Banana Bread Pudding

This is a wonderful "leftovers" recipe for your stale bread or ripe bananas. This is not quite a holiday recipe, but it is absolutely delicious.

Another Martha Stewart creation. I used more bananas and not-quite whole milk to cut back on calories. This dessert is served great with whip cream, ice cream or with coffee. It also makes a beautiful table dish for company. This dish rivals the bread pudding at Harry Bissett's in Athens (all my UGA readers know what I'm talking about) but with the convenience of eating at home.

Banana Bread Pudding

8-12 oz. bread loaf, depending on the size of your casserole dish

4 bananas, cut into 1 inch slices

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

2.5 cups reduced fat 2% milk

1/2 cup raw sugar plus more for coating

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Whisk together milk, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract and eggs.

Cut up bread into 1.5 inch cubes. I use a 2 quart lasagna dish for this recipe and I can only hold about 8 oz. of bread. I buy the French loaves at the grocery store for "day old" discounts. When slicing your bananas, try to cut at an angle for a longer surface cut. Toss together bread, bananas and raisins. The first time I made this I did not use raisins and it was just as good. I use raisins when I have them though.

Pour milk mixture over bread mixture and turn. Let sit for a few minutes until milk is absorbed. If you are using more bread, add more milk. Turn bread pudding into a greased, 2 quart shallow dish. Sprinkle raw sugar on top and bake for 50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes.