Easy Rice Pudding

1 box vanilla pudding mix (not instant)
1 egg
2 cups plus 2T cold milk
3/4 cup left over rice

mix milk, egg and pudding mix together until well blended. Add rice and break up into individual grains as you stir it. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a complete boil. It will thicken more as it cools. Pour into serving dishes or just spoon into your mouth.

Best Drop Biscuits

- makes 12 biscuits -

Ingredients
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing biscuits

Procedure
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475°F. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and 8 tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps.

2. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop level amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (biscuits should measure about 2 1/4 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high). Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes.

3. Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Scalloped potatoes and ham

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2.5 cups milk
Salt, pepper, nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
1 sweat onion like Vidalia, thinly sliced
6 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lb chunked left-over ham
2 cups grated monterray jack cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a baking dish. In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium high heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in milk. Return pan to heat and bring to a simmer while stirring. When sauce has thickened remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and a grating of nutmeg and set aside. In a skillet, cook onions in melted butter until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Spread 1/3 of the white sauce in bottom of baking dish and top with half of the potatoes. Spread out half of the onions, ham, cheese And another third of the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Continue layering ingredients, ending with the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and bubbly and a knife inserts into the potatoes easily.

the best chicken fried rice

1 cup cooked chicken cut into small cubes or shreds (use leftover roasted chicken or precooked chicken like from Costco.
4 cups cooked rice (either cook early in day or leftover from the day before)
1/2 c shredded carrots
3 green onions sliced thin (use green ends)
1/2 sweet onion coarsley diced
1 c cabbage coarsley chopped
4 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
4 T olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 eggs beaten

heat 1 T oil in a wok or large frying pan, saute the onion and the cabbage. Add the shredded carrots and green onions and saute for a minute or two. Add 1 T soy sauce, and set veggies aside. Add frozen peas to the bowl to start the defrosting.

heat another T of oil and add the chicken and 1 clove of garlic, minced fine. saute until warmed and a little crispy, add 1 T soy sauce. Remove into bowl with veggies.

Heat 1 tsp oil, add beaten egg and cook until set. Flip, cook reverse. Remove from heat, roll and slice into strips, add to bowl with other stuff.

Add 2 T oil, swirl around the pan and add the rice, make sure to break it up with a spoon. Add 2 T soy sauce and drizzle 1T sesame oil over. Keep mixing and stirring until heated through. Add the bowl full of other stuff and toss to mix.

Serve immediately...yum, yum

Pad Thai

•8 oz. Thai rice noodles (or enough for 2 people), linguini-width, available at Asian/Chinese stores
•1 to 1 1/2 cups raw chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced
•Marinade for Chicken: 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•3 cups fresh bean sprouts
•3 spring (green) onions, sliced
•approx. 1 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
•1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)
•1/4 cup chicken stock
•1/8 tsp. ground white pepper (or substitute freshly-ground black pepper)
•PAD THAI SAUCE:
•3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or Indian food stores)
•2+1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce
•1-3 tsp. chili sauce (depending how spicy you want it)
•3 Tbsp. brown sugar
•OTHER: oil for stir-frying, and wedges of lime for serving
Preparation:
For a step-by-step version of this recipe (with pictures), see: Perfect Chicken Pad Thai, step-by-step!

1.Bring a large pot of pot to a boil and remove from heat. Dunk in your rice noodles. Allow the noodles to soak while you prepare the other ingredients. Note that you will be frying the noodles later, so you don't want to over-soften them. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm and a little "crunchy". Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2.Make the Pad Thai Sauce by combining the sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve the tamarind paste and brown sugar. Set aside. Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind - this balance is what makes Pad Thai taste so tangy-terrific!
3.Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Pour the marinade (2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. soy sauce) over the chicken. Stir well and set aside.
4.Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds).
5.Add the chicken (together with the marinade). Stir-fry 30 seconds to 1 minute.
6.When wok/pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock (1-2 Tbsp. at a time), enough to keep the chicken frying nicely. Continue stir-frying in this way until the chicken is cooked (5-8 minutes).
7.Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over. Using two spatulas, wooden spoons, or other utensils, immediately stir-fry the noodles. Use a gentle "lift and turn" method (like tossing a salad) to prevent noodles from breaking.
8.Stir-fry in this way 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom (but no more broth, or the noodles will become soggy).
9.Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle over the pepper. Continue "tossing" 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer "hard" or crunchy, but chewy-sticky wonderful!
10.Taste-test for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor is reached (I usually add at least 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce). Toss well to incorporate.
11.Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion, and crushed/chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges (lime is great squeezed overtop), and serve with Thai Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce on the side, if desired. ENJOY!
Pad Thai Tip:For even more flavor, I make a double batch of the pad thai sauce. Then, as I'm stir-frying the noodles, I keep drizzling over the sauce until I'm happy with the taste (I also add extra fish sauce). Any leftover pad thai sauce can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Peanut butter noodles

Ingredients
1/2 pound Chinese egg noodles
3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red chili paste, such as sambal oelek
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Cucumber slices, for garnish
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions
Cook the noodles in large pot of boiling unsalted water over medium heat until barely tender and still firm. Drain immediately and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain the noodles really well and transfer to a wide bowl; toss with the sesame oil so they don't stick together.

In a small saucepan, heat the peanut oil over medium-low flame. Add the green onions, ginger, garlic, and chili paste. Cook and stir for a minute until soft and fragrant. Mix in the brown sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and hot water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the peanut butter has smoothed out. Toss the noodles with the peanut sauce until well coated. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with the sesame seeds, cucumber slices, and cilantro.

Polenta Pizza from Mark Bittman

Need to try this, it looked good.

Time: About 45 minutes, plus one hour’s chilling

The Minimalist: Your Morning Pizza (February 18, 2009)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for pan

1/2 cup milk, preferably whole

Salt

1 cup coarse cornmeal

Freshly ground black pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) chopped pancetta

1 pound spinach, washed, trimmed and dried

1 to 1 1/2 cups Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled.

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees; brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk with 2 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt. Bring just about to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn heat to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.

2. Stir 1 tablespoon oil into cooked cornmeal (polenta). Spoon it onto prepared pan, working quickly so polenta does not stiffen; spread it evenly to a thickness of about 1/2 inch all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in refrigerator until it is firm, an hour or more (you can refrigerate polenta overnight if you prefer).

3. Put polenta in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to brown and crisp on edges. Meanwhile, put two tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and pancetta is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take onion and pancetta out of pan; set aside. Add spinach to skillet and sauté until it releases its water and pan becomes dry; sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper.

4. Take polenta out of oven, sprinkle with Gorgonzola, then spread onion-pancetta mixture and spinach evenly on top of cheese; drizzle with another tablespoon olive oil. Put pizza back in oven for two minutes, or until cheese begins to melt and pancetta and vegetables are warmed through. Cut into slices and serve hot or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings.

Variation: Before you put polenta in oven, top it with thin slices of fresh mozzarella, two or three thinly sliced Roma tomatoes or a bit of tomato sauce, and a handful of fresh basil leaves.