The Sweetest Thing

Is there anything more relaxing and therapeutic than cooking a good meal?  Sometimes I wonder that.  We've had two weekends in a row that involved cooking delicious meals, and since we are having the best weather ever, we're incorporating our lovely grill into as many meals as possible.  This weekend we opted to stay in and cook all weekend since L is living out of a hotel and pretty much only eating at restaurants while he's in NYC, so Saturday night I decided to do a twist on regular backyard barbecue with special burgers, grilled corn on the cob, and garlic fries.  Yum.  I always love it when I make a meal that tastes so good that it takes me by surprise, and this was one of them.  I'll have to share the recipe for garlic fries sometime because they are so good. 

Last weekend we had the FBIs over for dinner one night and served them rib eyes (courtesy of L on the grill), sauteed fresh green beans, mandarin orange salad, and chocolate chunk bread pudding.  The pressure was on to have a really good meal for them, as they have had us over for dinner several times (including Thanksgiving) and Mr. FBI is an amazing cook/chef.  Luckily, everything went well and dessert in particular was a hit.  I have to say, there's something about individual-sized desserts that just makes you feel special.  Of course, I only have pics of the dessert, which I'll post below. 


Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed Hawaiian sweet bread (about 2-3 rolls)
2/3 cup reduced-fat milk (I used 1% but you could probably use whatever kind you have)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon Creme de Cacao
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 ounce milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.  Cube Hawaiian bread.

Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove bread from oven; decrease oven temperature to 325°.

Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (milk through egg) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Divide half of bread mixture evenly between 2 (6-ounce) ramekins coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with half of chocolate. Divide remaining bread mixture between ramekins; top with remaining chocolate.

Place ramekins in an 8-inch square baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes or until set. Serve each pudding warm with 1 tablespoon whipped topping.  Of course I forgot to take pictures of the final product, but I put whipped cream on top of each serving with a 2-3 raspberries next to the dollop of whipped cream. 

This recipe makes 2 servings and can easily be doubled as needed.