Kitchen

[Tigriss]

@Kachina624  Thanks!  For a minute there, I thought I had missed something.  Some people drink wine, some drink beer, other have liquor, but I prefer a night cap of milk.....organic, skim because I drink 1 to 2 gallons a week by myself.  I can look at milk and tell you what the fat content is and taste it to tell you more.  I just love it, especially with a hot, dark chocolate brownie!  YUM!  I'm very picky about it.

I can see where heavy cream and half and half is too much fat.  You could do a rich mix of whipping cream or regular cream and half and half.  That will reduce the fat content and still be rich!  It is good to know that whole milk works too!  I'm thinking of doing a rice pudding with whole milk and cream in my Instant Pot.  I've not had rice pudding, so I'm thinking of a simple vanilla one with blueberries to start.  I do think I'll wait until our weather cools, as it is a cool weather treat to serve warm.  I will also do it cold to see the flavor difference.  I am also interested in the frozen custard treat instead of ice cream. You made ice milk really.  I also love gelato too!

[Kachina624]

I have one of the ice cream makers where you freeze the container.  I've never made traditional ice cream in it.  I always use a pint of vanilla non-fat yogurt, Splenda and fruit with diced mango being my favorite.  It's absolutely delicious and very smooth and creamy. 

Your rice pudding sounds delicious too, especially with blue berries. 

[Tigriss]

Thanks @Kachina624 !  Being from the deep south, rice isn't something that is at every meal as it is in other regions, so rice pudding is a bit of a mystery to me.  I thought about buying some of the pre-made in the refrigerator cases at the grocery but felt that might not be the best place to start.  I searched for Instant Pot recipes to find many that looked so yummy.  We also didn't have tapioca pudding either, so I may also try that if I can find tapioca pearls at the grocery store.  They both look like they would be rich and may even be great for breakfast like oatmeal or cream of wheat.

Your frozen yogurt reminds me of one of those Fro-Yo places but without the unhealthy ingredients and cost!  I have one of those ice cream makers where you freeze the container.  I should break it out and use it to make frozen yogurt.  I like the whole milk, Greek yogurt for its creamy texture and rich flavor.  I make my own yogurt in the Instant Pot as mine has the yogurt setting.  It really is super easy, but I have to remember to buy whole milk, as I drink so much I get skim out of habit.  I also use organic milk to make it, so it is creamier and richer than regular milk.  I would love to live where I can get fresh cow's milk.  I grew up with fresh milk, cow and goat, and do get goat milk from time to time from my cousin.  I bet goat's milk yogurt would be great. I'll have to try it!

[Zhills]

@Tigriss  Rice pudding should be a mystery to you!  There are as many ways to make it as making Mac & Cheese.  Everybody has their own version.

Some boil the rice in milk and add the other ingredients, some make a pudding and add cooked rice and every possible combination in between.  

Basically, it is vanilla custard with cooked rice in it.  It is quite tasty.  Cinnamon or nutmeg or both are the main flavors.  Some add other flavors to the pudding.  It is definitely worth making.  You can make it as sweet as you like.  Enjoy!  

P.S.  I'm a Southern Girl also but I don't remember having Rice Pudding at home.  We ate a lot of rice because Daddy liked it.  Chicken & rice is my favorite!  We did have tapioca pudding occasionally.

[Tigriss]

We aren't a family that had dessert at our meals or alcohol. The alcohol was kept in the utility room for medicinal use only, and dessert was more of a snack than the formal end to a meal. We got dessert at our family get-togethers, but not like the Cleavers or anything. We ate our meat and veg, and got our full tummies from that. We still don't plan on appetizers or dessert when we eat out. We were more focused on eating the meal, not other stuff. Plus, we usually worked in the fields until time for dinner and supper and back to the fields or prepping the veg for canning/freezing, so long meals were not common. You sat, prayed, ate dinner with a bit of adult chit chat, the kids were to listen, and clean up so you could go back to work or get ready for bed. The summer time means the crops are coming in and need to be gathered from the veggie garden or from the main crops planted for your income. We still spend evenings after work in the family garden, which is gathered by now, putting things up and visiting. We will have the cold weather crops next, greens, pumpkins, taters, etc. We have been known to go out to the garden to collect veg for supper that night. We also go get our pumpkin and greens a few days or the day before Thanksgiving, so we can clean them and cook them for Thanksgiving. Real pumpkin pie is a two day process to bake the pumpkin, then make the pie mix, then bake the pies. One pumpkin makes a bunch of pies. We vacuum seal them, then freeze for baking later. We also cook and freeze the greens too! We have mustard, collard, and turnip greens. We also plant rutabagas too! You can also eat their greens as well. We always have greens and cornbread or crackling cornbread for our winter gatherings. YUM! Dessert was more of a special treat that we didn't have every day waiting for us when we got home from school or for supper. We really ate our meat and veg as a real meal. I still feel that the meal should be a MEAL and not a little tasting of many courses. All those courses mean there are that many more dishes to wash up! Too much waste of time and food. We also weren't picky eaters either. Desserts are to be special and served occasionally, not every day. I guess our sugar came from our sweet tea. That was about it!

[Kachina624]

@Tigriss  I guess you weren't deep enough in the South to have red beans and rice.  My family spent a year in Baton Rouge and they served it every single day in addition to the rest of the menu in the school cafeteria. 

I used to have a yogurt maker and made all of my own using skim milk. 

[Bigbear52]

I have  a Cuisinart ice cream maker, it's a 1.5  quart same as the Cook's Essential. QVC carries the model of Cuisinart I have also. I got mine from HSN Father's Day weekend, had a discoiunt code got  $10.00 off. I love the thing, it came with recipes, but I haven't made any from the the recipe guide. I've been using the recipes for the Cook's Essentials, because most have them don't require any cooking, or involve eggs.  I've done 3 flavors so far, a couple have been repeats. Mint t chocolate chip is my favorite! Cookies and cream,and coffee. The coffee is the first one that required some cooking. Als I have been doubling the batches, but I don't double the sugar. The CE recipes call for a half cup in most, I use maybe 3/4 cup.  I also only use heavy cream and whole milk, the CE recipes mostly call for heavy cream and half and half. Mine has been coming out great. I may start to explore the other recipes, wanna try some sorbet, maybe a yogurt. 

[Tigriss]

@Kachina624  I'm in the deep south of Georgia.  We do like red rice, which is rice cooked with tomatoes or rice served with a tomato gravy.  We also do beans and rice, but red beans and rice are a Cajun specialty.  We do red beans and rice, but not quite as spicy as the Cajun variety.  I love beans and rice with some corn bread on the side!!!  YUMMY!  Pinto beans, navy beans, red beans, lima beans.....all cheap and delicious!  I like to cut up peppers and onions to put in mine.  I also love Chow Chow on top of the beans.  Delish!  I too went to school when school food was cooked from scratch.  My great aunt worked in the middle school's cafeteria, and that school had the best food.  Now our schools are heat and serve pre-packaged foods or canned veggies.  Schools save more money by having foods that are mainly frozen to last from year to year versus fresh foods that spoil over school holidays.  Some states like Colorado have laws requiring schools to make their meals from scratch!  Now that is something I can get behind.  That one on of the main reasons schools fussed with the new school lunch rules because pre-packed foods are higher in fat and sodium and carbs, so that didn't meet the new FDA rules. They had to redo menus, but they eventually found frozen junk that met the rules.  The local schools pick what is served but the FDA sets the nutrition guidelines.  When I taught in the public school system, all the old teachers told the new teachers the quickest way to gain weight was to eat school lunches.  Our schools try to fill the kid's daily calorie count in two meals in case they don't get to eat at home, so that meant very fattening and carb filled foods.  I'm glad they redesigned the guidelines, but they need to go back to freshly cooked meals, not pre-packaged junk!

I've just got my rice pudding in my Instant Pot, so I'll let you know how it goes.  I'm using skim milk and half and half.  I did get some heavy cream for topping it.

[Zhills]

@Tigriss       Easy......

CREAMY RICE PUDDING

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil.
Add rice and stir.
Reduce heat,cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

In another saucepan, combine the cooked rice, with 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt.
Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins.

Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.

Serve warm.

Cinnamon & nutmeg are optional ingredients.

[Tigriss]

@Zhills  That does sound easy.  I did mine in the Instant Pot.  It was easy.  I ate a bowl last night for supper and slept very well.  I also had a bowl of it cold for breakfast.  I prefer it hot!  I can see why people eat it in the winter months.  I'll try it on the stove top next to compare the texture and what not.  I did watch some Martha Stewart and YouTube videos on different ways to make it.  Many people use bourbon soaked raisins or currents.  I bet cranberries and toasted pecans would be good with it too!  I'll have to add some pecans to mine tonight and see how it works with the blueberries.