Rice Pudding

This recipe is quick and easy and oh so yummy! My daughter and I LOVE this stuff!

I've tried baked ones and different recipes but I usually just come back to this. I actually don't usually measure so I didn't know what to put down but found this similar recipe you can go by :) 

Found on Food Network HERE

Hope you enjoy. 

Ingredients

3 cups cooked rice (we use Jasmine)

3 cups milk

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Put the first 4 ingredients in a pot and stir to combined. Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally. Cook until thickened and milk has pretty much absorbed. Removed from heat add vanilla and cinnamon and stir. Cool slightly. You can serve with a little whipped cream and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Lazy Daisy Cake

This cake was requested by a co-worker. I hadn't made it before but had seen it in the past and wanted to make it so I was excited when she asked me to make it. So the first time I made it I followed the direction exactly as given. You can see the original recipe Here from Taste of Home. 

I wasn't very happy with how high the cake was as the slices toppled over because the icing was so thick and heavy. So I talked to who the cake was for (a doctor at the clinic where I work) He makes this cake all the time apparently and said that he puts his cake in a cookie sheet and doubles the frosting! Genius! Well the next time I made it I didn't do it in a cookie sheet but I did bake it in an 11x14 pan which I thought was perfect with the double frosting. It would be good on a cookie sheet as well though. The co-worker I made it for the second time said she wasn't a big cake person but she loved this one...she had 2 pieces and one for the road after work ;) So there you go. I'm a big coconut fan and this cake is so good! Add a scope of ice cream and you are set!

(I have already double the frosting in this recipe.)

Ingredients

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup butter, cubed

Frosting

3 cups packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup half and half cream

4 cups flaked coconut (unsweetened)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until thick and pale yellow, about 4 mins. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; add to egg mixture and beat just until combined. In a saucepan, bring milk and butter to a boil. stirring constantly. Add to batter and beat until combined. 

2. Pour into a greased 11x14 cake pan or cookie sheet baking pan. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 mins or until the toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

3. Combine frosting ingredients; spread over warm cake. Put in the oven on broil setting. Broil for approx 3-4 mins. Watch closely as it will burn fast it just needs to be a nice golden brown. Cool. 

Serve with ice cream. 

Frosted Orange Rolls

These are so seriously good. Serve warm with the frosting on top for ultimate deliciousness! I brought these to work and got rave reviews. So..on the blog it goes!  You can get the original recipe HERE at Stephie Cooks. 

Ingredients

1 pkg active dry yeast (2- 1/4 tsp)

3/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups warm milk

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups flour, divided

1/4 cup butter, melted

For the orange frosting:

(I doubled this)

4 1/2 tbsp butter, softened

2 tbsp orange zest (or to liking)

3 tbsp orange juice (or to preferred consistency) 

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar and salt. Stir in 3 cups of flour. Mixture will be runny. Let rise a a warm place for about 1/2 hour. 

2. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and shortening. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour. Dough will be wet and sticky-this is ok, don't be tempted to add any more flour! Let rise until double, about an hour. 

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, cream butter for frosting. Add orange zest, juice and powdered sugar and beat until well incorporated. 

4. After second rise, dump dough onto a well-floured surface and divide in half. With a floured rolling pin, roll each half into a large rectangle, about 18 inches long. Spread each rectangle with 1/3 of the icing. Roll up into a log from the long side. Cut each roll into 9 sections (about 2 inches each). Place cut rolls into a greased 9x13 pan (my roll was only 16 inches long so I did 8 sections) It might be a little squishes but that's ok, you could use a larger pan or two small ones. Let rise until doubled. 

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

6. After final rise, bake rolls for 25-30 mins or until golden brown (the more squished they are in the pan the more time will be needed for baking). Allow to cool slightly before frosting with remaining icing. 

These freeze well. 

Chicken and Bacon Pasta

Was looking for a pasta dish I could put chicken and spinach in and came across this one...It had me at "bacon". I mean look at that  picture...yum! This was so good! I'll be making this one often!. Original recipe found HERE.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (2 frozen Costco size defrosted)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp Italian herb seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil)

2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half (or you can use roma tomatoes cut up)  

2 cups fresh spinach

2 tbsp of minced garlic (5 cloves minced)

1 tbsp crushed red pepper (or less if you don't like things too hot)

6 bacon strips, cooked, drained and broken into pieces. 

1/2 -1 cup half and half

3/4-1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

10 oz penne pasta (I used Catelli gluten free)

grated parmesan and red pepper flakes for serving. 

Directions

1. Cook bacon however you like, drain and set aside. 

2. Cut up chicken breasts into strips (not too thin). In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tbsps of olive oil until hot. Add chicken and cook on one side for about a min. Sprinkle uncooked side with paprika and Italian seasoning. Flip the chicken over and sprinkle more seasoning on the other side. Cook again for about a min. Keep flipping if needed and cook until no longer pink. Remove from pan and keep warm. 

3. To the same pan, add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, 1/2 of the chicken and half the bacon pieces. Mix everything. Cover and cook for a bit until the spinach cooks down. 

4. Add half and half to desired consistency. Depending on how juicy your tomatoes are you may not need all the half and half. Bring to a boil. Once boiling add the shredded Parmesan cheese-immediately reduce to simmer and stir while simmering until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 min. Then, immediately remove from heat. 

5. In the meantime, cook pasta as directed on packaging. Drain. 

6. Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce and stir to combined.  Add remaining half of bacon. To serve, top with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and chicken strips.