well beaten
about 1 cup of evaporated milk
about 1 cup of non-fat milk (since that's what I had left)
4 tbsps muscovado sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (it would've better if I had vanilla beans, i'm sure)
1 tsp cinnamon
about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp nutmeg (I used McCormick)
a pinch of salt
about a tsp of unsalted butter to line the baking pan


suggested toppings: cold condensed milk, peanut butter, chocolate spread, whipped cream, powdered sugar, maple syrup, honey, fresh berries/fruits

How we did it:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Mix all ingredients - eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg - except for bread.
Line the baking pan with butter.
Fill the pan with bread (about 2/3 of the pan).
Pour milk mixture over the bread until they are thoroughly soaked.
Press with spatula to even out the top.
Brush with softened butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bake in oven for 40-45 mins till knife comes out clean.

The pudding was done just in time for breakfast. We had it warm and topped generously with condensed milk.

Thin, crisp top and soft on the inside.

If you are an occasional baker most of these ingredients are probably already available in your pantry. This is so easy to make and my little girl was so proud to serve this to her dad at breakfast. I'm happy that I finally made time to try this today. This is a great alternative to french toast (another leftover bread recipe) which is also one of our faves. Will share the recipe in another post next time.

p.s. Thanks Lisa for sharing that photo the other night!

Chicken A la King

Description:
This is one of my comfort foods in college. In one of the office birthdays we used to celebrate at work, I was asked to bring in a different dish since everyone's already 'umay' with the usual menu of pancit and litson manok.I was missing UP then and I thought i'll try if I can whip out the same chicken ala king that I used to enjoy when I was still a student.

I got the original recipe from http://homecookingrocks.com/chicken-a-la-king/. I tweaked it a bit to include my fave sweet corn and carrots (because the one at JD had them). JD served it with toast but my family loves to partner it with a hot steaming bowl of rice.

Ingredients:
1/4 c. of butter
1 med white onion, chopped
2 to 3 pcs chicken breast, boiled and diced
1 can button mushrooms, diced (or fresh mushrooms if available about 200g)
2 medium bell peppers (red and green, preferably)
1 can sweetcorn kernel
1 med sized carrots, diced
1 small can pimientos (sweet bell peppers)
½ c. of all-purpose (single) cream
3 c. of chicken broth (from the boiled chicken) (or combination of chicken broth and liquid from canned mushrooms)
around 6 tbsps. of flour

salt and pepper, to adjust taste


Directions:
Boil chicken in approximately 3 ½ cups of water till tender. Add half of the chopped onion. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Save the broth for later.

Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pan. Cook all the vegetables in hot butter for about two minutes. Remove from the butter and set aside. If using fresh mushrooms, cook them in hot butter as well for about a minute, then remove and set aside.

Reheat the butter. Add the flour, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Cook over medium heat for about a minute — DO NOT allow to brown. Pour in the chicken broth little by little, stirring as you pour (I use a wire whisk to prevent lumps). Add the cooked chicken and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour in the cream, stir and simmer for another minute.

Serve hot with rice or toasted bread. May also be served cold with buttered toast.