Hello! I was on vacation last week and I ate out a lot, but I still went to the kitchen.

In the Kitchen this week I made an old-fashioned recipe — bread pudding. I remember Mom making this for my Dad.

I found this recipe for bread pudding with pecans. It’s almost like a pecan pie with no crust. Actually, it reminded me of a pecan roll. All I now is it is delicious, and I will definitely make it again.

When my mother made it, it had raisins. It was good, but nothing like the pecan pie bread pudding. I served it warm with a dip of vanilla ice cream. YUM! It is so easy to make too and not a lot of ingredients. You will love this recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did.

Please send your favorite recipes to shughes@timesgazette or all me at 937-393-3456. I I am looking forward to hearing from you. Have a wonderful week!

Pecan Pie Bread Pudding

Ingredients

16-ounce loaf of day-old French bread

2 1/2 cups milk

1 cup half and half (see notes — you can substitute whole milk or heavy cream)

4 large eggs lightly beaten

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter softened

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup pecans (chopped)

Instructions

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2. Cube bread then place in a large bowl.

3. In another bowl, beat eggs, milk, half and half, sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour over the bread and allow to sit about 5 to 10 minutes.

4. In another small bowl, combine with a fork the softened butter, brown sugar and pecans. This mixture will have a consistency of wet sand.

5. Pour half of the bread mixture into a greased 8-inch by 8-inch pan (Yes, 8-inch by 8-inch).

6. Top with half of the pecan mixture.

7. Spoon remaining bread mixture over and top with the remaining pecan mixture. Press down into pan slightly. Pan will be really full.

8. Top with remaining pecan mixture.

9. Place pan on a cookie sheet with a one-inch edge to catch any mixture that may boil over.

10. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

11. The center will be slightly jiggly but will set when cool.

12. Allow to cool 20 to 30 minutes before serving so that the slices will hold together.

13. It is a thick bread pudding and I cut into 16 equal servings. Obviously, you can cut larger slices.

Sharon Hughes is the advertising manager at The Times-Gazette. She is also a mother, grandmother and chef.