Brrrrr! It skipped right over Fall and went straight to Winter here in Georgia! I don’t know about you, but when it is cold out and my Alabama boys are playing, I love to have something warm cooking in the crockpot, a hot coffee (or toddy) in my cup, and comfy PJ’s on. (That may or may not be what I wear all day long on Saturdays.)
Today we had a ham in the crockpot. The house smells wonderful! I made a little jasmine rice to go with our ham and had some left over. Sometimes I save rice and put it in Billy’s leftover stash to take to work, but tonight, we had DVRed the football game in order to play with little Piggies, we were going to be finishing up the game, and we all needed something to warm up our bellies and make us feel cozy while watching the Tide Roll. I decided that rice pudding was the perfect bowl of “yummy” to end our day.
I didn’t follow any specific recipe. I just used good cooking sense and did a little of this and that. I kept it written down in my brain so I could tell you how it turned out. I’ve made rice-pudding enough to know what goes into it, so I knew how to eyeball it.
Left-over Rice Pudding (Basic recipe)
- 2 cups rice
- 2 cups milk (whole milk, preferably)
- 3 1/2 – 4 TBSP sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
- pinch to 1/8 tsp salt
- splash of vanilla
- Egg or egg yolk (optional)
- raisins or nuts (optional)
- rum (optional but highly desirable)
- cinnamon or nutmeg
Directions
- Measure out your leftover rice into a saucepan or pot. Then add the same amount of whole milk. (I happened to have 1 1/2 cups of rice, so I also added 1 1/2 cups of milk.)
- Next, add about 1/2 TSBP of sugar per 1/2 cup of rice (I added 3 TBSP sugar), and a pinch of salt.
- Cook this for about 20 minutes on medium heat. Be sure to stir it often so it doesn’t burn or stick.
- Add in a beaten egg or an egg yolk at this point if you want it creamer/richer. It’s not necessary. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Finally add in your vanilla and toppings.
My 1 1/2 cups of left over rice.
I added the same amount of milk as I had rice, along with 1/2 TBSP of sugar per 1/2 cup rice, and a little salt.
Cook this for about 20 minutes on medium heat. Be sure to stir it often so it doesn’t burn or stick. 
I happened to have 3 egg yolks in the fridge left-over from some Italian Buttercream Frosting I made a few days ago. I decided to beat these up and add a little to make it rich, thick, and yummy (and highly caloric!) I also added vanilla here. That’s a must for most desserts in my book.
I didn’t have any raisins or we would have soaked some of those in rum before adding them. We did have some cinnamon, so I sprinkled that on top. I’m guessing nutmeg would be good, or you could add pumpkin, too now that I’m thinking about it.
It turned out perfect!
I love these kinds of recipes because you don’t have to be exact. There are a million different ways to make rice-pudding, but they are all basically rice cooked in milk until thick with your choice of sweetener and toppings. Done. Don’t be afraid to play with your food and come up with your favorite warm treat this winter.
This was a perfect way to end our day and to finish up a great ballgame. Way to go, Bama! ROLL TIDE!
Heather
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