Four (or five) ingredients to YUM!!!

My sad little jar of Nutella was begging for me to use him this weekend, and I graciously agreed to grant his holiday weekend wish.

I found this recipe on Recipe Goldmine and decided to tweak it a little. I halved the original recipe and tweaked the ingredient amounts (I added an additional tablespoon of both Nutella and Arborio rice and left out the dried cherries/dried cranberries).

SO simple. SO delicious. It will SO will be repeated again...soon!!!

Nutella Rice Pudding

Adapted from Recipe Goldmine

3 cups 2% milk, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 T. Nutella
1 cinnamon stick (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Arborio rice (do not substitute or pudding will not thicken)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat an 8x8-inch glass or metal (not aluminum) pan with vegetable oil spray.

Over medium heat, whisk together 2 cups milk and the Nutella in a heavy-bottom 2-quart saucepan. Add cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Stir in Arborio rice and transfer to prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 8 to 10 minutes.

Add remaining 1 cup milk, combining well, and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer, stirring every 8 to 10 minutes, or until pudding has thickened and rice is soft. Remove cinnamon stick, if using, and cool 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm or cover and refrigerate. (I spooned the pudding into 4 individual ramekins and let them cool to room temperature before covering them with plastic wrap and putting them in the refrigerator overnight to thicken to the consistency I wanted to achieve.)

If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon-dusted whipped cream. (Desire it!!! It really adds a nice finishing touch to the pudding.)

Mindy’s notes: I used a cinnamon stick instead of 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon because I wanted a more subtle cinnamon flavor. Also, make sure you stir this every 8 to 10 minutes to prevent the rice from sticking together and to keep a skin from forming. If you plan to serve this warm, I would add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of Arborio rice so it is a little bit thicker. I refrigerated it overnight and the consistency the next day was perfect, but right out of the oven and after sitting, it was still a bit runny. Adding an additional tablespoon or two of the rice would firm the pudding up to a thicker consistency right out of the oven.

 

Thanks again, Mr. Pyrex Loaf Pan!!!

Yet another success using my new best baking friend, Mr. Pyrex Loaf Pan. You've been hidden away in my kitchen cabinet abyss for way too long.

I found this recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Bread on the Bake or Break blog a few weeks ago, and since I have a stockpile of cinnamon to use up before I head out west, I decided to make it. It is so moist and delicious. (I can't believe I'm saying this, but this recipe is even better than the Vanilla Coconut Quick Bread I made a few days ago. But really, who can go wrong with two great quick bread recipes?)

Use the strongest cinnamon in your kitchen pantry for best flavor. (Every pantry should have high-quality, flavorful cinnamon in it, or you can buy it here.) I used Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon from Penzey's and Nielsen-Massey Mexican pure vanilla extract to both maximize and enhance the cinnamon taste of this bread. This bread is so good I had two pieces (a BIG no-no) for breakfast this morning. I gave the rest to my friend Kurt so I wouldn't eat it all. As usual, he was a very gracious recipient.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Source: Adapted from Bake or Break blog/BH&G Christmas Baking

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon Mexican pure vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease/flour/spray the bottom and sides of a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Combine 1/3 cup of sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Then, stir in milk, oil and vanilla extract. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not overmix.

Pour half of the batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat. With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then, cool completely on a wire rack.

My notes: It took my loaf 55 minutes to bake. I added Mexican vanilla extract to the recipe (the original recipe didn't have any vanilla extract in it). I baked this last night and let it sit overnight (wrapped in plastic wrap) before cutting into slices and eating it. All quick breads taste better if you bake them a day before and let the flavors come together overnight before serving.

That's a Peach (Muffin), Dear!!!

How do I love peach muffins? Let me count the ways.

(Somehow, a quote from "Caddyshack" and an adapted Shakespeare quote in the same post is just not right. But...I'm Alright.)

You know, for living in a state known as the Peach State, you would think we have the best peaches in the country. WRONG!!! There are some pretty sad looking, hard-as-a-rock, rotten peaches here in Georgia. Somehow I did manage to find two at Publix that passed my not-overly-stringent inspection, though. They needed three days of sitting time on the counter to soften a bit and to start smelling like, um, peaches, but nonetheless the time has come to chop these fuzzy bad boys and bake them into something wonderful.

So, what do they taste like? They are delicious. They are very moist, have a delicate sweetness and are abundant with chopped pieces of peaches throughout each muffin. These will be a delicious way to start the day for many mornings to come.

The original recipe called for wheat bran, 1 egg white, honey and no sugar. I used oat bran, 1 whole egg, Lyle's Golden Syrup and 2 T. sugar instead. Also, I was skeptical about using non-fat yogurt sweetened with artificial sweeteners, so I used low-fat yogurt instead.

Honey Peach Bran Muffins

Source: Adapted from Recipezaar

½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup oat bran
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup peach yogurt
¼ cup canola oil
2 T. sugar
½ cup chopped fresh peaches

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flours, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

Separately, combine honey, egg, yogurt, and oil; stir well.

Pour liquid into dry ingredients; stir until just moistened.

Add peaches.

Pour into greased muffin tins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let sit in muffin pan for 2-3 minutes before serving or removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.