Rice Pudding

I get CRAVINGS for this rice pudding. It's so simple, nothing fancy or exotic. But it feels like such a treat when I get to eat it, which is usually just at a bakery in my little Greek home town in Florida, until now! My parents gave me my gradparents' recipe book and I was beyond excited to find the rice pudding recipe in it. I usually eat it cold but it's FANTASTIC warm as well. And the cinnamon sprinkled on top is a must! Just to give you an indication of how addictive this rice pudding is - my boyfriend almost ate the whole batch before I got a chance to photograph it! I had to restrict his rice pudding intake, which he was not happy about :P We all have to make sacrifices haha but now I can share the recipe with everyone! Enjoy!

Rice Pudding

Makes 5 cups of pudding

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 gallon whole milk

1 cup sugar

1 cup rice

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon for sprinkling

1. Stir milk and sugar in a large pot over medium heat. When milk comes to a boil, add rice and reduce heat to medium low. 

2. Let mixture boil uncovered for an hour and 20 minutes, stirring lightly (trying not to scrape the bottom) every few minutes.

3. Turn the heat off and let cool for 10 minutes. Mix eggs and vanilla and slowly pour into the rice mixture while stirring quickly. *warning – eggs are only cooked by the residual heat in the rice mixture. Turn the heat to low and cook for another 5-10 minutes if cooking the eggs longer is desired. Sprinkle with cinnamon, chill and serve cold (or eat warm!) and enjoy!

WOW a whole 1/2 gallon of milk seemed like a ton to me, but I was surprised at how much it reduced. It needs to be a pudding after all, not just cooked rice. Stir a half gallon of whole milk with a whopping cup of sugar in a large pot over medium heat!

When the milk comes to a boil add the rice and reduce the heat to medium low. Stir every few minutes for an hour and 20 minutes, being careful not to scrape the bottom. The bottom gets a little toastier than you might like haha.

The milk reduces quite nicely! It will thicken up well. Just keep stirring! 

Turn the heat off on the rice mixture and let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk together 2 eggs and a tablespoon of vanilla.

Slowly poor in the egg mixture and stir vigorously so you don't just end up with scrambled eggs. The eggs will cook a little from the heat but to be honest, I don't know if it's hot enough for them to completely cook! This doesn't bother me, but if it bothers you, turn the heat back on to low and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.

Let cool (or not!) and sprinkle with cinnamon. You get all of the wonderful sweetness and that little extra something from the cinnamon. And the creaminess is just divine. Mmm. I wish we weren't fresh out because I want more now! 

Tiropita

This is another recipe from my Papou! It's a Greek savory cheese pie called Tiropita, and its wonderful. It's made with phyllo dough, the pastry used in baklava! The mixture of textures from the flaky, crunchy phyllo dough and the creaming cheese is absolutely divine. It's almost like a savory version of cheesecake, if you can imagine that. It's commonly made in a triangle shaped version with the cheese wrapped in the phyllo, but my Papou's recipe said to make it in more of a pie form, so I listened! Straight from my Papou's recipe book - rich, crispy, cheesy goodness!

Tiropita

Makes 8-10 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened

16 oz ricotta cheese

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

8 oz phyllo dough, thawed

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

1. Melt butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix cream cheese, ricotta, salt, and eggs.

2. Carefully unroll phyllo dough. Wet and ring out a dish towel and lay over phyllo dough. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.

3. Uncover phyllo dough and peel one layer away. Lay sheet of phyllo in casserole dish. Cover unused stack of phyllo with damp towel immediately. Brush phyllo dough with melted butter. Repeat for 8 sheets of phyllo dough.

4. Pour cheese mixture on top of phyllo dough layers. Repeat phyllo layering process for 8 more sheets on top of the cheese mixture. Brush the top layer with melted butter. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. Cut into individual servings and enjoy!

Melt butter in a bowl. You will need a brush for the melted butter. The phyllo dough is SO delicate. I think trying to spoon the butter and spread it with anything else would probably be a bad idea.

Mix ricotta cheese, cream cheese, salt, and 3 eggs. Every other tiropita recipe I looked at online had feta cheese in it but my Papou's recipe didn't. But I dare not question the wisdom that is written in front of me! I followed his recipe exactly and it turned out beautifully. Maybe some other time I will experiment with some feta in the mixture!

Unroll the phyllo dough VERY CAREFULLY. It is extremely delicate.

Place a damp paper towel over the phyllo dough. It dries out very quickly because the sheets are so thin. This will help keep it from cracking! Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Uncover the phyllo dough and gently peel a single layer off and place it into the casserole dish.

Immediately cover the unused phyllo dough with a towel again! It will crack quickly if you don't.

Repeat the layering process until there are 8 layers.

Fill with the cheese mixture!

Add another 8 layers of phyllo dough on top with the same layering process as before.

Does it get much better than cheese and pastry and butter?! I don't think so. Melt in your mouth filling with delicate flaky pastry - I could eat this every day. I would weigh 12949135 lbs, but I really wouldn't mind eating this every day of my life :P

Pita Melts

Feeling creative at lunch? Check this out! These pita melts are kind of like pizza but with hummus instead of tomato sauce and pita instead of dough and sliced chicken or turkey instead of pepperoni! Ok, I guess it really isn't like pizza... But you eat it like pizza. And it sure is tasty. And easy. And a nice alternative to a turkey sandwich for lunch! 

Pita Melt
Makes 1 serving
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 whole wheat pita
2 Tbsp hummus
3-4 slices turkey or chicken lunch meat
1 roma tomato
1/2 Tbsp red onion (chopped)
1/4 cup shredded white cheese (whatever you like)

1. Chop roma tomato and onion.
2. Spread hummus on pita. Add turkey or chicken, chopped tomato and onion, and shredded cheese.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5-7 minutes to melt the cheese. Slice and enjoy!

Start off with a pita and hummus! I've been spreading hummus on my sandwiches lately instead of mayo. Much healthier and a little different!

Put on a layer of your favorite sliced turkey or chicken.

Next - tomato and onions! You could switch the veggies up and use whatever you have. I feel like black olives and green bell peppers would be nice too!

Top with your favorite white shredded cheese!

Bake for 5-7 minutes just to melt the cheese. Slice and eat like pizza! The hummus and cheese make the melt so moist and warming everything up really makes it seem like not your typical lunch. And these are ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen already! So instead of making your normal sandwich for lunch, heat this baby up!

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades)

This is a very special post for me! My parents recently gave me my grandparents' handwritten recipe book and it brought me to tears! I've mentioned so many times how much I regret not writing my family members' recipes down while they were still with us, and little did I know, someone already did! Why my parents neglected to tell me about this book until now, I have no idea, but I'm sure grateful it's finally mine! 

This picture is of me with my Papou :) my Dad's father, and the little card box he gave me. He used to come to our house and cook for us a few times a week. Food is pretty much the only tie I have to my Greek heritage so I am thrilled to have the recipe book of memories and traditions to pass on to my family some day! These Stuffed Grape Leaves, or Dolmades (I'll admit we only ever called them stuffed grape leaves) are my Papou's recipe and I am delighted and proud to share them with everyone :)

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades)

Makes about 30 stuffed grape leaves

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 Tbsp parsley

1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes

1/4 cup Uncle Ben’s rice (Papou’s recipe said specifically Uncle Ben’s)

1/4 tsp pepper

3/4 lb ground beef

30 grape leaves (about half of a 1 lb jar)

1 lemon

1. Chop onions, parsley, and tomatoes as finely as possible.

2. Mix ground beef, chopped onion, parsley, tomatoes, rice, and pepper.

3. Pat grape leaves with a paper towel to dry slightly. Place the shiny side of a grape leaf down and spread open. Place about 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of ground beef mixture at the base of the grape leaf. Fold the bottom part of the grape leaf around the ground beef mixture and roll up tightly. Place in a large pot seam side down. Repeat until all of the ground beef is used. Make one tightly packed layer in the pot before creating another layer.

4. Squeeze 1/2 lemon juice over the top of the grape leaves. Place a glass plate upside down on top of the grape leaves (to hold them down while they cook). Add water to the pot until it just reaches the edge of the plate. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Cut one grape leaf open to see if the meat is fully cooked and no longer pink. Cook longer if necessary. Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy! 

Chop the onions, parsley, ....

... and tomatoes as finely as possible.

Mix chopped onions, parsley, tomatoes, ground beef, pepper, and rice. The rice must be Uncle Ben's rice! Why? Papou said so apparently. And I listened. Hah!

The grape leaves come in a 1 lb jar and this recipe used about half of it. You can find them in the ethnic section of your grocery store, or by the pickles. Pat them with a paper towel to dry them a little. 

Place 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of the meat mixture at the base of the grape leaf in a little cylinder shape.

Wrap the bottom parts around the meat.

Wrap the sides in.

Roll up!

Wrap it tightly! Some of mine fell apart when they cooked and I think it was because I didn't roll them rightly enough. 

Repeat until all the meat is used. Place them seam side down in a large pot in a tightly packed single layer before you start a second layer. 

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top and add water to just cover the grape leaves.

Place a glass plate on top of the grape leaves upside down. There should be just enough water in the pot to come to the edge of the plate. The plate is to hold the grape leaves down as they cook! Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes. Cut one open to make sure they are done!

Serve with lemon wedges! It is kind of hard to describe how grape leaves taste to someone that's never tried them before. I attempted to explain them to my boyfriend and couldn't think of something to compare them to. I told him to just trust me! And he ended up loving them :) The jarred grape leaves are salty and have a very unique texture, definitely leafy but sturdy. The meat mixture contains all standard ingredients everyone has had, but the grape leaves are very unique. I found them in my grocery store, so stop by the ethnic section next time you're shopping and enjoy some Greek finger food!

Chunky Greek Salad

This is the salad I grew up with! No lettuce, never any other salad dressings. I love the chunky veggies! That's always my favorite part of any other salad anyways. Who's favorite part is the lettuce? Might as well skip it. The dressing is simple and light and the feta cheese gives just the right amount of sharpness. I won a bottle of Chile Olive Oil on Twitter and I used it in the dressing. It's the perfect base for this dressing and still has bold flavor on its own! I've had this salad with a chicken breast, pitas, and hummus for dinner numerous times! It's perfect when you're in the mood for something light. So flavorful! 

Chunky Greek Salad
Makes 4 cups of salad (about 2 dinner salads or 4 side salads)
Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 cucumber
2 tomatoes
1/4 red onion
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
4 oz feta cheese

Chop cucumber, tomatoes, and 1/4 onion. Mix all ingredients. For a dinner salad, serve with a grilled chicken breast and whole wheat pitas and hummus!