Bread Pudding

Nonstick cooking spray
8 cups 1-inch cubes dry, sweet egg bread (such as challah or Hawaiian)*
1 cup chopped pitted dates
3/4 cup real butter
6 beaten eggs beaten
3 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla


Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 2-quart rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In large bowl combine bread cubes and dates; set aside.

In small skillet heat and stir butter until browned. Remove from heat. Place 1/4 cup of melted butter in another large bowl (set remaining butter aside for sauce). Beat in eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture; toss to coat.

Turn bread mixture into prepared baking dish. Place baking dish on cookie sheet. Bake, uncovered, 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Remove baking dish from oven; cool slightly. Sprinkle with nuts.

In small bowl stir together reserved browned butter, powdered sugar, the 2 tablespoons milk, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Serve on bread pudding. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

*To make dry bread cubes, spread the cubes out on a large baking sheet. Let them stand, uncovered, on a kitchen counter overnight, stirring the bread cubes occasionally.

Cranberry-Pumpkin Bars

1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 Tbsp reduced-calorie margarine, soft, at room teperature
1 cup canned pumpkin, puree
1 large egg(s)
1 large egg white(s)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice *
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
2/3 cup dried cranberries

* If you don`t have pumpkin pie spice in your pantry, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg, ginger and clove.

Heat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Lightly coat a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) baking pan with cooking spray, then dust lightly with flour.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and margarine with an electric mixer; beat in egg, egg white, pumpkin purée and buttermilk.

In medium bowl, combine flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir into pumpkin mixture just until moistened, then add cranberries and mix gently.

Spread batter in pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until center springs back when gently pressed. Cool and cut into 18 bars.

Hearty Crock Pot Stew

Ingredients
3 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
2 pounds meaty chicken pieces, skinned
1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham (8 ounces)
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14 ounce can chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce
1 10-ounce package frozen sliced okra (2 cups)
1 cup frozen baby lima beans
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

Directions
In a 3 1/2- to 4-quart crockery cooker place onion. Top with chicken and ham. In a small bowl combine undrained tomatoes, broth, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, thyme, pepper, and hot pepper sauce; pour over chicken and ham.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

If desired, remove chicken; cool slightly. (Keep lid on the crockery cooker.) Remove meat from chicken bones; cut meat into bite-size pieces. Return chicken to crockery cooker; discard bones.

Add okra, lima beans, and corn to crcokery cooker. If using low-heat setting turn to high-heat setting. Cover and cook 45 minutes more or until vegetables are tender. Makes 6 servings.