The Perpetual Feast

It’s been hot – in the 90’s and I don’t mean the lower 90’s – for at least a month.  I don’t appreciate the 90’s.  And I have been working 10-15 hour days to finish a project.  I haven’t been cooking.  I’ve been coming home, eating, and falling asleep in the recliner. Dinner has been:

A large bowl of Nutty Buddy ice cream
Corn on the cob
Chips and salsa
Fruit
A large bowl of Nutty Buddy ice cream with chocolate syrup
Crackers and fresh mozzarella

Now this hasn’t been so bad in the fat gram department: the ice cream is reduced fat, the chips and crackers are low fat, the corn was basted with light butter. I really don’t keep anything in the house that will derail the fat grams completely.  But nutritionally, I can’t say that I’ve been great – OK, the fruit is good nutrition.  I finally microwaved a haunch of buffalo so I had some real protein.

The abysmally hot weather has finally broken (Oh please don’t fix it.  I need the respite.) I decided it was safe to turn on the oven.

When I was cleaning the freezer, I noticed that I had accumulated a great deal of leftover French bread – the remains of the bread I used for the various stuffed French toast experiments I posted earlier. I didn’t want to throw the bread out, but leftover French bread is bulky and takes up a lot of valuable freezer real estate. Bread pudding came to mind; it’s a great way to use up leftover bread in general. But this bread pudding is different than most. It’s not a dessert; it’s either a side dish, or even a main dish, which would work well with a nice salad.  I ate it as a main dish a couple of times, and then took it for lunch where it  reheated nicely (I will shamelessly say I even scarfed it down cold one day.) Made with vegetable broth, this makes a vegetarian meal.

Savory Cheddar Bread Pudding

1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups finely chopped fennel bulb (about 1 large bulb)
3 cups finely chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces French bread or other firm white bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
4 ounces shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray a 9” X 13” baking dish with cooking spray

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chopped fennel, onion, and garlic cloves; cook until golden brown (about 20 minutes), stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup broth; cook until liquid evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add remaining broth; bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Combine bread and fennel mixture. Stir in cheese. Spoon mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes 8 servings at 3 grams of fat/serving.