Why we have Sandwich Wednesdays and more Rice Pudding Please.

Yesterday was a busy day for me. I met with the Leverett cousins to kinda, sorta finalize our 2013 Leverett Family Reunion plans. Then because my fingernails looked horrible, (Too much time in hot soapy water will do that to ya!) I went to see my friend Nancy and had my nails done. I have worn acrylic, gel, or solar nails since 1990 somethin’. (They are my nails, I pay for them!) I have to look at my hands all day long and I like them to be purdy. I told y’all I am a DIVA. Besides, my real nails have always been paper thin and horrible no matter what I do. Plus, if I don’t have the acrylic on them I tend to bite and chew on them. I promise my wearing acrylic nails will not get in the way of my ability to cook good food! (Movie Quote, kinda)

Now with all that said, (I know I danced around that bush again) I typically plan on us having sandwiches on Wednesdays and Sundays. We try to go to church on those days and it’s just easier to have the fixin’s on hand, toast some bread and have sandwiches than to mess with me fixin’ a big ol’ meal. Most other days we are just hangin’ out around the house, (one of the perks of being retired) so that’s when I cook.
Yesterday I made Tuna Salad and because the Cowboy asked me the night before “When ya gonna make some more rice puddin'” That was what we had for dessert. It sort of happened like this:
While I was waiting for the coffee to make yesterday mornin’, I put on a pot of rice. I use Great Value brand, long grain enriched rice and a 2:1 ratio. That’s 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, about a tablespoon of butter or margarine, and a half teaspoon of salt. I just throw all that in a pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pan with a tight fittin’ lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes, more or less depending on if my stove-top is cooperating. Sometimes my burners act silly and don’t actually simmer and I have to adjust it, oh bother! I taste it after about 15 minutes and if it’s still crunchy and/or the water isn’t completely absorbed then I leave it on the burner a little longer and adjust accordingly. (I’m flexible that way :).) Once it’s done I just leave it alone until I’m ready to make the Rice Pudding. Cold rice is best for rice pudding and stir fried rice!

The Cast of Characters

About 2 hours before I knew we were gonna be ready to eat I preheated the oven and started putting the rice pudding together. This recipe is one I found over at Christy Jordan's: Southern Plate. I ❤ Christy Jordan. If you haven’t ever seen her site, you really ought to check it out.

First I beat the eggs. I know they didn’t do anything to me, but it’s what I did for the rice pudding. 🙂

The eggs got beaten!

Then I added the sweetener. I used Equal brand sucralose. I found it at Wal-Mart the other day and it was actually cheaper than the Great Value Brand. SCORE! The Cowboy is diabetic and I am pre-diabetic so this works for us, but you can use real sugar if ya wanna.

It gets sweeter!

Then I added the milk, salt, vanilla, rice, cinnamon and (because we don’t care that much for raisins) I substituted another half cup of the rice, but if you like raisins this is where you’d put them in.

And then everyone jumped in the pool.

Stir everything together and then pour into a dish that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Now, this is where I made a huge mess and how this turned into a Bean-Pot recipe. See, good things happen when messes are made! Apparently that extra half cup of rice was just more than my little Pyrex dish could handle and it over-flowed. I mean the down the side of the dish into the burner bin and down into the depths of “oh my goodness, I wonder how long that’s been down thereness” of the stove. (I have a very small galley style kitchen and I have learned to utilize every inch of counter space, including the stove-top) Anyhow, I changed plans really quickly, poured everything back into the mixing bowl, grabbed my handy dandy Bean Pot, sprayed it down with non-stick cooking spray and then proceeded happily along. Crisis averted! Go Me!

It was all so dramatic until the Bean-Pot came to the rescue!

Then after having decided that one crisis was enough for the day. I placed my empty jelly roll pan in the preheated oven, filled it with HOT water from the tap, and then placed the Bean-Pot in the pan of water.

It got really steamy for awhile!

After 30 minutes of baking, I went in and stirred the pot, inserting the spoon at the edge of the pudding and lifting from the bottom to redistribute the rice.

The plot thickens!

And after 90 minutes, I removed it from the oven to cool.

This is how the story ends!

Then about an hour after supper the Cowboy was askin’ me if I thought that rice puddin’ was ready to be eaten yet. And so we did, eat it. The leftovers are tucked away in the refrigerator waiting for him to request more today and I’ll keep making more, cause that’s what I do! I hope you’ll try this recipe soon and please go and visit my friend Christy over at Southern Plate. I promise you’ll ❤ her as much as I do.


Mama Reed’s Southern Style Rice Puddin’

Ingredients

4 eggs, beaten
3 C. milk-I used 1%
1 C. sugar-I used Equal brand, sucralose
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C. cooked rice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. raisins- optional

Directions

Beat eggs. Stir in sugar. Add other ingredients. Stir. Spray oven proof casserole dish with Pam. Pour mixture into dish. Set dish in pan of hot water and bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes. After 30 minutes of cooking insert spoon at edge of pudding and stir from the bottom to distribute rice and raisins.

NOTES
Source: Christy Jordan’s: Southern Plate