The pudding in the Rice

Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding

Made: December 29, 2012

Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup raisins, dried cranberries, and/or dried cherries
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
- Lightly coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray; set aside
- In a large bowl, combine cooked rice, evaporated milk, milk, sugar, and the water
- Stir in raisins, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon
- Transfer mixture to the prepared cooker
- Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 2 to 3 hours
- Stir gently before serving

I made about 3 cups of uncooked rice, which 1/2 cup made 3/4 a cup of cooked rice; which just about evened out. I added some extra milk and sugar (mixed up) and put on the "keep warm" setting and it seemed to even out nicely. Before, it was too thick for my liking and wasn't as sweet as some I've tasted. As for the berries, I added raisins and dried cranberries.

(Recipe used: Better Homes and Gardens)

Stuffed beef

Beef Stuffing Bake

Made: December 29, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 package beef or pork-flavored stuffing mix
- 1 can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
- 1 jar (4.5oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

Directions
- In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain
- Transfer to an ungreased 13x9x2 baking dish (2qt)
- In a bowl, combine contents of stuffing seasoning packet, soups, mushrooms water and vegetables
- Sprinkle stuffing over beef mixture
- Top with soup mixture
- Bake uncovered at 350 F for 30 minutes or until heated through

I did things a little differently. My stuffing mix (which was chicken flavored) only had 1 package and not a 2 package combo; so I mixed my stuffing in with my soup and veggies. For the veggies, I used some of the open bags we had. So it was a combo of peas, green beans and broccoli. Granny's portion had no mushrooms and I didn't use onions at all. But we have no leftovers :)

(Recipe used: Taste of Home's Ultimate ground beef cookbook)

Broiled Cod

Broiled Fish Fillets with Butter and Herbs

Made: December 25, 2012

Ingredients
Herb Mix
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- 1/3 cup minced fresh chives

Fish dish
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 4 (6oz) pieces fish fillet
- Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
- About 3 teaspoons fresh bread crumbs
- Lemon wedges

Directions
- Set an oven rack in the top position, slide in a cast-iron griddle, and turn on the broiler
- Let the griddle heat for 15 minutes
- Meanwhile, toss the parsley, dill and chives together in a small bowl
- Pour the butter into a soup plate
- Dip each piece of the fish into the butter to coat it on both sides, the lay the fish skin side down on a work surface and season with salt and white pepper
- Divide the herb mix among the fish filets, sprinkling it evenly
- Sprinkle each fillet with about 1 teaspoon bread crumbs and par the coating onto the fish
- Drizzle each fillet with a little of the butter
- Set the fillets skin side down on the griddle
- You’ll hear and immediate and very satisfying sizzle
- Broil the fish for about 3 minutes, until the crumbs are toasty and caramelized
- Serve with lemon wedges

We crusted both side of the cod (and also used 8 small pieces of fish instead of 4) so we doubled the recipe a little bit. But overall, it came out better than we thought for our first time making fish. We didn't use white pepper, but just normal black pepper. We also didn't have chives, but overall, the fish had a really good taste!

(Recipe used: Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion)

Cheesy Oven Noodles

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Made: December 25, 2012

Ingredients
- 16 ounces dried elbow macaroni (4 cups)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
- 8 oz pasteurized prepared cheese product, cut up
- 1/4 cup butter, cut up
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
- 1 can (10 3/4oz) condensed cheddar cheese soup or 1 cup process cheese dip
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 F
- Cook macaroni according to package directions
- Meanwhile, let the cheeses and butter stand at room temperature
- Drain macaroni; transfer to a very large bowl
- Add 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar cheese, the cheese product, and the butter to the hot pasta; stir well to combine, set aside
- In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cheese soup, and pepper until smooth
- Stir egg mixture into macaroni mixture
- Spoon macaroni mixture into a 3-quart baking dish
- Cover and bake for 25 minutes
- Uncover and stir well
- Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes more or until cheese melts

I used Velveeta for the pasteurized prepared cheese product (2 4oz blocks) cur into small squares and I also added some bread crumb topping on top during the 2nd cheese topping for the uncovered cooking segment for some crunch.

(Recipe used: Better Homes and Gardens)

Sour Chicken

Sour Cream Chicken

Made: December 2, 2012

Ingredients
- 12 chicken tenders
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can (2.8oz) French-fried onions

Directions
- Preheat oven 350 F
- Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a shallow baking dish
- Sprinkle with the dressing mix
- In a small bowl, combine the soup and sour cream
- Mix well
- Spread over the chicken evenly
- Sprinkle with cheese
- Bake for 35 minutes
- Top with the French-fried onions
- Bake 10 minutes more until hot and bubbly

I'm not one for French-fried onions. So I smashed up seasoned croutons and topped that ontop instead.Other than that, followed the recipe to the tee and loved it! So creamy and moist and flavorful!

(Recipe used: My way cooking)

Corny Soup

Velvety Corn Soup

Made: December 2, 2012

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 15oz cans cream style corn
- 1 1/2 cups half & half
- 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Directions
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat
- Stir in the flour
- Cook, stirring continually for 1 minute, or until smooth & bubbly
- Add the green onions to the flour mixture
- Cook, stirring continually, for 1 minut
- Sit in 1 1/2 cups water
- Bring to boil, stirring occasionally
- Boil the mixture, stirring continually, for 1 minut
- Stir in the corn, half & half and bouillon granules
- Bring to a boil, stirring frequently
- Stir in the salt and pepper
- Ladle into soup bowls
- Sprinkle with paprika

I used what I had available. So no green onions and I used bouillon cubes (2) instead of granules. I don't care for paprika, but the soup itself had enough seasoning. I also used about 1/2 cup milk to top off the half & half since I ran out.

(Recipe used: My way cooking)