Quick and Easy Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is a classic dessert that I remember having growing up. It is full of rich and creamy goodness. Now this dessert can be made to be devilishly fattening and amazingly delicious, but lets face it, our waist line can't handle it that often. So, I came up with a lighter version using ingredients that I normally have on hand. Such as.... Minute Rice. Yep... I said Minute Rice. Or instant rice. Still the same thing. All those foodies out there are probably cringing horribly right now. But what can I say? I'm a student and Minute Rice takes only.. well..minutes to cook! I bet the majority of students have a bag (or box) of rice kicking around in their pantry. Oh and did I mention I normally use brown rice too? Not traditional by any means, but it is slightly better for you so why the hey not.

Also, I mentioned earlier about how you can use Warm Apple Topping on rice pudding to take it up a notch. But you can top it with many things such as chocolate or nuts (you know, just to add a little twist here and there).

So are you ready for some easyness?

Quick and Easy Rice Pudding

1 cup of Brown Minute Rice
1 1/2 cups of Milk
1/4 cup of sugar  (use less if you want - or use brown sugar)
2 tsp of Cinnamon
Handful of Raisins (optional)
Splash of Vanilla
Pinch of Cinnamon
Glob of butter (optional)
1 egg (optional!!)

Put rice, milk, sugar, spices, vanilla and raisins in a pot and turn on high. (I like to add raisins early because they soak up some liquid and become nice and plump). Bring almost to a boil. But keep an eye on it because with milk, it can go from bubbly to overspill in seconds.

Once it hits high, turn heat to low and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked stirring occasionally. Really, just follow the directions on the Minute Rice box (haha). If you find that the rice is a little dry, you can always add more milk - especially if you like it really creamy.

Once the rice is cooked, the egg can come into play if you like. But you need to TEMPER the egg. (What the heck is that? I will tell you) You need to crack and whip the egg in a separate bowl. Add a spoon-full of hot rice pudding to the egg and stir constantly. This will bring up the temperature of the egg mixture without cooking it. Then you can put that mixture  back into the rice pudding pot and stir until it is all incorporated. Let cook for another 2 minutes. Adding an egg creates a wonderful texture - really light and creamy.

Choose no egg? Just head straight to this step. Stir in a bit of butter (this is optional of course) to add an extra level of flavor and make it more creamy.

Serve warm or cold. 

Add Warm Apple Topping for some extra goodness!

Cooking Tip for 1: This can last in the fridge for a few days and some think it is even better cold. Surprisingly, it actually makes a good breakfast too. It is a good way to spoil yourself with dessert, but not kill your diet.