Autumn Harvest Bread Pudding

Chiquita is having a Cooking Lab Contest! This week’s secret ingredients were:

• Chiquita bananas
• Pear(s)
• Cinnamon

If you feel so inclined, there’s 9.5 hours left to submit your recipe for this week’s contest! Otherwise, there’ll be a new set of secret ingredients starting tomorrow, and it’s the last chance to win! Chiquita will be picking their 5 favorite recipes, including a Grand Prize winner who will win $4000 and have their recipe featured in Chiquita’s banana recipe collection!

I very much wish I’d found out about this contest earlier, because you better believe I would’ve been coming up with a new recipe each week. Built-in culinary inspiration, possible monetary halps for my student loans, and food to enjoy! What’s not to like?

Entering is super easy! Just make up a unique recipe utilizing the 3 secret ingredients for the week, and send it in! You can also enter through the official Chiquita FanFun app. :]

I am currently on a crusade to finish off everything in my refrigerator (if it seems like I’m always on such crusades, you are indeed correct–it’s a neverending process). I had bananas, a pear, and plenty of cinnamon…and I also had apples, sweet potatoes, a little over half a can of pumpkin, a bunch of stale bread…and I don’t know about you, but the first recipe that always comes to mind when I have an excess of stale bread is bread pudding!

That’s basically how this recipe was born! :O It’s a wonder what you can come up with when you’re trying to declutter your life (fridge).

Autumn Harvest Bread Pudding

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 1 pear, cubed
• 2 apples, cubed
• 1/2 sweet potato, peeled + cubed
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 4-5 cups stale bread, cubed
• 3 cups almond milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 drops rum extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of sea salt
• powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Heat coconut oil in a pan and add the pear, apples, and sweet potato. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender.
3) In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, pumpkin puree, honey, vanilla and rum extract. Mix well, and add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the cubed bread and sliced bananas, then let soak in milk + egg mixture for ~15-20 minutes.
4) Bake for 45 minutes, or until liquid has soaked in.
5) Sprinkle with more cinnamon and powdered sugar, if desired!

What’s your favorite banana-containing recipe? :]