Savory Bread Pudding-Red Lobster Copy Cat Garlic Biscuits

 Whenever I make a savory bread pudding I always wonder why it's not on my every week (at least) list of foods to make.  VERY easy, it uses up left overs to create something wonderful, filling, comforting and just delicious!

Earlier in the week I had made some of my goto biscuits, the famous copy cat recipe for those amazing little Red Lobster garlic biscuits.  The advantage to making your own bread is the ingredient list does not include preservatives or any of those unpronounceable ingredients that extend the shelf life of "fresh" store bought goods.  The disadvantage is that your bread does not stay fresh nearly as long.  So, when life gives you stale bread (or biscuits), MAKE BREAD PUDDING!

Home made, couple of day old fresh made bread (or these biscuits) is best to make bread pudding with since the more stale it is, the better it absorbs the egg custard that makes it like a pudding.  it's a math thing, more wet or moist the bread is, the less of the egg custard the bread can absorb.  So, leave the bread (or biscuits) out over night, break the biscuits open and let them get nicely stale.  Makes a big difference.

I won't be the first to give the "secret" recipe away, a quick Internet search will show dozens and dozens of bloggers posting this copy cat recipe.  But near as I can tell, I could not find anyone making bread pudding with them...  And they should!.  They are already packed with butter, GARLIC, herbs and delicious cheese! So many ingredients that are added to bread puddings are not needed as they are already there!

So first up, let's give out once again the "secret" Red Lobster style Cheesy Garlic Rolls...

Red Lobster Copy Cat Garlic Cheesy Biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 3 TBS Butter, COLD, cut into dice size
• 1 TBS Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 3/4 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 3/4 Cup Milk
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 TBS Butter, Melted
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Fresh Herbs (I used Rosemary and Basil)

Cooking Directions

1. The following directions are for biscuits. If you are making them as dumplings, make the dough, skip the last step and proceed to the Chicken and Dumplings recipe.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
3. Add 1-1/2 Cups flour to a Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook attachment. Cut in 3 TBS COLD butter, add the Baking powder, Garlic Powder and salt. Turn on the mixer
4. Add Milk and cheese and knead for 30 seconds. Do not over mix.
5. Divide into 8 Balls, drop on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, Bake for 14 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, melt 2 TBS butter, mix in Garlic Powder and Herbs
7. When biscuits come out of the oven hot, brush with garlic herb butter mix, serve Hot and ENJOY.... bet you can't eat just one.

OK, for this recipe I was making only two servings. This was a lunch for my wife and myself.

I used just a half a cup (meat from the leg) of a Rotisserie Chicken (Yes, this is indeed one of my "52 Uses For a Rotisserie Chicken" series).  I also had a bit of Monterrey Jack cheese and of course a few (4) biscuits.

I also added some Caramelized Onions to the top to make an OUTSTANDING lunch!

Here's What I did...

Savory Bread Pudding-Red Lobster Copy Cat Garlic Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 TBS Olive Oil
• 1/2 Medium Onion, cut in 1 inch narrow strips
• 4 BEAUTIFUL Red Lobster Copy Cat Garlic Rolls
• 2 Medium Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Whole Milk
• 1/2 Cup Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated
• 1/2 Cup Meat from a Rotisserie chicken (I used a Leg and got plenty of meat)
• 1 TBS Fresh Rosemary (use dried if fresh is not available)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Heat oil in heavy bottomed saute pan to just before it begins to smoke
3. Add onions and saute for 15 minutes to get the onions soft and just starting to brown and caramelize around the edges (they will finish caramelizing in the oven)
4. While the onions are cooking, in a medium size bowl, break your biscuits apart, about 4 pieces out of each biscuit.
5. Add the eggs, milk and rosemary and mix well. Be sure everything is well coated, the eggs have been evenly mixed. If needed, add more milk to get a medium batter like texture... Not too soupy and not too much bread.
6. Let this rest for 5 minutes so everything gets absorbed.
7. Prepare a baking dish (or two individual serving dishes) with some non stick spray.
8. Divide the eggy-milky soggy bread into the dishes.
9. Top with the just starting to caramelize onions
10. Move to the oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes,
11. If needed, turn the broiler on for the last 2 minutes to get a nice crispy radicalization on the onions.
12. Serve HOT and ENJOY!!!

Anyone want to come for lunch???

Look closely at the photo above... Every bite has plenty of cheese, plenty of caramelized onions, plenty of eggy custard and the biscuits, despite being soaked in custard still retain enough of their original taste to pack a delicious bite!  The chicken makes this a meal, adding protein to the taste.

Leave out the chicken and this makes a terrific side dish...

And I am now thinking of making a vegetable soup, making a few of these and using them as a giant crouton... hmmm... We may be seeing this again soon.

Like I said, I simply do not make these enough.  Simple to make, a meal almost completely made from leftovers and just as delicious as it looks!

And one more of my "52 Uses For a Rotisserie Chicken"!

And if you think you might want to give this dish a try yourself (very easy), please take a minute and "Pin" it to your Pinterest Boards.  And if you want to see more of my Rotisserie Chicken Recipes, feel free to join the fun and Follow me...