I have chosen a flavorful rice pudding that is not a heavy dessert.  It’s a perfect ending to just about any meal.  It requires a few extra steps but it’s worth it in the end.  Go find your Crock Pot and make this tonight!

Ingredients:

2 c. water
1 c. uncooked long-grain rice
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
pinch of salt
18-0z. evaporated milk
1 14-0z. can cream of coconut
1/2 c. golden raisins
3 egg yolks, beaten
grated peel of 2 limes
1 tsp. vanilla
toasted shredded coconut

Place water, rice, butter and salt in medium saucepan.  Bring to rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove form heat; let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Grease the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Add evaporated milk, cream of coconut, raisins, egg yolks, lime peel and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add rice and stir to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.  Stir every 30 minutes if possible (should be easy to hit a few of those stirrings if you are cooking the main meal along side the slow cooker).  Pudding with thicken as it cools.  Top with toasted coconut.

Get in your kitchen!  These recipes this week are making it very easy for you to become a master of your domain.  Impress your significant other with these basics.

xo–me

Ingredients:

4 chicken legs
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 onion, sliced into rings
1/2 c. red wine
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
hot cooked rice

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in large skillet brown chicken on both sides.  Remove and place chicken in slow cooker.  Saute mushrooms and onion in same skillet.  Add wine; stir and scrap brown bits from bottom of skillet.  Add mixture to slow cooker and sprinkle with seasonings.  Cover and cook on low for 9 hours.  Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

I know you will enjoy the ease of this fancy dish.  I did.  Please don’t scold me for this recipe!

xo–me

Ingredients:

1 tsp. wheat germ oil
1/2 c. Arborio rice
2 Tbs. pine nuts
1 1/2 c. apple, orange or grape juice
12 oz. cantaloupe
1 tbs. honey
1 c. fresh seasonal berries

Heat oil in a good size saute pan over a low heat. Add the rice and pine nuts and gently saute until the rice becomes slightly translucent. Pour in half of the juice and simmer gently, stirring continuously until the rice texture starts to become grainy. Add the remaining juice, and bring to a boil briefly. Remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly and let stand until cool. Refrigerate the mixture until read to serve, including overnight if you like.

Cut the melon into chunks. In a blender, puree the melon flesh with the honey. Wash the berries and cut into bite-size pieces if you are using strawberries. Pour the melon puree into deep bowls and stir in the berries, dividing evenly. Top each serving with a scoop of the rice and serve. YUM.

Ingredients:

1 small piece of beef (or chicken) with bone, cooked
1/2 c. rice or noodles
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 of very small onion chopped
parsley to taste

Boil meat in large stock pot.  Once the meat is falling apart and off the bone remove meat and bone.  Cut meat up into bite size pieces and return to the broth.  Add rice, carrot, celery, onion and parsley.  Simmer slowly at a low heat for a good long time.  Which means until you taste it and it warms the cockles of your heart.  Nan says if you don’t think it is thick enough, add a little more rice/noodles.  Okay Nany.  Now will you just make it for me so I don’t have to?