{Recipes} Warm Bread Pudding & Vanilla Sauce

**Please excuse the lamo picture -- I had about 2 seconds to quickly snap a shot before I rushed off to work {you can see it was still baking in the oven}. It does not do this recipe justice even a little.**

The recipe originated from one of our school secretaries, Phyllis B, but was shared with me by my friend Patty. To-DIE-for! I made this yesterday morning for a school counseling meeting I was attending, and it was a hit!

Ingredients:

Bread Pudding
~ 6 slightly beaten large eggs
~ 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
~ 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
~ 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
~ 1/2 cup melted butter
~ 5 1/2 cups heavy cream
~ 10 cups day old French bread, cubed
~ Raisins {optional}

Vanilla Sauce
~ 1 cup granulated sugar
~ 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
~ 3 tablespoons flour
~ Dash of nutmeg
~ 2 large eggs
~ 4 tablespoons butter
~ 2 2/3 cups heavy cream
~ 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Bread Pudding
Pre-heat oven to 375°. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugars, and nutmeg. Add melted butter until blended. Add cream until blended. Gently stir in bread cubes and raisins. Pour into greased 4-quart baking pan. Bake approximately 60 minutes. Shield with aluminum foil half way through baking to avoid over-browning. Pudding is done when a knife inserted midway between pan’s edge and center comes out clean.

Vanilla Sauce
In a heavy saucepan, whisk all ingredients except vanilla over medium heat. Whisk constantly until thick. Remove from heat and slowly add vanilla extract. Serve warm over bread pudding. ENJOY!

** This versatile recipe would be perfect for a breakfast/brunch or an after-dinner dessert.
** It's also yummy served with vanilla ice-cream
** I didn't even make the vanilla sauce since I was transporting this, and it was still delish!

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QUICK, EASY & TASTY WORK NIGHT DINNER ::

For all you working moms out there that still like to get a decent meal on the table for your family even though you're MAD busy -- my husband and I tried this easy meal the other night and loved it. I was craving a chicken parm sandwich, so in an attempt to keep it healthy, we decided to bake the chicken rather than fry it.

First, we dipped chicken cutlets in a little flour, then egg and then coated them with Panco and some Italian seasoning. Next, bake chicken for approximately 1/2 hour or until done to your liking. Then place in a torpedo roll, add a little Dom Pepino's pizza sauce {remember -- working mom meal here}, a little grated parmesan cheese and some light shredded mozzarella cheese. Then put the sammie in the oven for another 3-4 minutes or so until all the cheese melts and the roll is lightly toasted. Serve with a little side salad.

This totally satisfied my craving for a chicken parm sandwich but for a lot less calories and minimal time!

TTTTGGGGIIIIFFFF!