Leftover Rice Pudding

We had a bunch of rice leftover from our dinner tonight, and that happens a lot. So rather than put it in a tupperware and have it sit in the fridge for a week before I throw it away, I decided to look up stuff to make with it. I decided on rice pudding. I one time tried to make rice pudding from scratch and it was a total and complete disaster. So I was nervous. The good news is that it turned out great! And now I have an easy thing to do with all of my leftover rice!

Leftover Rice Rice Pudding

2 cups leftover cooked white rice
3 cups milk (any kind)*
1/2 cup sugar
small pinch salt
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
pinch nutmeg, optional

Combine cooked rice, milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and stir in the vanilla and raisins. Cook until just about all of the milk is absorbed (30-45 minutes, depending on how absorbent your rice is). Stir in cinnamon and/or nutmeg, if using.
Divide rice pudding into individual serving dishes serve warm or chilled.
Makes 4-6 servings.

*Note: Sometimes I add an extra 1/2 cup of milk, if the rice seems unusually firm or dry, to make it creamier. Feel free to add a bit extra if the pudding is not as creamy as you like it. You can use nonfat, lowfat, whole or soy milk in this recipe.

-------------

Note from Kristi: Raisins? Ewwwww. No way. And I just did cinnamon rather than cinnamon and nutmeg. It was yummy and it's what the kiddos are going to be eating for breakfast tomorrow. Enjoy!