Rice Pudding

Rice pudding reminds me of my days living in the Philippines. While I was there I ate rice nearly everyday. Usually for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Occasionally, I would splurge and buy a piece of bread and a Coke, but for the most part, my diet consisted of mainly rice.

We cooked a pot of rice and ate from it until it was gone. Sometimes, it would take a few days to empty the pot and the rice would get moldy. When that happened, we just rinsed it really well, laid it out on a towel to dry and ate it when it dried.

Often times, we would have to get creative with the rice, using it in cakes, casseroles, desserts, drinks, ect. I learned a lot of new ways to eat rice.

I attempted rice pudding many times in the Philippines, but cooking over an open fire left me with something similar to a warm milk drink with rice in the bottom. I did not have the patience to wait for the mixture to boil and them simmer. Either way, I enjoyed it and was reminded of those days when I whipped up some rice pudding the other day.



RICE PUDDING

3 cups of left over rice (cooked) white or brown works fine
about 2 cups of milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
handful of raisins
walnuts
any spices you like: cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, etc.

Add the milk, rice, raisins, salt and sugar to a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until desired consistency. The rice will absorb alot of the milk. Add walnuts, and spices. Serve warm or cold it is delicious either way! This is an excellent way to use leftover rice from a meal.

Betty's Spaghetti and Meatballs

All the credit for this one goes to my mom's best friend, Betty Walker. She passed this recipe onto my family and it's the only way we eat spaghetti now.

Meatballs:
1 lb. lean hamburger or turkey burger
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 slices bread
2 heaping tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Soak bread in milk. Mix meat, eggs, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Drain any excess milk from bread and add to meat mixture. Roll into balls about he size of walnuts. Drop into boiling sauce. Simmer for one hour. Extra meatballs can be frozen raw and used later.

Sauce:
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper

Blend tomatoes, add remaining ingredients and simmer for one hour.