Bread Pudding (Lightened)

Inspired by Cooking Light

Bread pudding used to make me think of soggy bread, and sounded absolutely gross. Then I went to Carinos and tasted Mascarpone Bread pudding, it was absolutely delicious with a wonderful caramel sauce and was served hot with ice cream. They have since taken it off the menu, which is both good and bag. It is bad, because I no longer can enjoy it, but it is good because this dessert had over 1600 calories, 96 grams of fat (56 grams of which were saturated)!

 So I recently subscribed to Cooking Light Magazine and came across their lightened version of Bread Pudding, which (according to the magazine) has about 300 calories and less than 5 grams of fat per serving. So between my half of Mascarpone bread pudding (800 calories) and the lightened version (300 calories), the lightened definitely wins! Just a few pointers 1) make sure you keep the sauce warm, if not it will harden (which is why my pictures have caramel crumbles instead of sauce 2) make sure your bread is no larger than the ½ inch, otherwise it will not soak up enough of the milk mixture. Other than that this recipe was really easy and was delicious. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For Bread Pudding:

• 5 cups 1/2 inch dubbed Italian bread
• 1 cup fat free evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup fat free milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tbs. Bourbon
• 1 Tbs. Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 2 eggs

For sauce:

• 3/4  cup light brown sugar
• 3 Tbs. Bourbon
• 1 Tbs. Butter
• 6 Tbs. Half and half
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. Salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place cubed bread on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes.

3. Combine all other ingredients under the bread pudding ingredient list together. Add the toasted bread cubes and let stand for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. For the sauce: mix bourbon, butter, brown, sugar in a small pan on medium high heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Stir 5 of the Tbs of half and half and reduce for about 10 minutes.

 

5. Remove from heat and add the other 1Tbs. of half and half, salt and vanilla. Remember to keep this sauce warm!
6. Put half of the bread mixture into loaf pan. Drizzle about 3 Tbs of sauce over this, then put the rest of the bread mixture over top.

7. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, and top with the warm sauce.

The crumbles is my hardened sauce, which did add a nice texture, but I wanted sauce

We finally got snow, so Greta decided to eat it!

Sweet and Spicy Black Beans and Corn

The finished product (with some brown rice)

I can’t take credit for this recipe, but it is a homemade recipe that I have made numerous times (thanks Brad for creating this). This is a healthy side dish that would be great with stuff from the grill or even a side on Mexican Food night. The sweetness and spiciness can be adjusted to fit anyone’s palate. I love this recipe, because it’s so easy and so good.

Ingredients:

·      2 cans of Black Beans (one drained, the other not drained)

·      1 can of whole kernel Corn

·      Jalapeños to taste

·      Brown Sugar to taste

·      Black Pepper to taste

·      Chili powder (about 1/8 teaspoon)

Directions:

1. Add everything to a medium saucepan.

I halved the recipe and added the entire can of corn, it is better to follow the recipe's proportions.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir occasionally to avoid burning.

The dish should have some sauce with it, and should be thick.

3. Heat thoroughly.  

The Black beans and corn served with brown rice and chicken topped with Peach BBQ sauce.

Notes:

*The corn could be made extra delicious by draining the canned corn and roasting it under the broiler.

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups

These are (almost) bite sized and really easy for breakfast on the go.

I enjoy breakfast foods and like any excuse to make them, so when Sunday rolled around and I wanted breakfast at about 2:00 pm I was all for a new recipe. I wanted quiche, however I did not have all the ingredients nor did I want to go through finding a quiche recipe. For this cups, I looked up many recipes, but none sparked my interest. Some used puff pastry and others crescent roll dough; both are unhealthy. I decided to use a healthier option (wonton wrappers) and combine numerous recipes for these cups. They are very customizable and can be made for one or for a lot of people.

Ingredients (Per Cup):

            3 Wonton Wrappers

            1 strip of bacon

            1 egg

            1 Tablespoon Light Sour Cream

            Salt and Pepper to Taste

Greta is just waiting for the bacon to drop on the floor.

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to about 400*F.

2.     Cook the bacon until crispy over medium heat and then place on a paper towel to take off excess grease. Set aside.

3.     In a muffin tin, line with two of the wonton wrappers and then cut a third in half and put both halves in the same muffin tin.  (Follow the picture below).

This recipe can be easily multiplied to make for many people.

The two full wonton wrappers are put on opposite sides, then the two halves are placed in the center.

4.     Take ¾ of the strip of bacon and crumble. Place the crumbled bacon into the muffin tin (on top of the wonton wrappers).

5.     On top of the bacon place a tablespoon of the sour cream. Then put salt and pepper on top to taste.

The sour cream after baking tastes more like cheese than sour cream (so don't be afraid to add it)

Add as much salt and pepper as you want.

6.     Put the egg on top of the sour cream. If yolk is desired simply crack egg and put onto sour cream. If no yolk is desired crack egg into a separate bowl and whisk, then pour egg over the sour cream. Additional salt and pepper can be added at this time. Also add the rest of the bacon (1/4 strip).

These can be made healthier by only using the egg white!

A close up of one of the pre-cooked cups

Cheese can also be put on top, just be careful not to overfill the cups.

7.     Bake the cup for 25 to 30 minutes or until egg is cooked all the way through. Let stand for about 5 minutes.

The two cups in the front have intact egg yolks, the two in the back has whisked egg yolks.

Close up of an intact yolk cup. 

Notes:

·      The cups turn out better if eggs are whisked. Also it would be very easy to take out the yolks and just have egg whites.

·      Vegetables or other meats can be added to a variety of breakfast cup options

Recommended Products:
 

Baked Chicken Nuggets

Inspired By Gina's Skinny Recipes

I really like chicken nuggets, but they are made from mechanically separated chicken  (which before cooking looks like a strawberry milkshake [gross!]) and are usually deep fried. I try to eat healthy, and found this recipe online. I may feature more recipes from Gina's Skinny recipe, because she has some really good ideas for simple, healthy recipes. These are great for an appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce or even as a main entrée (If making as an entrée simply add more chicken).

In the orginal recipe it says to spray with olive oil and then bake. DO NOT spray, this makes the chicken not get crispy (Thanks to a reader that emailed me about this!)

The finished product

  

Ingredients

2 Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

6 Tbs. Italian Breadcrumbs

2 Tbs. Panko Breadcrumbs

2 Tbs. grated parmesan cheese

Olive Oil Spray

Directions

1.     Cut chicken into small bit size pieces. Put oil in one bowl and breadcrumbs, Panko and Parmesan cheese into another.

If the chicken is cut about this size the chicken comes out perfectly cooked

2.     Place chicken, a few at a time, into the oil, then into the breadcrumbs until each piece is completely coated. Then put on a baking sheet. Continue with this process until all chicken pieces are coated.

The breading setup

3.     Once all pieces are on the baking sheet bake for 8-10 minutes in a 475 degrees Fahrenheit oven. Flip then cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until all the way cooked. 

I used a Pyrex dish, a regular baking sheet would work as well

This is about what the nuggets should look like once done.

Greta was eyeing the nuggets, and was sad when I said no.