Classic Cinnamon Rice Pudding

I had a craving to cook the other night, and oddly enough, it was to make pudding or panna cotta. This would have been easy, except it was late and we wouldn't have gotten to actually eat the results that night. So I was scrolling through my blog looking for something pudding-like that would set up faster. I came across my Tropical Rice Pudding.  My husband loves Rice Pudding. Loves it. It's something that I don't have a lot of experience with, and prefer regular pudding over rice pudding.  But, it's quick, and fit the bill.

Instead of Tropical Rice Pudding, I decided to just do a Classic Cinnamon Rice Pudding. The basic mixture is the same, and I just added cinnamon to get a bite of taste.  It does have to rest for 30 minutes after cooking, but that's fast compared to traditional puddings.

Classic Cinnamon Rice Pudding
The Double Dipped Life

Makes 4 1 cup servings

3 cups milk
1 cup uncooked minute rice (You can also use cooked leftover rice)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teas salt
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
1 teas cinnamon

Combine milk, rice, sugar, and salt in a medium pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beat eggs and vanilla lightly in a small bowl. Stir small amount of hot rice mixture into eggs. Then, stirring constantly, slowly pour egg mixture back into the hot rice mixture. Mix in cinnamon.

Stirring constantly, cook on low heat 1 minute until thickened. Do not boil.

Remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes.

Serve warm or cold! Store any remaining pudding in refrigerator.


Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Jalapeno Sauce on Sirloin Tips

I recently purchased a new cookbook with authentic Mexican recipes.  Very excited about this book, I decided to start with the Roasted Tomato Jalapeno sauce. One of the serving ideas was to serve in on top of Sirloin. Well, I'm okay with that!

The sauce is spicy with 2 whole jalapenos, and fresh with the taste of tomatoes. You can substitute canned tomatoes, but I don't think you'd get the freshness that way.



Roasted Tomato Jalapeno Sauce on Sirloin Tips 
Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine


1 pound tomatoes (2 large or 3-4 small tomatoes)
1-2 jalapenos, whole
2 Tb oil
1 small white onion, chopped finely
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (This is my addition- the sauce needed a little more taste)
1 - 1 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth (If serving over sirloin, use the beef broth)
1 lb Sirloin, cut into bite sized pieces
Rice 
Cilantro

Grease a cookie sheet, and turn your oven broiler on to high. Wash tomatoes and jalapenos. Place them on the cookie sheet and put about 4 inches under the broiler. Roast for roughly 6 minutes, until the tomato skins bubble and blacken.  Turn over with tongs, and roast another 5-6 minutes until the other side is blackened as well. (I pulled the jalapeno's out after the first round of roasting).  Place the veggies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to cool.

In the meantime, heat 2 Tb oil in a large saucepan.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic, and saute for 8-10 minutes until soft.

Peel the tomatoes. Chop tomatoes and jalapenos finely, saving the juice. Place the chopped veggies and juice, including the cooked onions and garlic,  into a food processor or blender. Blend just a little to get big chunks, or process until smooth to use as enchilada sauce.  For this recipe, I left it chunky.  Turn the saucepan up to medium-high. When hot, pour in the sauce, and allow to cook until it's darkened and slightly thicker.  Stir often.

Cook your rice. 

In the meantime, start cooking the sirloin in another pan. Cook until brown. Add in half the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens more, and the meat is cooked through.

Serve the meat mixture over rice.  We added the extra sauce over the top to get more flavor.  Sprinkle with Cilantro and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Horchata

The first time I had Horchata was while I was in college. It wasn't a great experience. Someone pulled out a 2 liter bottle of the stuff... warm.  Yuck!

 I realize that I had a bad experience, and continued to try it over the years, but never really liked it.  My husband loves it though, so when I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com, I knew I had to make it just for him.  And of course, I had to try it. And you know what? This recipe might have made a believer out of me! 

What is Horchata?  It is a Mexican drink made from rice, water, and milk!  Cinnamon and other seasonings flavor it.  Keep in mind that this recipe takes 3 hours to make. The rice and water mixture has to sit that long. So, plan ahead!

Horchata

Allrecipes.com

1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice

5 cups water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 Tb vanilla extract (yes, that's Tablespoons!)

1/2 Tb ground cinnamon (I might cut this down a little next time.)

2/3 cup white sugar

Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender. Blend until rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute.  Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours. 

Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice. Stir in the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water. Chill, and stir before serving over ice.  (You do not want this warm!) 

Now that I've found a Horchata I like, I just might experiment next time by adding coconut! Keep in touch! 

Enjoy!

Pineapple Cilantro Rice

When my Dad and Brother came to visit last month, it was a opportunity to try some recipes that I've been wanting to make. This rice was one of them. I paired it with the Crispy Coconut Chicken and it was the perfect side dish! And believe me, if Dad likes it... so will you!

The original recipe comes from the gals at Our Best Bites, but I changed it up a little. It's a recipe that is easily catered to fit your tastes. The rice can be any flavor, and you can add more or less of any of the ingredients.

Pineapple Coconut Rice with Lime and Cilantro

1 cup dry rice, cooked in 2 cups of water. I used Jasmine Rice- following the package directions, but you can use white, brown, neon pink... whatever you like the best!
2 TB butter
Juice from 1 large lime (You might need more. The rice absorbs the juice- taste as you go)
1-2 small cans crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 - 1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook your rice according to package directions. When done, add butter, and stir to melt. Add lime juice, pineapple, coconut, and cilantro. Stir to combine, tasting (a very important step!), and adding more ingredients if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Because of the nature of rice, sucking in every kind of juice in comes in contact with, you will want to serve this right away. If you don't, you might need to add some more lime juice. Otherwise, cook the rice, add the butter, and then mix in the rest right before serving.

Enjoy!

Fragrant Thai Chicken Curry

This dish takes a little more time and effort, but is well worth it. It is great to serve at a party, because the chicken and sauce can be prepared in advance and combined and heated at the last minute. This is one of my families personal favorite Thai dishes.

I actually posted this recipe once before, but I didn't have any pictures. Now, I have pictures- lots and lots of pictures!! Enjoy!

Again, see my Thai Tips post if you need help explaining the different Thai ingredients! The * indicates ingredients that are best found at an Asian grocery store.

Fragrant Thai Chicken Curry

3 TB oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 TB Thai red curry paste * (I would put 2TB in)
4 cups coconut milk (roughly 2-3 cans)
2 lemon grass stalks, coarsely chopped*
6 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped*
2/3 cup Greek or Plain yogurt
2 TB apricot jam (I've made this w/out the jam, as no one eats the rest of the jar!)
3 lb cooked chicken breasts
2 TB cilantro
salt and ground black pepper
Kaffir lime leaves, shredded, toasted coconut, and fresh cilantro to garnish
Cooked Jasmine Rice to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic, and cook over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until soft.


Stir in the red curry paste. Cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes.


Stir in the coconut milk, then add the lemon grass, lime leaves, yogurt, and apricot jam. Stir well. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.




2. In the meantime start cooking your rice, following the directions on the package. See tips for cooking jasmine rice here.

2. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow to cool slightly. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and process to a smooth puree. Rinse out your pan. Strain the mixture back into the pan, pressing as much of the pureed mixture as possible through the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon. Discard what is left in the sieve. Set aside while you prepare the chicken.

3. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the sauce. ( I used chicken that I had previously cooked and frozen, and shredded it.)

4. Bring the sauce back to simmering. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve in warm bowls; garnishing with extra lime leaves, shredded coconut, and cilantro. Serve over Rice.


Enjoy the burst of flavor that is Thai cuisine.

Black Beans and Rice

Well, it's Tuesday. And this is obviously not a Thai recipe. I apologize for that, but it was unavoidable this week. I did make 2 Thai meals this past week, but with sick kids I was unable to get the pictures touched up and downloaded. If I can get to it, I'll post a new Thai recipe on Thursday!

I Love Mexican food. I mean Love with a capital "L". I could literally eat it every day. So, the other night when I was making chicken, I came across this recipe, had all of the ingredients, so I decided to whip it up. It was fast, and delicious! The best part is that it's a healthy side dish.

Black Beans and Rice
6-7 servings as a side dish
from: Bush's Best Black Beans can

1 TB olive Oil
3/4 cups onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped fine
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 can (15oz) Low Sodium Bush's Black Beans- drain, but reserve juice
1/2 teas thyme
1 teas garlic salt
3 TB cider vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
1/2 teas hot pepper sauce (I didn't have this- added some dried chili flakes)
2 cups cooked rice
Lime wedge or sliced mango (optional)

In a large skillet, heat olive oil; cook onion and green pepper until tender. Stir in tomatoes, beans, thyme, and garlic salt. Cook for 3 minutes; add vinegar, pepper sauce, and reserved juice. Continue to cook 5 minutes.
Serve over rice. Garnish with lime wedges or sliced mango.

Pork Chops and Rice

A basic, but delicious dish! This is a dish that I've been eating all of my life. Whenever someone asks for an easy Pork recipe, I give them this one. It is also excellent with Chicken!

(I finally have a new camera, but still not pictures of this simple but yummy dish!)

Pork Chops and Rice

Enough Pork Chops for your family
Flour, Seasonings (garlic salt, rosemary, all-spice- use your favorite combo)
2 cups Minute Rice (only works with Minute rice!)
2 cups Water
1 can Cream of Chicken soup

Mix flour and seasonings in a flat bowl.

Coat Pork in flour, and cook on stove top until the outside of the pork is browned.

Meanwhile, in a casserole dish - size depends on number of pork chops- you want them to all fit comfortably- Mix the rice, water, and Cream of Chicken soup together.

When Pork is browned, place over the rice mixture.

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve!

Mussaman Curry

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines. Thanks to my husband for getting me an amazing Thai cookbook, it is now easy to cook at home as well. Some of the ingredients can be hard to find though. For help with definitions of ingredients and how to use them, read this post. The * by an ingredient means you will have to go to an Asian store to find it.

Mussaman curry is amazing with any type of meat you like. Pork, beef, chicken; it can handle it all. I personally like chicken the best, but feel free to experiment!

Mussaman Curry

1Tb peanut oil

3-4 Tb Mussaman curry (Mae Ploy brand) * (Can use less for a milder flavor)

1 can coconut milk

1 cup of meat- cooked

1 potato, cut in small bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup diced onion

Handful of Cashews or Peanuts

1/2 cup of water

1/2-1 can Green Beans (optional)

3 teas sugar

2 teas lemon juice

Jasmine Rice

Start cooking your Jasmine Rice.

Rinse 1 cup rice in a colander until water runs clear. Put in pan with 1 ½ cups liquid. (Water is the most common, but coconut milk makes a wonderful rice as well!) Combine and bring to soft boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand covered for 10 minutes.
Fluff w/ fork. Makes 3 cups cooked rice.

To make Mussaman:

Heat the oil in a large pan or Wok. When the oil is hot, add the curry. Heat.

Add 1 cup coconut milk, and whisk together until the curry is mixed. (picture above)

Add meat and another 1/2 cup of coconut milk, heat until boiling.

In the meantime, cook potatoes in the microwave until cooked.

Add cooked potatoes to soup. Add onion, nuts, 1/2 cup of water, and green beans. Cook until the vegetables soften.

Add 3 teas sugar, 2 teas lemon juice. Taste and season as required.

Serve over Jasmine Rice.

Serve the Mussaman over the Jasmine rice. Take a bite, close your eyes, and enjoy the flavors rolling over your tongue!

Tropical Rice Pudding

My hubby is a big fan of Rice Pudding. It's growing on me. I never had it growing up, so it's something new. I really only make it now when I have extra rice. And, boy, did I have extra rice!

The other night I made Thai Fried Rice and forgot that 1 cup of Jasmine rice = 3 cups of cooked rice! I looked at my recipe, saw it needed 2 1/2 cups of rice...so I cooked 3 cups of DRY rice! I had sooo much rice left over... I knew that Rice Pudding was on the menu!

Tropical Rice Pudding

You can really use any type of rice with this dish. From regular to minute rice. If you use regular rice, cook it first, before starting the rice pudding. You can also use any leftovers! If you are using minute rice, you do not need to cook it first!

3 cups milk
1 cup Minute white rice, uncooked (see above!)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dried pineapple
1 cup coconut flakes
1/4 teas. salt
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
1 teas cinnamon

If you use more than 1 cup of rice, then add more milk and sugar accordingly!

Combine milk, rice, sugar, pineapple, coconut, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beat eggs and vanilla lightly in a small bowl. Stir small amount of hot rice mixture into eggs. Then, stirring constantly, slowly pour egg mixture back into the hot rice mixture. Mix in cinnamon.

Stirring constantly, cook on low heat 1 minute until thickened. Do not boil.

Remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes.

Serve warm or cold! Store any remaining pudding in refrigerator.

Tips: You can vary the flavor of this rice pudding by trying different types of dried fruits, such as raisins, dried cherries, chopped dried apricots, or dried sweetened cranberries!

Chicken Satay with Coconut Rice

Thai food is one of my favorite food "groups". I love the rich, complicated flavors and textures. I always thought that Thai food would be difficult to make, and so I didn't attempt it very often. Then, a few years ago, my husband got me a great Thai food recipe book for Christmas.

The Cook's Encyclopedia of Thai Cooking

It's a fantastic book of simple recipes. There is also a complete dictionary of commonly used Thai ingredients. Today's great recipe comes from this book.

Chicken Satay

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips

For the marinade:
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 in piece of fresh root ginger, finely grated
2 teas Thai fish sauce
2 TB light soy sauce
1 TB honey

**Words about these ingredients: Ginger- you are welcome to use the jarred, marinated ginger as well.
Fish sauce- it sounds odd, and as a hater of all things seafood, I refused to use it for a long time. Then I learned that fish sauce is used to give the food a salty flavor, and is an essential Thai ingredient. It does NOT taste like fish!

For the satay sauce:
6 TB crunchy peanut butter
1 fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped. (dried chili works as well)
juice of 1 lime
4 TB coconut milk
salt

1. First, make the Marinade. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the chicken strips and mix. Cover and leave for at least 30 minutes in the fridge to marinate.

2. Make the Satay Sauce. Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Check the flavor, and add more lime or salt as needed! I've found that no matter how many times I follow the directions, it tastes slightly different every time. Add ingredients until it meets your tastes! Spoon into a bowl, cover, and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, soak 16 wooden kabob sticks in water to prevent them from burning during cooking.

4. Preheat the grill, or the oven broiler, to high. Drain the sticks, and the chicken. Thread the chicken onto the sticks. You can do as many or as few strips on the sticks as you wish. Grill or broil for 5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is golden brown and cooked through.

Serve immediately with Satay Sauce and coconut rice.

Coconut Rice

1 cup water
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 teas salt
2 TB sugar
2 2/3 cup Jasmine Rice*

*Jasmine rice is amazing. It has a wonderful, nutty taste to it. You can find it in the grocery store, or at oriental markets. To use rice, measure out amount needed in a strainer. Rinse with cool water several times, until all the extra starch is washed off, and the water is clear. (You can also use instant rice if needed)

1. Place the water, coconut milk, salt, and sugar in a large, heavy pan.

2. After rinsing the rice, add to the pan. Cover tightly with a lid, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, without lifting the lid unnecessarily, for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is tender.

3. Turn off the heat and leave the rice to rest in the pan, still covered with the lid, for a further 5-10 minutes.

4. Gently fluff up the rice grains with a fork before transferring it to a warm serving dish.

We eat this dish with a side of steamed veggies. Enjoy!!

Hawaiian Haystacks

One word... Yum!
Another word... Versatile!
Okay, another word... Dinner party!

Hawaiian Haystacks

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1-2 cups boned, cooked chicken

2 c or can of chicken broth
3 cups cooked rice
crispy Chinese noodles
pineapple chunks
tomato, chopped
Green peppers, chopped
Green onions, sliced
Coconut
Grated cheddar cheese
Slivered almonds

*Pick up a rotisserie chicken at your grocery store, and shred! Easy!

Combine soup, broth, and chicken, cook until warmed through. Put the rest of the ingredients in small bowls or arrange on a large platter. Let everyone build their own "haystacks"!