breakfast pudding

Every once in a while, Kaytie gets a hankering for pancakes. I make them for her with love, and we always end up with a ton of leftover pancakes. I hate throwing food away, so I started thinking about what I could do with these extra pancakes.

Tah DUM!!

Pancake Bread Pudding

6 cups torn-up pancakes (about 15 pancakes)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 Tbs butter, plus ½ Tbs
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
½ onion, minced finely
6 slices bacon, cooked crispy & crumbled
1 cup pecan pieces

Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Melt about half a tablespoon of butter. Add your onions, and sauté slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a golden brown. Oh, and you should salt them when you put them in the pan.

Combine milk, cream, and butter in a small sauce pan. Heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the pan. Take the pan off the stove, and pour into a mixing bowl.

In another bowl, as the milk mixture is heating, whisk together the eggs and vanilla.

Now, temper. Ladle a bit of the hot mixture into the eggs, whisking madly. Do one more ladle, whisking madly. Drizzle the egg mixture slowly into the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Your forearms will be sore, but this is important, because all of this tempering and whisking will keep the eggs from cooking and curdling.

Tear your pancakes up into small pieces and put them in a third bowl. (If you don’t have enough pancakes, you could substitute some white bread.) Pour the milk & egg mixture over the pancakes. Toss gently to combine. Allow this mixture to cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 325.

When the pancake mixture is cool, stir in the bacon, onions, and pecans.

Butter a baking dish (about 8 by 11). Pour the pancake mixture into the baking dish, spreading evenly, and then put it in a large roasting pan.

Set the roasting pan in the center of the oven, and pour enough hot water into the roasting pan so that the water comes halfway up the sides of the baking dish. (Don’t overfill, or the water might get into your pancake pudding, making it soggy and gross.)

Bake until the pudding firms up and is beginning to turn golden brown, about 30-45 minutes.

Let cool about 10 minutes, and serve with pomegranate syrup (below) or with regular ol’ pancake syrup.

Pomegranate Syrup

½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup water
2 cups pomegranate seeds (1 huge pom, or 2 small)

Bring to a boil, and boil until the seeds burst and the sauce begins to reduce, about 15 minutes. If it seems like it’s taking too long, stick a lid on the pot.