Homemade Stove Top Rice Pudding

Kalissa was over the other day.  I had made vanilla pudding.  She looked at the pan and said, “Oh Mom, you love me.  You made rice pudding!”  Well yes I do love her and making my family favorites is something I loving do for them but this was not rice pudding.  It was vanilla pudding.

So a couple days later…I made rice pudding….not a very appetizing picture I know but trust me, it’s good.

Growing up my mom made rice pudding but hers was different.  It was a Swedish version that my dad adored.  It had rice on the bottom and egg custard over the top.  It was cinnamon and sugar flavored.  It was a family favorite and my sister and her oldest daughter still make it.

As a young wife, I made mine that was for a long time and then one day at a church function the pastor’s wife brought a rice pudding dish.  I immediately loved it and asked for the recipe.  The next week she brought it.  This is made on the stove top…my mom’s was baked in the oven.

Here is her recipe.  She didn’t have directions when she gave the recipe to me so I learned the way I learn most baking and cooking things, through practice.  Happily I have a crew of people here who are willing to eat my not so perfect first versions.

Having good eaters around really does help make a good cook.  Today when I made it, I am finally satisfied after 7 years of practice to say it’s EXACTLY how I want it.

I like mine without the custard.  I it to be more like creamy rice all the way through.

I typed out some directions to help if you decide to give the recipe a try.  I doubled the batch as I know Hubby (and Kalissa) will eat it in his lunch over the next couple days.  This is for a single batch.

Put 1 cup of rice in a pan along with 2 cups of water.  Add a 1/2 stick of butter.

Put it on medium heat.  Don’t cover it.  Cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed BUT not burned to the bottom of the pan.  Add 1 quart of milk….if you forgot your math, that’s 4 cups.  Let that cook until boiling.  Let it lightly bubble  for about 1 minute stirring all the time.

In another bowl combine 3 beaten eggs.  Add 1 teaspoons of vanilla and a half cup sugar.   (I’ve now modified the recipe to add 1 Tablespoon of CORNSTARCH)  Now take about 1 cup of the milk/rice mix and stir it into the eggs.

Here is what I found was the magic ingredient for me…MY IMMERSION BLENDER.  I mix the egg combination with it….

Now whisk that mixture back into the pan on the stove. Again use the immersion blender to mix the eggs in.   Continue heating and blending for a minute or so.  Now, you can add cinnamon if you wish. The original recipe has it but, we like it best without.  You can pour it in a bowl and refrigerate if you want….I don’t because Kalissa likes it warm.

Before I when I didn’t use the immersion blender I would get a bit of a custard on the top.  Now, with the immersion blender I don’t.

When everyone is home, I double the batch.  I use whole milk.  It makes it richer and creamier.  Leftovers make a GREAT breakfast!

Everyone here eats it a little different.  I eat mine in a bowl with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top and milk…kind of like cereal.  Kalissa eats her’s with cinnamon and sugar BUT no milk.  Dad eats his with a dollop of butter on top, cinnamon and sugar and milk.  Regardless of how you eat it, it’s yummy.  It’s better than ever now that I found that the immersion blender makes it just the way I like it!

Growing up with a Swedish Dad, rice pudding was always a special Christmas thing.  For our family, it’s an any time thing.  If I need to use up eggs or milk.  It’s my go to recipe.