$0.20 per serving ~ Leftover Rice Pudding

Jim's mom LOVES Chinese food. But she always has a ton of leftover brown rice and she gives it to us. Other than some of the rice dishes my mom used to make in the crock pot, this is one of my very favorite ways to use it up.

Leftover Rice Pudding ~ $0.20 per serving
2 cups rice, cooked (free!)
3 cups milk, any kind ($0.60)
1/4 cup white sugar ($0.05)
1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.05)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg, to taste
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins ($0.50)
1 tsp cinnamon, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in saucepan.
2. Heat over medium high heat and stir often until milk and rice thicken, about 20 minutes.
3. Serve warm or chill, if desired.
Makes 6 servings

The Verdict
Jim and Josh both love rice pudding more than any other dessert, so I love to make this for them. You can use any type of milk or cream or a combination. Omit the raisins, substitute golden raisins, cranberries, or cherries. Use all white or all brown sugar. Change the proportions of spices if you want. (If you want to make an Indian-style pudding, subsitute honey for both sugars, chopped dates for the raisins, and use ginger and cardamom in addition to the nutmeg and cinnamon. )

$0.49 per serving ~ Indian Coconut Curried Lentil Soup

Cold and rainy today... and I'm still congested, so a nice, spicy soup is on the menu! I want to thank Karen for the tip about Target... I went to one yesterday and they have the cheapest canned beans and spices of anywhere I've gone! Yay!

Indian Coconut Curried Lentil Soup ~ $0.49 per serving
1 15oz. can garbanzo beans ($0.55)
1 cup dried lentils ($0.75)
1 can corn ($0.45)
1 can lite coconut milk ($1.25)
1 cup frozen shelled edamame ($1.00)
1 cup broth of your choice ($1.50)
1 small onion sliced thinly ($0.35)
1 tbsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. five spice powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours. Makes 12 servings.

The Verdict
It was thicker than soup, so I stirred in more broth just before serving. Josh LOVED it! Jim pronounced it "fine" which is big because he really doesn't like curry to begin with. It was not too spicy, and just right for a cold and rainy day.

Edited to add: when packing up leftovers, I discovered that this makes MUCH more soup than I'd anticipated! 12 SERVINGS!!!! And thank goodness I set up the crockpot, we had a power outage fron 6 pm to midnight!!!!