Coffee-Beef Soup

Yep. That was our dinner. Coffee and beef soup. Much compliments to the chef, my two year old brother Galdor. Mom was making the soup in our crock pot when he flung in her cup of coffee.

Well, I'm a big fan of coffee. We'll just see the effects of the caffeine on the younger kids later...at right around bedtime.

The main reason I posted was to draw your attention to a lovely blog called idream. It's by one of my BFFs in real live, igirl, and she's looking for some more followers for her blog's birthday! Go and follow her! I command it. Just kiddin'. I'd appreciate it though. =)

Recipe: Rice Pudding

I found this recipe online a year or two ago, and although we've only had it twice we love it! It's easy, has simple ingredients, and tastes super good. It's filling, too, which makes it a good breakfast as well as a dessert. Leftovers keep well!

CREAMY RICE PUDDING

ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
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 golden raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, combine the cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the 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 and enjoy!

Just a note--3/4 cup rice is more than it sounds! I doubled the recipe yesterday for breakfast and we had a good amount of leftovers (and we're a six person family, with one healthy teen and one healthy tween). Also, this is a really forgiving recipe. When I doubled it, I completely forgot about the butter and I only had one egg (I needed 2 to double, remember). And it turned out great!

What's even funnier is that I usually don't like rice.

Mmmmm...food

Guess what. My biggest inspiration in writing is food. I don't know why, but it is. I guess it tastes good. =)

Here are some of my favorite, most inspiring foods!

Tomato slices with sugar. =) Hey, it's tomato! Of course it's healthy! I like eating it at breakfast, because it's light tasting, sweet, and reminds me of summer. It's so easy to make, too.

Coffee with Chocolate Ovaltine (sp?). Yeah, not so healthy. Too bad. =) It tastes really good, and if you put as much milk in your coffee as I do, it almost tastes like ice cream!

Hush-puppies. Ahhhhhhh. Fried. =) Everything tastes better fried! Ever tried fried pickles? No? I haven't either, but I bet it'd be GREAT! Hey. I live in the South, people.

Cherry tomatoes. It's one of the few things our family can grow well in our tiny garden, and boy, do they taste good! You pop 'em in your mouth, and they burst.

Wild sweet clover. 'Nuff said.

Wild onion soup. I made it when I was maybe eight or so, and I didn't chop off the tops. It tasted terrible, but I think now I could make a pretty mean retake of it!

Freshly baked cookies. There is NOTHING so inspiring as freshly baked cookies! NOTHING!

Those are only a few! And then there's stuffing, apple pie, cranberry sauce, ice cream, sauerkraut, rice pudding, and my mom's bread. =)

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori