Rice Pudding

I found myself with leftover Jasmine rice the other day and wanted to try to find something to do with it.  

I think this is how this recipe and many others were born.  

So, I decided to make up a rice pudding.

When I think of rice pudding I think of Grandma's yummy rice pudding but I also have fond memories of a little tea room we used to have in our town that served it.  

It was called The Market.  

To be honest, it's the first time I really fell in love with rice pudding.  

Have I mentioned I love tea rooms?

They always used dried cherries instead of raisins and it was so creamy.  

It was served hot with whipped cream and I'd always have a nice cup of hot tea to go with it.

Talk about comfort food!

Eating that dish in that place was always an experience unto itself, especially if mom was there(& she usually was) to enjoy it.  

I made up this recipe and it isn't as creamy as theirs but I still think it's good.  

I'm quite sure theirs was made with whole milk and/or heavy cream and sugar.  

While mine is slimmed down a bit it's still rich and creamy I think.  

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked Jasmine rice

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

dash of salt

1/2 cup fat free sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup skim milk

3/4 cup fat free half & half

1/4 cup dried cherries(I get these at Hy-Vee. You can substitute dried raisins if you like)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  

Spray an 8 x 8 square casserole dish.  Add rice and cherries to the casserole dish.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk to blend.

Pour over the rice.  

Bake uncovered for 50 minutes or until it appears set.  It should be soft but not watery.  

This is a little indulgent.  I put it in the recipe builder to serve 6 which comes out to 7 pts.

This is a great thing to eat on a cold winter day if you have the points for it and you're a rice pudding fan.  

There are lots of WW recipes for this that use skim milk and are much lower in points should you choose.  

You could also make this a coconut flavored masterpiece either with real coconut or coconut extract.

Today I just wanted something a little closer to the experience I had in that tea room years ago.  

Now, let's set the scene...

I recommend lighting a fire in the fireplace(or candle), putting on some beautiful music(maybe the Brandenburg Concertos or Pachabell's Cannon in D?), getting a cup of your favorite hot tea and sitting down to this delicious dessert served in your prettiest dish.  

This isn't just food, it's an absolutely swoon worthy experience!

It's called savoring life.

Enjoy every second!