0 Healthy Breakfast Bread Custard

healthy, warm, filling...creamy, sweet, delicious.

protein, calcium and fiber that tastes like 

dessert for breakfast...

or is it breakfast for dessert?...

you can serve this as a guilt-free dessert on a sunday evening.

then..reheat for a quick healthy breakfast treat throughout the week with vanilla greek yogurt and fresh berries.

straight out of the oven, it's soft and custardy. add a few extra mini chips or shave some dark chocolate on before serving to make it look like more of a dessert.  on it's own it's fabulous, but you could  dress it up a bit... top with lite whipped cream, a slight drizzle of chocolate syrup or sugar free maple syrup...add some toasted almonds or pecans for a little texture?...fresh berries and some creme anglais...?

it's also great the next day, slightly warmed  or even right out of the fridge.  for a "get-up-and-go" breakfast i like to cut it into squares and layer it with yogurt and berries... drizzle with a little maple syrup in your favorite sturdy glass and your out the door in minutes with a satisfying meal to start your day.

HEALTHY BREAKFAST BREAD CUSTARD

8 - 10 slices whole wheat bread cut in 1 inch cubes (stale or slightly toasted)

i used Weight Watchers (45 cal.slice)

after the crust was cut off it weighed the same as 8 slices

1 cup whole milk

1 cup non fat milk

4 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp maple extract

1/3 cup granulated Z Sweet, Erythritol or another sugar substitute

1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, optional

i like to use Jay Robb Vanilla Whey Powder

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground ginger

a dash of cardamom...or more if you like, optional

a few grates of fresh nutmeg

14 grams mini chocolate chips

more chips if you like but i wanted to keep it healthier

preheat oven to 350 F degrees

this cooks in a bain marie (water bath) so heat some water on the stove and put a larger baking dish in the oven to prepare for the bain marie.

dry out your bread on a rack for a few minutes while preheating...not toasted, just a little dried.  then cube bread in approximate 1 inch squares...set aside.

in a large bowl whisk eggs and extracts...then add milks and whisk...just blend, not foamy.

in a small bowl whisk together the dry...protein powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and sugar substitute.  this will prevent potein powder and spices from clumping.

slowly whisk dry into wet.  incorporate well.

add bread cubes and fold or gently stir so that everything is coated and cubes are absorbing liquid...let sit for a few minutes and stir again...soaking is good if you have the time.

spray an 8 inch baking dish and pour mixture in...evenly distribute cubes in dish.

sprinkle mini chips evenly and poke a few down in mixture.  you'll be surprised how much that measly 14 grams of chips will cover.

bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the bain marie or until a knife is inserted and comes out clean with no moisture or leakage at the cut.

approx. NUTRITIONAL FACTS

for 8 servings

122 cals

13.5 carbs

10.5 protein

4.5 fats

3.2 fiber

3.6 sugars

0 Chess Pie...Old School

CHESS PIE

this could just be the surprise winner of the year.  

it figures...a good old classic like Chess Pie.

simple ingredients, simple flavors...

SIMPLY DELICIOUS !

what a fabulous, unique pie...naked with nothing on...

or...all dressed up for the party with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and toasted pecans. 

i made 2 of these in a week and they disappeared faster than any other dessert i've made all year...and i make a lot of desserts.

the beautiful cracked top is like a baked meringue cookie and the inside is a soft sweet melt in your mouth custard.

the name is a little odd because it has nothing to do with the game of chess...
i guess there are many controversies about the origin of the Chess Pie.
 it's a Southern specialty, but some say it came from England and evolved from a similar cheese tart...this being "cheese-less"...some say it was named from a piece of furniture that was common in the early South called a pie chest or pie safe (pies under lock and key?!)
or the one i like is the theory that it was originally called "just pie" because it was so simple and plain and the named morphed into "jess-pie"...or Chess pie.
i'm sure there's more theories out there.  i just grabbed a few from Wikipedia and What's cookin' America.

there are a few variations out there that add vanilla, brown sugar, four and or some cornmeal, but i wanted to go with the flat out basic - simple - easy...and you can't get any easier than this.  i'm even proud to admit i went for the store bought pie crust for the first try.  hey...this recipe calls for it.  don't be afraid to take the easy route...the crust is not the star of the show here.  it's all about the cracked meringue top along with the custardy sweet filling.  

i must add that the second pie was made with a crust from my in-house pastry chef, master pie crust maker...MOM...and it did push the pie over the top.  photos are of the store bought because the second one disappeared before i could take a shot.

4 things is all you'll need for 

AUNT MARY'S EASY CHESS PIE

recipe copied below and found at Tasty Kitchen submitted by Sweeteater

4 Tablespoons softened butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 whole pie shell, frozen

cream the sugar and butter together

add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition

pour into unbaked pie shell

bake at 350 F degrees for 35-40 minutes

cool completely before serving

0 Custard Pie...with Sour Cream?...Too easy

yet another recipe i didn't believe would work. another one of those crazy sounding things i just HAD to try because my curiosity gets the best of me. so few ingredients and all that sour cream just didn't seem right. well, as you can see, it worked. i was impressed and so were my lab rats.....alot of the time, i feel like i have to put a lab coat and safety gear on when i'm in the kitchen because i have no idea what i'm doing, don't know what i'm creating and how it's going to taste. lucky for me, i have a pretty adventurous family and alot of willing, or at least,understanding friends. i must say, they are all a bit more adventurous with the sweet goodies and oooh sooo skeptical of my savory concoctions.
so about this dessert...i wouldn't call it a pie as the recipe says. i don't know what to call it. it was almost like a clafoutis, kind of like a custard, kind of like...hmmm...i don't exactly know, but you should try it. it was definitely like a good old school comfort food type of dessert. the big dessert eater in the family really liked it...finished the whole thing himself come to think of it. i thought it was quite tasty and i will probably end up making it again. it's simple, few ingredients and an extremely quick-prep treat.


since the success of the peach dessert i've made 2 more. this one pictured left was made with canned plums. i love whipping this quick dessert up for my custard lovin' dad. he can finish the whole thing in 2 days. that being said, it does keep for a few days in the fridge. it might lose it's sugary crunch top, but everything else stays tight. as a matter of fact, these slice pictures of the plum pie were taken second day.













personally i thought the pie plate version was just a bit thin. it makes for a more delicate looking dessert, but next time i think i'll try a smaller pie plate or stretch the recipe by about 1/4-1/2. it looks a little wimpy. i bet it would also work well in individual ramikins or something cute like that.




you can see the lovely sugary, crunchy texture that it has out of the oven, or day of baking.

the peach version was a little more impressive, because of the nice plump colorful peach halves. i think this would be fun served in individual ramikins. it might be fun to make for a brunch and play off the baked egg look. hmmmm, i think i might try that. i love dessert for breakfast.

EASIEST PEACH (pie?) CUSTARD DESSERT

i just don't know what to call it, but it's NOT pie...and you can use any other fruits (i think canned works best...or cooked)
many thanks to Food Tales for this odd, but nice, simple comfort food dessert
original found HERE at Food Tales with my notes on bold.

1 big can of peach halves (i don’t remember the amount, I’ll check it later)
1 cup sugar...i used 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup splenda-the splenda went into the batter with 1/4 cup sugar, then i used REAL sugar for the top.
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste is optional
5 tablespoon normal flour
200 gram light sour cream
Arrange the fruit in your ovenproof baking plate-dish.
In a big bowl, mix sour cream, 3/4 cup sugar and flour. Don’t have to use electric mixer.
Pour the mixture on top of the sour cream. Finally sprinkle 1/4 cup of the balance sugar on top.
Bake at 170 degree C for about 40 minutes or until the surface gets brown/golden.
You can have it warm or cold with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce or chocolate sauce.