Run Swim Bike Cook 2012, week 2 OR savory breakfast bread pudding

The charming and talented Chou has hosted Run Swim Bike Cook for several years, but I believe this is the first year that I have actively participated. As she says, it's kind of like Ironman meets Iron Chef. Check out her blog HERE and HERE for more details on the challenge.

This week's cooking challenge was to incorporate fresh greens into breakfast. I have been wanting to try a bread pudding and found this recipe, which I modified slightly for my own sinister tasty purposes.
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Ingredients:

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic

a pat of butter (1 tbsp?)

6 sliced mushrooms

a few handfuls of fresh spinach
2 cups fat-free milk
3 large eggs
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
a sprinkle of  dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 loaf of rosemary olive oil bread (from Costco. You can use whatever you want though.)

Directions:

Put the tomatoes in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain well and chop.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the garlic, and cook for a minute. Add the mushrooms and spinach and sauté until the spinach wilts and the mushrooms are as you like them.

Preheat oven to 350°. (I did this first, but the oven was hot way before I was ready to put anything in it, so I think you can wait a bit.)

Combine the milk and eggs in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1 tablespoon Parmesan, basil, salt, and pepper. 

Place bread in a shallow 1 1/2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Pour milk mixture over bread, gently stirring to coat. Let mixture stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
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The result? Something that smelled a lot like stuffing (I love stuffing). Some crispy bread bits, some chewy bits, and a really nice flavor. The texture made me long for chocolate bread pudding, which I'll be trying soon. I found and pinned some great recipes.

Sorry about the photo. I couldn't find my regular camera and had to use my phone. Clearly, I'm all about EATING the good food, more than documenting the good food:)

Want to join RSBC 2012? It's not too late! (Oh, and for the running swimming biking, I'm just walking. My goal is to walk a mile a day, so I make it to 26.2 miles for the month. So far, I've walked a grand total of 1.5 miles. I know I'm a little behind, but I think I can still make it.)