Slow Cooker Everyday Challenge: Day 4, Crockpot Brown Rice Pudding
By day four of cooking daily with the crock-pot, there are leftovers to choose from. I guess that's one key function, and bonus, of slow cookers; you get to spread the yields out throughout the week. Nevertheless, in the potentially twisted world of my odd priorities, the crock-pot challenge must go on! So, the day fourth meal became a simple dessert that could double as breakfast, a brown rice pudding.
Lessons learned: 1) If you're cooking a recipe that calls for the HIGH setting, but you won't be back in time for its completion, or soon after, consider altering the recipe to LOW, or maybe adding more liquid. The pudding was delicious, but it sat on WARM for quite some time, and rice baked to the sides of the pot. It had to be soaked an excessive amount of time, nearly throwing off the crock-pot challenge schedule completely (heavens!), and it further took a good deal of muscle to scrape it off altogether. 2) I'm not trying to be heightist, but if you are short enough that you don't automatically see inside your slow cooker base when you lift the crock-pot into it on the counter, be sure to resist the temptation to store any attachments, such as a probe/thermometer, inside when the pot is soaking or drying. I accidentally left the probe inside the base, and when the crock was set back inside, it seemed to sit perfectly evenly. What's more, the lid sealed as usual. It wasn't until after washing and scraping the spoils of rice pudding that I saw the partially melted probe handle stuck to the metal base bottom. We were really lucky--I may have risked a case of carpal tunnel removing every bit of melted plastic, but it came off in relatively short time, and no damage otherwise done. And overall, the slow cooking continues successfully...
Crock-pot Rice Pudding
- 1 cup uncooked short-grain brown rice
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or brown sugar
- liberal sprinkling of cinnamon (about 1 tablespoon)
- dash nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (optional)
- Pour rice, milk, syrup, and spices into the crock-pot and stir to combine. Pour butter, if using, over the top. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours.