Rice Pudding

Yesterday we tried a new snack. I noticed when I was menu planning that Fix-It and Forget-It had Old Fashioned Rice Pudding in the dessert section.  A Mexican friend taught me to fix Sweet Rice for the Fish Sticks several years ago and I thought maybe this recipe might be similar.  The texture was not soupy like the Sweet Rice but most of them really liked it.  I thought it made a great snack too and the best part was it used ingredients I keep on hand and I made it at lunch in the crock pot so it was ready after school.

Old Fashioned Rice Pudding

2 1/2 cups cooked rice

1 1/2 cups whole milk (probably any would do)

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 eggs, beaten

3 Tb. butter, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. raisins (we left those out)

Mix all ingredients and pour into lightly greased crock pot.  Cook on high 1-2 hours or low 4-6 hours.  Stir once during last 30 minutes.  Serve warm and cold.

So yummy!  Try it!

Wisdom from My Laundry Room

Homemade Vanilla Extract

I went to the liquor store last week and bought a big bottle of Vodka, a half gallon to be exact.  Not because I'm a big party girl.  It's because I'm a big baker.  Yep.  I read on one of the many blogs that I read that I can make vanilla extract homemade for a fraction of the cost.  I go through vanilla really fast.  To make it for 50 cents an ounce instead of $2.50 an ounce really appealed to me.

I ordered Madagascar vanilla beans off of Amazon for 50 cents a bean (came in a pack of 54 beans = $27).  The Vodka was $15.  I put 750 ml (about half the bottle) of Vodka in a quart jar, cut each bean lengthwise and added 12 beans.  I will keep it in a cool, dark place and shake occasionally for 3 months.  Strain and voila!  According to the internet, the taste is superior to store bought.  The beans smell wonderful.  That makes a quart of vanilla extract only $13.50!!!!

If you live local and want to try, I'd be happy to give you some of my beans (seeing as I have a lifetime supply) for what I paid for them so you can try too.

Can't wait to try it in 3 months.

Amish Friendship Bread

Have you ever had an Amish Friendship Bread starter?  I think I got my first one from a friend while living overseas.  It's such yummy bread - kind of more in the cake category than bread.  Not exactly healthy but still very yummy.

I've got my starter going again and every 10 days we bake 2 loaves of it.  I vary the flavor and so far have made plain vanilla and chocolate with chocolate chip.  It makes the perfect snack for the Fish Sticks and sometimes even a good bread for breakfast.  Can't be any worse than a doughnut or sugar cereal, right? :)

So here's the deal.  Tomorrow is my baking day.  I will have 3 starters to give away.  They are very low maintenance.  You just squeeze the bag daily, add 3 ingredients on Day 6 and bake on Day 10.  I have been throwing most of my extra starters away, but if you are so inclined and you go to church with me or our kids attend the same school, comment quickly and I will give you a starter on Sunday or Monday.  First come, first serve.  I might have no takers and if that is the case, no big deal.  If you want one later (like in 10 days) then just tell me that too and I can save one for you.  Otherwise, I will just throw my extra 3 starters in the trash and keep just one going.

I wish I had a photo of the yummy bread to tempt you to be a taker, but that would have to wait until after church tomorrow.  So don't judge the bread on the ziploc bag above.  Close your eyes and envision a steaming hot, sweet bread straight out of the oven being gobbled down in 10 minutes by your anxious children.  Now...want some?

Leftovers Again?

I found myself with more leftover roasted chicken and searching through my cookbook for creative ways to "hide" the leftovers with a yummy makeover.

Chicken A La King

In saucepan melt 1/4 c. butter, blended with 1/3 c. flour and 1/2 tsp. salt.

Add 1 c. chicken broth and 1 c. milk all at once.

Cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens and bubbles.

Add 2 c. diced cooked chicken, 1 small can of sliced mushrooms (drained) and 1/4 c. chopped canned pimento.  Heat through and serve over toast points.

You can make this with turkey as well. I had leftover whole-wheat biscuits that we poured it over and I left out the mushrooms because I didn't have any and only 1 Fish Stick actually likes them.  I happened to have a jar of pimento in the fridge, so I just added a spoonful and not the entire jar.  Usually I don't have this on hand and keep it out.  The hint of green you see in the photo is a TB of dried parsley - mostly to add color.  Fish Sticks loved it and it wiped out my leftovers which I had tried to warm up a few nights before with no takers.  Score for Mom!

Wisdom from My Kitchen Window

Monthly Meal Planning

I have tried so many ways to plan meals in my 16 years of marriage.  When I was first married, it was one of my most favorite things to do.  I tried a new recipe each night and had my husband give me feedback so I could take notes on each recipes.  Finally after about 2 months of having 60 different meals, he sheepishly asked me if maybe we could repeat some of the recipes that he had given me good reviews about.  :)  Needless to say, I actually enjoy planning menus.

I would love to eventually tell you about all the ways that I have planned menus but for today, I'm just telling you what I've done for this month of March.  I love my crock pot and use it several times every week.  I actually use THEM several times a week - I have 2!  I got my Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook (all crock pot recipes) and flipped through it to find recipes that mostly call for things I already have on hand or things that wouldn't cost too much to purchase.  I made a list of a variety of 20 meals, writing the page number on the left side and any ingredients that I would need to purchase on the right side.  Then I got to the end of the cookbook and realized there is a good number of crock pot desserts that call for things I already have on hand.  I added 6 of them to the list - not that I would make all 6 - but at least have a choice to give them a try if we are having a sweet tooth (I usually  make a dessert on the weekends.).

As for the other 11 nights of the month?  Well, we usually do a breakfast meal one night a week and oftentimes a leftover night every so often.  Of course things might come up that would send us elsewhere for supper but 9.9 times out of 10, we are home.

What I love is that each morning before we start homeschooling, I check my list, see what I have a hankerin' for and lay out the meat to thaw (or check it the night before if it needs longer to thaw).  Ahh - the ease of not panicking at 5:00 p.m.!!