Grilled Tuna with Basil Butter and Fresh Tomato Sauce with Lemon Scented Broccoli Souffle and Bread Pudding with Irish Cream Sauce

That's right. I made dessert. While I try to remain healthy, I *do* maintain quite the sweet tooth that needs some nurturing every so often. And this time I couldn't shut it up any longer! So this meal features a bread pudding made as healthy as a bread pudding can be - but keep in mind we can't work complete miracles... only partial ones.

In addition to the bread pudding is a broccoli souffle and Tuna. I have to admit - while I love Tuna it can often come out dry or tough. Not this time. The basil butter and fresh tomatoes are an absolutely delicious combination that literally melts into the fish and provides a tantalizing taste. And it's a perfect meal to round out with some homemade bread pudding... Bailey's, anyone?

Bread Pudding with Irish Cream Sauce
I recommend getting the bread pudding all ready and then popping it in the oven right as you sit down for your meal. That way you don't have to worry about the entree getting cold as you prepare dessert, the dessert getting cold as you are eating, or losing any and all motivation to make dessert after eating your meal. Yes, I have done this before!

So let's work through this recipe. You'll note that you must refrigerate your bread pudding for at least 4 hours. As someone who does not have four hours to sit around on a weeknight, I decided to go with the overnight option. I actually prepared the bread pudding the previous evening and left it in the fridge. That meant I just had to tackle the fish, the souffle, and the sauce for the bread pudding. It made the entire meal go much faster and smoother!

This recipe calls for a lot of eggs and also some 2% milk. I was a little worried about messing with the eggs and putting in substitute instead... sometimes it really can screw up the taste. So in the end I went with the full egg allotment and just made a mental note not to mistake this healthiER recipe for an actually healthy one and eat too much. However, I used skim milk instead of 2%. The end result was incredibly rich and creamy (and delicious) so I thought it worked out perfectly. However, chances are, it's even creamier with the 2%. Make it as you will!

If you can, follow the instructions regarding putting your pan inside another pan with some water. This allows the pudding to cook very evenly and slowly and results in a creamier dessert. If you don't have the right size pans, it's not absolutely necessary, but it DOES improve the final result.

Lemon-Scented Broccoli Souffle
I must admit that I actually found the broccoli souffle to be the weakest link in this meal. It also came from my favorite spot and I did enjoy it - just not as something I'd rave about all night. It's different, light, and interesting. It's a unique item that you won't find too often and therefore makes for a nice addition on occasion. But if you are truly looking for the taste wow factor, rather than points for creativity and presentation, you should know this is not the best I've made.

Make sure to follow the directions and bake carefully. The stereotype is true that souffles fall easily and you'll want yours to be light and fluffy. The good news is that if you follow along it will turn out that way without too much trouble! So dig on in, enjoy something different, and let me know if this was better than I gave it credit for.

Grilled Tuna with Basil Butter and Fresh Tomato Sauce
Well, I might have not exactly raved about the Souffle, but the bread pudding took my breath away and this entree completely knocked me off my feet. I'd make it again and again in an instant. Save this recipe for many more uses.

A few changes to note... For the basil butter I used fake butter rather than the real stuff - it's far more guilt free when I'm already gorging myself on dessert. In the tomato "sauce" (which is not sauce at all but really some fresh tomatoes that are sauteed) I skipped the capers and parsley. The capers was simply due to personal taste - I find them salty and a bit gross, to be honest. The parsley was just not on hand and I generally find it not that exciting. Go ahead and toss it in if it is next to you but I wouldn't exactly worry about rushing to the store. Finally, for the Tuna itself, I skipped the salt.

At the end, once the Tuna was out of the oven, I spread the butter across the entire steak and then dumped the tomato mixture on top. The butter actually melted into the Tuna and it tasted delicious to me - but that also means the butter wasn't as clearly shown in the picture. Maybe not quite as pretty but definitely more than tasty enough.