Savory Vegetarian Bread and Butter Pudding

I am a huge fan of bread and butter pudding. Huge. There are so many variations, both savory and sweet. This one is more like a breakfast casserole. I made it for our mother's day brunch on Saturday, and it went over very well. Best of all, it was so easy!

The idea is to use stale bread, though I'll admit I actually bought a loaf of bread with this recipe in mind. I made sure to buy it a few days in advance so I'd feel less guilty about "wasting" fresh bread on a bread and butter pudding - but once you taste this, any concern about waste will be right out the window. It's tangy and gorgeous. Make it for your next brunch!

You can put in just about any vegetable, or even add meat and make it non-vegetarian (crumbled bacon, anyone?). No matter what you put in, it will be delicious. Promise.

And a note - the reason I put 8-14 as the range for servings is because it all depends on whether this is one of many brunch offerings, as it was for us, or if it is your entire meal. Plan accordingly!

Savory Vegetarian Bread and Butter Pudding
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
serves 8-14

INGREDIENTS:

9 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
1 cup plan low fat yogurt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper
6+ slices of whole wheat bread, cut into quarters
2 fresh tomatoes, sliced
1 bunch of baby spinach
2 scallions, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and yogurt. Stir in the cheese, dijon, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until smooth.

2. Coat a large baking pan (preferably pyrex or similar) with cooking spray. Put in a single layer of bread quarters, making sure there are no gaps and the entire base of your baking pan is covered. Overlapping is okay. Evenly distribute the tomato slices and then the spinach. Pour in the egg mixture, making sure all the surface area is covered. Sprinkle with scallions.

3. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the eggs are set and don't wiggle too much when you move the pan. Serve hot.

Enjoy, and happy mother's day!