Valentine's Day Dessert ~ Creamy Rice Pudding

Hello dear ones!
I pray you each had a special Valentine's Day!  I spent mine with my sweetie and I wanted to share our simple but entirely yummy dessert with you.  I had to work with what I had on hand and also the lack of an oven at the moment which crimps my style as I love to bake... but such is life, right?  And there is a reason that they say that necessity is the MOTHER of invention....it's because women/mothers/wives are always coming up with ways to "make do". 

Or is it just me? 

Nah....I didn't think so :) 

In these lean economic times, it's also something we have to do more and more.  We've never been a "keeping up with the Jones" kinda of family and being a homeschooling/one income family over the years, we've always tried to be frugal but now, even though the kiddos are gone and it's just hubby and me,  we HAVE to be frugal. 

So back to the yummy rice pudding...

Here's the recipe:

1 cup long grain rice
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
7 cups of milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1 Vanilla bean split (I used 1 1/2 tsp of reg. vanilla)

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, Stir in rice and powdered sugar and cook 5 minutes.  Stir occasionally so it doesn't stick.  Drain off the water.  Stir in milk, sugar, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 45 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  It should thicken up nicely.  Remove vanilla bean if you used it and place in glass bowls or whatever you choose.   Cover and chill several hours. 

Okay now my improvisations:  I didn't have lemons on hand so I skipped those and went to the pantry.  I had a quart of peaches I canned so I drained off most of the juice from that.  As I measured out the milk, instead of 7 cups, I did 6 cups and added peaches to it to measure 7 cups, squishing the peaches in my hand as I took them out of the quart jar.  This was also why I didn't drain off all the the peach juice...I wanted them juicy.  :)  You could use berries or whatever fruit you'd like... I'm always looking to see what I have and deciding then.   One of my favorite pies happened this way.  It was supposed to be a raspberry sour cream pie and of course, I had no raspberries but plenty of blueberries.  It is heavenly!  I don't like plain blueberry pie...but with the slightly sweetened sour cream...oh it's bliss! 

That's a picture of hubby & me on our wedding day :)

Whatever you did yesterday, I pray you felt the perfect love of your Heavenly Father, who loves you with an everlasting love.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1John 4:19 We love Him, because He first loved us.  John 15:12 This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Aren't you glad that The Lover of your soul, Jesus Christ, loved you so much that He laid down His life for YOU?  

May you be blessed in Him,

~ Kimberly