Fail creamy chicken bread pudding

So, my recent tinkering with bread has resulted in some... less desirable results.



....



Ok, they were actually utter failures. Dense, dry bricks of utter fail.



Always the thrify and enterprising one, I can never waste perfectly good food! I mean, it is fully cooked and not rotten. If just doesn't exactly have the desired... bread qualities. So, bread pudding it is!

Last time I made a typical sweet bread pudding, nothing special, it was very basic. The best part was where I used leftover Dulce De Leche mixed with bourbon and milk for the topping. Mmmm :)

This time, I wanted to try something succulent to use up the leftover chicken from the rotisserie I made the other night. I began with a basic recipe for artichoke bread pudding. Digging to the back of the cabinet, I discovered only one lonely can. Canned artichoke isn't cheap! Plus, there is a vegan recipe that calls for artichoke I have been saving it for. There was, however, plenty of canned mushrooms. The main veggies I had already established based on the staples we always have around the house-- onion and celery. Leftover cheese from the pizza the night before, plus leftover white sauce from the pizza. A rough estimate of what was thrown in is as follows;



1 loaf of FAIL bread (or, perfectly acceptable yet stale bread, of whatever type you choose), cubed

2 cups milk

3 eggs

1 cup cooked chicken

1 medium sweet or red onion, diced

1/2 + 1/2 cup of defrosted and drained frozen bell peppers

1 small can of mushrooms

2 stalks of celery, diced

1/2 cup of white sauce, like alfredo, or 1/2 can of condensed cream of chicken/ mushroom/ celery soup

1-11/2 cups shredded italian cheese blend (I mixed mozzarella, asiago, and Parmesan)

olive oil

fresh ground black pepper

1+1 tsp Spike (red label)

3 tsp italian seasoning blend

1+2 tsp Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute



Soak the bread in the milk for at least 30 minutes, or until the bread is soft and most liquid has been absorbed. Push down the bread to extract about 1/2 cup of the milk. Whisk the eggs with the extracted milk, 1 tsp spike, 1 tsp 21 salute, and pepper to taste. Using 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, grease a 13x9 casserole dish, making sure to get the sides too. Cover the bottom of the pan with enough bread to to cover the entire bottom, or a bit more than half of the bread. Evenly layer on the chicken and 3/4 of the onion, then pour the sauce or soup on top and spread evenly. Evenly layer on the celery, mushroom, and bell pepper. Top with black pepper to taste, 1 tsp red label Spike, 3 tsp Italian seasoning, and 2 tsp 21 salute. Sprinkle with half of the cheese, or enough to evenly cover everything. Evenly spread remaining bread on top. Evenly sprinkle the remaining onion and bell pepper on top. Pour the egg mixture over the entire thing, pouring slowly to ensure it is evenly spread. Grind some more black pepper on top. Evenly drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Evenly sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes- 1 hour, or until sides are crispy and top is golden brown. If the top is browning faster than the sides, cover with foil.