Banana Bread Pudding

Merry Christmas! Feel so good to go back to my "second home" Montreal during Christmas! I love laying on the soft bed (which I don't have one in Toronto), meeting friends and having a feast everyday.. I don't want to go back to work!!! T_T Last night, I was looking for a festive, simple, last minute potluck dish to bring to a Christmas dinner... Bread pudding will be a very good option and I have always heard the recipe from allrecipes is easy and good. I have added a twist - banana, to my bread pudding and some people did say it's the best part of the dish.

Recipe

Yield: 16 servings (9 x 9 inch pan)

 10 slices cinnamon-raisin bread

 2 tablespoons butter, melted

4 eggs, beaten

 2 cups half-and-half

 2/3 cup white sugar

 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 bananas 

Directions

1)            Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2)            Cut bread into small pieces (about 1.5” square) and bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes until dry.

3)            In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed.

4)            Remove the bread from the oven and soak them into the mixture for 5 minutes.

5)            Cut the bananas into ¼ inch slices.

6)            Grease the pan with butter. Arrange half of the soaked bread on the pan (try to avoid any voids in between the bread cubes). Place the banana evenly on the bread, then arrange the rest of the bread on top of the bananas.

7)            Pour the remaining mixture to the pan and bake for 45 min.