This Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding--an excellent bribe, an excellent breakfast dish

OK, so I'll call it what it was: pure bribery. The day stretched out before me as so many pre-Christmas days do—IMPOSSIBLE. The time had arrived to address the cards plus wrap all the Christmas gifts that needed to go in the mail. Problem was, no one person could accomplish all that in a single day. Help was needed and needed quickly.

Unsuspecting Hubby just thought I was trying out a new breakfast recipe, as I often do on weekend mornings. True that, but I also had an ulterior motive. Feed him well; get Hubby in my owe pronto; then maybe he'd help me with one of the above mentioned tasks.

Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding, borrowed from an old issue of Family Circle magazine and tucked away in my winter recipes file, made the best breakfast dish on the planet. Slices of plump, healthy Rome Beauty apples tucked in between slices of cinnamon raisin bread and baked with a caramel sauce poured over was a beauty—and a motivator.

Hubby fell for the ruse. After a breakfast dish of steaming Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding just pulled from the oven, he probably would have jumped on the roof and danced while wearing a Santa hat if I'd asked him to do so. Filled to satisfaction from dining on the excellent dish (which also would make a perfect Christmas-morning breakfast dish or an item for Christmas company), he sat down at the dining table and cheerfully worked on the Christmas cards all day.

Because of his help, I may not be ahead of the game, but I'm currently not behind, which is more than I could have said of myself in previous Christmas months. Thanks, Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding.

Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding

3 Rome Beauty apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin

1 tablespoon flour

1 loaf (16 ounces) cinnamon-swirl bread

6 eggs (or 2 cups egg substitute)

1 3/4 cups milk (I use skim)

1/2 cup bottled sugar-free caramel sauce, plus more to drizzle

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

Coat a 2 1/2-quart shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl toss apple slices with flour. Cut loaf of bread in half diagonally (to form triangle-shaped slices). Layer half the bread and half the apple slices, overlapping, in bottom of prepared dish. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together eggs, milk, 1/2 cup caramel sauce, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. Pour half over bread and apples in dish. Repeat layering; use all remaining bread and apples. Pour second half of egg mixture over layers. Cover dish with plastic wrap; press lightly. Refrigerate to soak 30 minutes to 1 hour. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap dish; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; cover with foil and bake 15 more minutes or until center measures 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Drizzle top with additional caramel sauce; let cool on rack 15 minutes. Serve warm with cool whip (we use sugar free), if desired.

Pecans aplenty (and overripe bananas as well) call for a spectacular dessert

One thing we always have plenty of is pecans. I see big bags of them for sale (at big prices) in the grocery store and realize how fortunate our home is to be surrounded by pecan trees so we never have to purchase any of these cherished nuts. If we ever had a pecan shortage at our house, my mother's home, which still is in the family although my mother is deceased, has at least half a dozen pecan trees just down the block from us. This year looks like a lean one pecan-wise, but not to worry: the freezer is stocked with bucketloads from last year's huge harvest to last us until the next big pecan deluge. (My dad used to say that pecans arrive in tandem: one year plentiful one year lean, the next year plentiful, followed by the next year lean; whether that is scientific I don't know, but his observations over nearly nine decades certainly bore out his beliefs.)

His pecan trees were my daddy's pride-and-joy. He loved picking the nuts off the ground, cracking them with his thumb, and eating the sweet nut meat right there on the spot. I must say that we especially share this sense of pride as we tend our prized paper-shell pecan tree, with nuts so sweet, they're a dessert in themselves. The paper-shell is a mixed blessing. Situated right up next to the house, the tree has droppings that cause my eyes to itch and my contact lenses to become unwearable for a time, but the rewards are great when the sweet paper-shell nuts are harvested.

A dessert we've been enjoying all week showcases those splendid pecans while it uses up some about-to-be-overripe bananas and some wheat bread slices that were nearing the end of the line. Banana-Pecan Streusel Bread Pudding, which I first saw as a recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens website, looks sinful but is made with the healthiest of ingredients. Topped with sugar-free whipped topping (ice cream is recommended, but no ice cream for us, since Hubby's six-month physical is right around the corner), Banana-Pecan Streusel Bread Pudding not only is a wonderful dessert but also makes a great (and guilt-free) breakfast dish.

Banana-Pecan Streusel Bread Pudding

1 (12-ounce) can fat-free evaporated milk

1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 medium)

3 beaten eggs (3/4 cup egg substitute)

1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups torn bread cubes (from whole-wheat bread that's at least a day old)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (if using brown-sugar substitute, use 1/8 cup)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

sugar-free whipped topping (or ice cream)

Lightly grease a 2-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside. Stir together evaporated milk, banana, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the almond extract. Place croissant pieces in prepared baking dish. Pour egg mixture evenly over torn bread pieces; press pieces down to be sure they are all moistened. In a small bowl combine brown sugar, flour, melted butter, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over bread mixture. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand for 30 minutes. Serve warm. If desired, top with whipped topping or ice cream. Makes 10 to 12 servings.