Pumpkin Blueberry Bread Pudding with Custard Sauce

8 slices of bread, toasted
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups milk

Spread butter evenly over toasted slices of bread.  Cut or tear bread into pieces and place into a greased 2 qt baking dish.  Sprinkle blueberries over bread pieces.  In a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.  Pour pumpkin mixture over bread and blueberries.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour, until set and when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Serve warm with butter sauce on top.

Butter Sauce

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup half and half or heavy cream
3 egg yolks

Melt butter in saucepan.  Add half and half and heat until bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan. Meanwhile, scramble egg yolks and mix in sugar.  When half and half is heated enough, pour about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot mixture into egg mixture, mix well, then return egg mixture to the saucepan.  Heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Recipes by Meredith