Bread Pudding

What to do with less-than-fresh bread or an abundance of heels (bread, that is)?  Make bread pudding for breakfast, as a desert, or just for fun.

What you need:

1. Baking pan (8x12x2)
2. Bread
3. Butter, 4 tablespoons
4. Eggs, 8, beaten
5. Milk, 4 cups
6. Sugar, 1 1/2 cups
7. Ground Cinnamon, 2 teaspoons
8. Vanilla Extract, 2 teaspoons

What to do with that stuff:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt butter (I do it in the microwave, but I hear you can do it on the stove, too)
3. Break bread (enough to fill a 8x12x2 baking pan about 2/3ds deep) into small pieces in the pan'
4. Sprinkle liberally with raisins -- for me raisins are an absolute must
5. In a mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients and beat until it's pretty well all mixed up:
6. Pour the mix over the bread
7. Lightly push down on the concoction

How to eat it:

1. I like it hot right out of the oven - ok, you need to let it cool for a few minutes
2. You can put whipped cream or ice cream or fruit on it or just eat it plain; I like it with milk
3. You can also eat it cold or reheat it later, but you can never get enough of it - at least I can't

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