Cheesy Bread Pudding

"Maybe you could re-purpose this as a bread pudding some night?"

My wife is a pretty smart lady. And I have to give her all the credit for this dish.  Since the fall has officially brought the colder & darker evenings to the Midwest, we decided to have a nice cheese & broccoli soup one night to warm us up.

When my wife poured me this little leftover portion of soup, she made the comment above about turning it into a savory bread pudding. We also had a fresh loaf of roasted garlic bread from our soup night.

So now you have the basic idea: cut the bread into cubes, and bake it with the rich & creamy cheese soup.  But what else should I add to the party?

Pickled jalapeno peppers? Sure, why not.  I like a little heat.

Cherry tomatoes? Check! They add a nice sweetness and some acidity.

Next I separated the whites from some green onions. I added the whites into the bread pudding for some texture and another level of flavor. Save the green portions to top the dish at the end.

I also added some thin pieces of honey ham to add some more salty deliciousness to this rich dish.  I have to add a little pork to something like this. The flavors all seem to work so well together in my opinion.

I stirred everything together in a large bowl with some black pepper. Then I topped it with a little sharp cheddar cheese and put the whole thing into the oven to melt everything together and let the bread soak up all those other great flavors.

It hit a lot of the high flavor notes you would want.  There is a sharp taste and bite from the onions, heat from the peppers, salt from the cheese & pork, and sweetness & acidity from the tomatoes. It was a rich, gooey, hearty, warm dish to enjoy on a cool fall night.  Great idea, honey!