Pear & Chocolate Bread Pudding

Happy Christmas Eve, friends!

To balance out all the healthy breakfast suggestions from Erin a few days ago, today my friend Megan is here to provide you with a slightly more decadent, but still semi-healthy, suggestion 🙂 You know, to balance things out! I’ve been reading Megan’s blog for a while now. She comes up with amazingly creative recipes, takes gorgeous photos and is currently planning her wedding! I always look forward to reading her blog so I know you’re in for a treat today!

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Merry Christmas, everybody! (Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!) Oh, sorry – Christmas movie lines and my real life are starting to blur together in this weird swirl of an alternate reality.  Holiday-Autopilot has been set.

 

So let me try this again – Merry Christmas everybody, I’m Megan from Wanna Be A Country Cleaver! I’m thrilled to be stopping by and visiting with you all and Lindsay today on Lean Green Bean.  Lindsay’s blog has been a great resource for me to get inspired by fresh and light cooking (something I’m not exactly known for on my blog) and get a little spring in my step about slimming down the healthy way and eating right as a lifestyle, not just as a diet.  Hello, Lentil Meatballs – you are my salvation! (I’m a lentil nerd…fyi)

With the holidays well under way, I wanted to share with you guys a dessert/brunch recipe I made that satisfied my sweet tooth but didn’t leave me feeling guilty and like I needed to do 300 sit-ups as some sort of penance for my food crimes. Today I bring you my recipe for Pear and Chocolate Bread Pudding.

Traditionally bread pudding is laden with butter, heavy cream, extra eggs, and a side of tight jeans and regret. I’ll pass. This one is a lighter recipe that doesn’t forsake taste for health. It’s a win-win! And we all love those, especially when we can have them around the holidays.

Originally I stumbled upon it in one of my Martha Everyday Food magazines, but after flipping through each one I had I couldn’t find it. Pages flipped furiously, my left eye began twitching and exasperation increased. With the angries growing and Hulk bubbling under my skin, I gave up and decided to adapt my Bourbon Bread Pudding recipe for this adventure in an attempt to replicate the inspired recipe.

Growing up bread pudding was that food my mom inexplicably adored. Weirdo.

It wasn’t until the last year or two that it’s come full circle and I realize that I am becoming my mother.

This stuff is the ISH and I now no longer make fun of my mother for her bread pudding fascination. For other things, yes. But this, no.

Bread pudding is warm, cozy and nostalgic..

After preheating the oven to 350F, slice your bread into 1/2 inch slices, width wise across the whole loaf. They will be long and skinny slices.

I’ve always known cubed bread, but with pears in this recipe it seemed appropriate to slice it all and not to mention – gorgeous.

The pears were each sliced in halved, the cores removed and then thinly sliced into 1/4 inch slices.

Into a 13×9 inch baking dish sprayed with Pam, lay out each slice of bread with two slices of pear into between. Lather, rinse, repeat until the whole dish is crammed full. There is no need for daintiness here, the more cramped this dish is – the better.

Once each bit of pear and bread is intertwined and nestled cozily together get to work on your wet ingredients.

Into a large bowl whisk together 4 cups milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 3 eggs, and spices. *Sidebar* For all that is holy, use something other than fat free milk. By default bread pudding is not a healthy dish, but cutting out all that delicious fat is a sacrilege. Don’t anger the bread pudding gods. They don’t like when you mess with them. Just bow and gracefully accept their will. It’s tasty will.

Now for the fun part – pour the whole lot over your bread and let it soak in and get all soppy.

Lastly, sprinkle over your chocolate chips and you’re ready to bake. 45 minutes and done.

Not only does this look impressive when all baked, but it tastes even better! So if you need a dish for Christmas morning breakfast, or a warm dessert, this is it.

Printer Friendly Recipe Here!

So there you have it – a semi-healthy and utterly delicious brunch dish that will hopefully be served for years to come. Thank you again to Lindsay for letting me stop by for a visit and for everyone in the great blogosphere- Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and all the best for a healthy New Year!

~Megan Pence
Country Cleaver

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So tell us, do you like bread pudding? Sweet or savory?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Today’s Workout:

Arms & Legs Strength Workout