Crock Pot Rice Pudding with Dried Apricots

2 1/2 C milk (1% is fine)

1 can (13.5) light coconut milk

1/2 C sugar

1 C arborio rice

1 cinnamon stick

1 C dried apricots, chopped (I think I only used about 1/2 C, snipped with scissors...alternately you could use raisins.)

Whisk milk, coconut milk and sugar in crock pot. Stir in rice and drop in cinnamon stick.

Cook, covered, until the rice is tender and milk mostly absorbed, about 2-2 1/2 hours on high. Discard the cinnamon stick and stir in the chopped apricots. This is best while still warm....refrigerated, it get pretty solid...rewarm in the microwave, top with a little squirt of whipped cream.

Happy Birthday, Kaity...Raspberry Scones

I wanted to get this on the blog before I got to October...September is a happy month for many reasons...but chief among them is it's the month Kaity was born!

In honor of Kaity reaching her quarter century birthday and actually eating two raspberries I thought we might make Raspberry Scones...

Raspberry (or Cranberry) Scones

1 3/4 C flour

1/4 C cornstarch

2/3 C sugar

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

4 T butter

1 C frozen raspberries

(or chopped cranberries)

2 t orange rind

3/4 C plain or vanilla yogurt

sugar for top

glaze

Cut butter into dry ingredients with pastry cutter or twoknives. Add orange rind and yogurt. Stir until a sticky ball forms. Add berries and gently fold in. Pat onto buttered cookie sheet in a large circle. Sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake about 20 minutes. Drizzle with glaze (1/2 C powdered sugar thinned with a little milk).

Apple Syrup

1/2 of a 12 oz can of Apple Juice Concentrate(6 oz)

(they used to sell 6 oz cans...but no more)

6 oz water

2 T corn starch

1/4 t cinnamon

Mix and cook in microwave until thickend...yummy over French Toast or Pancakes!

If you've got a big group you can use the whole can of concentrate (doubling everything)...but this "syrup" doesn't save very well, so don't make more than you can use at one meal.

Mega Danish Pastry

This is Mega Danish because this recipe makes three good sized pastries....enough to share and still have some for the home team (Do you feel bad when you cook something yummy and your family asks, "Who's that for?")

First make this easy dough:

2 cubes butter, softened
2 pkg (or 2 T) yeast...I use SAF yeast
2 C warm milk
2 eggs
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp salt
6 C flour
Mix and knead about 5 minutes. Don't add much additional flour...you want a soft dough. Let rise while you make the fillings.


Custard:
(I usually make about 1 1/2 times this amount because I love lots of filling)

1 C milk
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C sugar
3 T flour (I use Wondra)
1 tsp vanilla
Stir together and cook in microwave...let cool...I actually put this in the freezer to really cool it down. If it's warm you'll melt the almond/oat filling

Next...make the Almond/Oat filling:
(again, I usually make 1 1/2 times this amount)

Almond Filling:
3/4 C sugar
1 cube butter
1/3 C oats
2 tsp almond flavoring
Mix until crumbly.


When dough has risen, divide into three pieces and pat each into a large rectangle on a baking sheet.

Slice along each side at about 1 inch intervals. Then spread 1/3 of the custard down the center. Next crumble 1/3 the almond mixture on top of the custard.

Finally, braid the strips over the fillings, tucking the ends in so the fillings doesn't leak out while baking.

Let rise again; bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until slightly browned.

Frost with a powdered sugar glaze or thin cream cheese frosting.

These also freeze well and are great to make during the holidays when you want a nice breakfast treat that doesn't have to be made at the last minute.

A Healthy "Hippie" Breakfast...Muesli

Here's an easy healthy breakfast I used to make...Dad used to eat it on his mission in Austria.....it's actually best made the night before and refrigerated...

Muesli

2 C  plain or vanilla yogurt

2 C uncooked oats (I like to use old fashioned)
        (You can change the ratio of oat/yogurt depending on how creamy you like it)

1/2 almond or walnuts, chopped very fine(or omit if you're not a nut person)

fresh fruit...always some kind of berries (strawberries, raspberries) chopped apple, bananas

1/2 C orange juice (2 oranges juiced if you have them)

sweetener....a few packets of Splenda if you use it, or a couple teaspoons of honey or sugar...if you're using vanilla yogurt you may want to skip the sugar.

Mix and let set several hours (if you can wait)...

Healthy New Year! Breakfast Casserole

Mark's been working on getting in shape in the new year so we've been trying some recipe's out of this cookbook....the author, Devin Alexander, wrote The Biggest Loser Cookbook too.

This is a low fat version of Breakfast Casserole...it's pretty good, especially with a little sour cream and taco sauce on it.

1 1/2 C chopped onion (red and or white)

1 C chopped red or green pepper or a combo

6 slices whole-wheat bread, cubed(from a fluffy loaf, not a dense one)

2 C shredded low fat cheddar cheese

1 1/4 C (5 1/2 oz) lean ham steak, cubed

2 1/2 C egg substitute

1/4 C milk

2 t dry mustard

1/2 t pepper

1/8 t salt

Saute onions a peppers in non stick pan until veggies are tender. Mist a casserole dish with Pam and spread half the bread cubes. Then layer half the cheese, half the veggies, halm the ham. Repeat layers. Mix egg substitute, milk, mustard, pepper, salt. Pour over bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning preheat oven to 350. Bake about 45 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes, then cut and serve...6 servings (209 calories, 23 g protein, 4 g fat)

Chocolate Stuffed Sticky Bread

1 pkg Rhodes Dinner Rolls(24 in pkg)

1 1/2 C chocolate chips

1/2 C sugar

1 T unsweetened cocoa

1 t cinnamon

1/2 C chopped pecans, walnuts or toffee bits

1/2 C melted butter

1/2 C packed brown sugar

Thaw rolls, cut each one in half, flatten a bit and wrap around about 1 t chocolate chips (5 or 6).

Mix sugar, cocoa and cinnamon in a small bowl, roll each roll in sugar mixture and drop into a Bundt pan that has been well sprayed with Pam.

Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture and nuts over the rolls.

Mix butter and brown sugar and pour over rolls.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise to the top of the pan.

Bake at 350 about 35-40 minutes, covering with a piece of foil the last 10 minutes of baking.

Immediately turn out on plate.

Girls' Camp Recipes...Cheese Zombies!

A favorite from Girls' Camp...

This is Donna's recipe...a 6# size which makes about 36 Zombies

We used American cheese slices(from the 5# Costco package), cut into about 1 inch stacks/cubes...

Here's the dough....

Zombie Dough

4 C warm (110 degree) water

2/3 C sugar

1 T salt

1/2 C shortning(butter or Crisco)

13 C bread flour (approximately)

3-4 T Saf yeast (double for regular yeast)

Put water, sugar, salt, shortning, and about half the flour in mixer (or mix by hand); add yeast and enough additional flour to make a sticky dough. Let knead 15 minutes; let raise;

To make Zombies, divide dough into 6 balls (1 lb. each); then roll each ball into a little log and cut into six pieces.

Now this is the critical part...wrap each piece of dough around a chunk of cheese, sealing and pinching carefully so you don't see any seams. Then SLAP it down onto the baking tray (covered in parchment paper or sprayed with Pam). Let rise; then bake in hot oven (400) about 10 minutes...if you're really good you won't have any (or at least not many) "leakers"...

Zombies can be frozen and reheated in the microwave....

Additional notes:

A simple version of Zombies can be made using Rhodes frozen dinner rolls and either American cheese or Velveeta...these are quite good and way easier!

Also....at Girls' Camp this summer, Kim used a different recipe... it used milk, eggs, baking powder, salt, flour, oil , water, yeast...and was also great.

Girls Camp Recipes....Oven Omelet

Oven Omelet
This made a big foil pan full..enough for 10 or 12 people...cut in half for a smaller group..

Frozen Hash browns (32 oz)

3 T melted butter(optional)

1 qt. "Egg Beaters" or similar product (or real eggs)1 1/2 C milk

1-2 C diced ham, sausage or bacon

shredded cheese - 2 or 3 cups, whatever looks good to you...



Layer half the hash browns, the cheese, meat; Repeat layers; Mix eggs and milk, also a little pepper (the cheese makes it salty enough)..pour over casserole.
Bake at 350 until set.