Welcome home Jim! - Savory Bread Pudding

Jim left me in the snowy northeast this week while he was enjoying sunny San Diego in flip-flops for a work trip. Am I bitter? Only a little :)

Well to welcome him back I thought I'd try something new for dinner last night. He LOVES bread pudding, and this is a delicious variation of that. Savory Bread Pudding. YUM.

My mother-in-law gets about 650 magazines a month, which she then passes onto my sister-in-law, who then gives them to me (in addition to the 350 magazines I get a month!). Several months after receiving a huge tote filled with Good Housekeeping, Southern Living, BH&G, etc, etc, I eventually get around to flipping through them and tearing out the pages of things I want to buy, things that inspire new home ideas, and recipes that I want to try. This was one of those recipes, but I made a few minor changes.

The original recipe can be found HERE or in the September '09 issue of Southern Living.

Here's my version - I think it makes more than the original, but was definitely delicious. I used it as a side dish to some lightly panko breaded, oven fried pork chops. It could easily hold up on its own for an easy vegetarian meal. You can use any vegetables you have on hand, and really you can also use any bread you have.

Savory Bread Pudding

6 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 tsp stone ground mustard
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
2/3 loaf of challah bread (try to cut the crust off), cubed into 1" chunks (day old bread preferred)
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
12-16oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup julienned carrots
3/4 lb baby spinach
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350°. 

2. Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in bread and half of cheese.

3. Sauté mushrooms and next 3 ingredients in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 8 minutes. Stir in spinach, and sauté 2 minutes or just enough until the spinach begins to wilt. 

4. Fold vegetable mixture into egg mixture. 

5. Pour into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

6. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.