Weekend Project: Bread Pudding

What do you do with all those ends of the bread loaf?  Feed the birds, make breadcrumbs, maybe even eat them - surely you don't throw them away, right?  They're also great for bread pudding.

I'm listing this as a Weekend Project for 2 reasons - (1) you can take all week, or 2 weeks depending how many loaves of bread your family eats, to collect your bread, and (2) maybe there's a greater chance you have more time to cook on the weekends.

You can google recipes if you need something more specific, but basically what you are going to do for your bread pudding is adapt your favorite French toast recipe, here's mine.

Bread - collect the heels of the loaves, store in the refrigerator to keep fresh.  Some people use any kind of bread - sandwich, biscuits, hot dog rolls, croissants, etc., but I prefer to use one type of bread per pudding.  Cube into 1" squares.  You may need to add more regular slices of bread to get your needed quantity, you'll need about 6-8 cups, a mixing bowl full.

Batter - Mix these together in a measuring cup or small bowl.
2 eggs, beaten
about 1/2 cup brown sugar
a little less than 2 cups of milk (put the eggs & sugar in the measuring cup first, then fill to the 2 cup mark)
2 t vanilla extract

Pour the batter of the bread and mix well.  Let this sit long enough to get your coffee started to allow the bread to soak up the liquid.  Spread half of the bread into your baking dish.  If your family likes, spread about 3 T Nutella over this layer, then top with the rest of the bread mixture.  You can also use chocolate chips, banana slices, nuts as your extra filling here.

Bake at 350 degrees 35-45 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

Enjoy - and have a great weekend!

Weekend Project - my first (knit) scarf

For years I've been saying I want to learn to knit.  I love crocheting but there are just some stitches and textures that you can't get in crochet that you can get in knitting, and vice versa, so I wanted that flexibility to do either needlecraft.  To teach myself to knit, I started working on a dishcloth, I figured no matter what it looked like, at least it would be functional and all my work wouldn't be in vain.  It turned out a little lumpy with a couple holes.  Despite that, my next attempt was a scarf for my daughter - in her favorite color - purple.

Knit Infinity Scarf

This infinity scarf (so-called because its a circle, no ends) was made with Loops & Threads' Cozy Wool on 9mm needles.  Its a basic stitch - knit or purl, not sure which - the one where the yarn is wrapped around from the back; I didn't use a pattern, just did the only stitches I knew.  On my first attempt, after a few rows, I realized that my original width was way too big for my petite 11-year old, so I had to start all over.  After ending the scarf, I crocheted the two ends together.  Ta da - my first knit scarf (and it looks so much better than my dishcloth)!


How long did it take?  A tennis practice, a basketball game, and through the SuperBowl, with stops for food, drinks, checking the score, and of course, watching Madonna's half-time show.