Kick Off Fall With All-Star Breakfast

Last month at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference,  I received a gift box filled with a variety of rice products from  Riceland Foods. All that rice in my pantry has given me the perfect reason to enjoy and celebrate  National Rice Month and the fact that Arkansas is the number one producer of rice in the United States!

 You can find a wealth of information about rice production, how to use the different rice varieties and a great collection of rice recipes at Riceland.com.  

One of our favorite ways to eat rice is with milk and sugar either for breakfast or as a sweet treat.  Milk and rice make a great nutrition team. All-Star Breakfast Rice  is perfect for fall's  kick-off during National Rice Month!


All-Star Breakfast Rice

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 cup cooked rice
Fresh blueberries,raspberries or strawberries*

*Or use sliced peaches or bananas if desired

Directions:

Combine rice,milk,brown sugar and cinnamon in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes. Spoon into serving bowl; let cool 3 minutes. Top with fresh fruit.

Serves: 1

                                    Thank-you  Arkansas Rice Farmers!

A Dessert for Moovelous Mondays

                          We don't have marvelous Mondays on the dairy farm--they are mooo-velous!

                           Creamy Vanilla Rice Pudding is a perfect dessert  choice whether you're
           celebrating a regular Monday, a moo-velous Monday or the fact that it's   National Rice Month !
                            It just happens to be one of the great recipes shared at DairyMakesSense.



Creamy Vanilla Rice Pudding

Ingredients;
3/4 cup white rice,uncooked
2 1/2 cups low-fat milk,divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 (3.4 ounce) package Jell-O vanilla flavored instant pudding mix
Cinnamon,optional

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, add 1 1/2 cups water and rice; bring to a boil. Stir once and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Add 2 cups of milk ,egg yolk and pudding. cook on low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. Serve warm.

Rice Farmers Connect with Arkansas Women Bloggers

Arkansas Women Bloggers gathered in Rogers this past weekend for an annual event of gathering,growing and connecting. What's not to love about an experience that motivates you,sends you home with  more ideas and knowledge and  inspires you with information about Arkansas companies that contribute not only to us personally but to our state?

Riceland Foods, a cooperative of family farmers,  not only sponsored part of the conference, they provided us with an insulated lunch bag filled with Riceland products! Here's a few facts about Arkansas Rice:

• Arkansas is the nation's number one rice-producing state.
• Arkansas produces almost 50% of U.S. rice.
• Arkansas farmers grow an average of 1.5 million acres of rice each year.
• Arkansas total economic impact from rice equals over 25,000 jobs and over $6 billion annually.
• Arkansas rice provides thousands of acres of migratory waterfowl habitat.
• Arkansas has designated rice as its official grain.
• Arkansas's top agricultural export is rice.

I'll have to admit, it seemed a little like Christmas when I pulled each item out of the lunch bag!

I can't wait to try the recipe for Brown Rice Cornbread--perfect for celebrating the fact that September is National Rice Month!

Brown  Rice Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked Riceland Natural Brown Rice

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup honey

2 large beaten eggs

1 cup cream

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup semolina flour

1/4 cup pickled jalapeno  peppers (finely diced)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole corn kernels

1/4 cup unsalted butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the butter, and mix together well with a spatula. Melt the butter in the hot skillet,then pour off the excess into the batter and mix in well. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F. Pour the cornbread mixture into the skillet, place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly, carefully remove from the skillet and place on a wire rack to cool until ready to eat. 

                                                         Happy Rice Month!

Cookies for Santa's Milk

I can't imagine Santa refusing any kind of cookie but  I decided to have a trial run  just to make sure before Christmas Eve arrives!

One of my hobbies through the years has been saving recipes  from  magazines that appeal to me or that I think my family might like. To tell the truth,  I could probably try a new recipe everyday for the rest of my life.  Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars was a recipe clipped from an issue of Country Woman magazine several years ago.  

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
12 cup chopped nuts,optional
4 cups miniature marshmallows
Topping:
1 1/3 cups (8oz) chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups crisp rice cereal

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa; add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if desired. Spread in a greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
 Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over cake; return to oven for 2-3 minutes. Using a knife dipped in water, spread the melted marshmallows evenly over cake. Cool.
 For topping, combine chocolate chips, butter and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well blended. Remove from heat; stir in cereal. Spread over bars. Chill.
Yield: about 3 dozen.

                                     These cookies   will be a perfect match for Santa's milk!

Friday Night Fiesta

Even though we work on the dairy farm seven days a week, I  always look forward to Friday night. I'm all about celebrating Friday nights with an easy to prepare meal that doesn't require a lot of cooking time or dishpan hands!  Fiesta  Rice Skillet Dinner fits this criteria perfectly!

Fiesta Rice Skillet Dinner originated from Miss Arkansas Rice-Jillian Harper in 2005. Jillian promoted rice in a variety of ways at many activities and functions in Benton County  to inform consumers that Arkansas is number one in rice production and to educate others about rice production and the nutritional value of rice. Fiesta Rice Skillet Dinner is featured as a Dairymom approved recipe along with other tasty nutritious recipes at http://www.midwestdairy.com.

Fiesta Rice Skillet Dinner

3 cups cooked rice (brown or white)
1 lb ground beef**
1 cup onion,diced
1 can black beans,drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers,drained
1 cup mild picante sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup shredded  Monterey Jack Cheese
1 can Rotel

Brown onion and ground beef together. Drain any excess fat. Add rice,beans,Rotel,corn,picante sauce,and chili powder. Stir to mix well. Heat thoroughly. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese. Serve hot as entre,a chili with Fritos or a wrap.

** Options: Substitute 1 lb ground turkey or 1 lb boneless,skinless diced chicken with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in skillet to brown meat.

                              I can't think of a better way to celebrate Rice Month and Friday night!

Recipe for Upside Down Week

The dairy cows have adapted to Daylight Savings Time really well but I'm still  feeling out of sorts from losing that one hour of sleep! Actually, the whole week was crazy and I found myself looking for a delicious and easy to fix recipe for Friday night supper. I found Inside-Out Cabbage Rolls on the Midwest Dairy website and it fit the criteria for the end of my crazy upside down week perfectly!

Inside-Out Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion,chopped
1 large green pepper,chopped
1 small head cabbage,chopped
1 can (10oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
1 can (8oz) pizza sauce
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Preparation:
In a Dutch oven, cook the beef,onion,and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the cabbage, tomatoes,broth and pizza sauce. Bring mixture to a boil.Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until cabbage is tender; stirring occasionally. Stir in the rice; heat through. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let stand until cheese is melted.

                                           You can find this and other great dairy recipes at
                                                       http://www.midwestdairy.com/.
My family gave this recipe the thumbs up and I definitely would recommend it for any upside down week!
                                                             Happy Friday!

Cinna-Yummy Rice Cereal in Six Easy Steps

Are you looking for a new idea for breakfast?  Rice and dairy are a winning nutritional combination to get your day started in the right direction.  I found this recipe several years ago  in the Kids in the Kitchen booklet produced by the USA Rice Federation.  You can find more information about rice and rice recipes at http://www.usarice.com/.


Cinna-Yummy Rice Cereal

1 cup cooked rice
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon
       Fresh blueberries,raspberries or strawberries*

1. Combine rice,milk,brown sugar and cinnamon in small saucepan.
2. Turn burner to medium heat.
3. Place saucepan on burner,cook and stir until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.
4. Turn burner off.
5. Spoon rice cereal into small bowl; cool 3 minutes.
6. Top with fresh berries.

Makes 1 serving.

*Or use sliced peaches or bananas,if desired.

Microwave Instructions:
1. Combine rice,milk,brown sugar and cinnamon in small microwave-safe bowl.
2. Cook on high power for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
3. Stir well.
4. Cook on high power for 45 seconds.
5. Remove bowl from microwave.
6. Stir well,let cool 3 minutes.
7. Top with fresh berries.

Hope you have a very dairy good day!

How to Make How Now Brown Cow Pudding in Eight Easy Steps

As the harvest continues in the  Arkansas rice fields in September, we'll enjoy cooking with rice and celebrating the harvest with our east Arkansas farmer friends.   For a midweek treat for your family, you may want to try this Kids in the Kitchen recipe from  the USA Rice Federation.

How Now Brown Cow
Chocolate Rice Pudding

2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine milk,rice,sugar and chocolate chips in 2-to3-quart saucepan.
2. Place saucepan on burner and turn to medium heat.
3. Cook,stirring often,until pudding is thick and creamy, about 20 minutes.
4. Turn burner off.
5. Remove saucepan from heat and place on hot pad.
6. Stir in vanilla.
7. Spoon into serving dishes; cool 10 minutes.
8. Serve warm or cold

Makes: 6 servings

Have a dairy good week!