Rice Pudding with Cinnamon Apples

A great favorite around here is Rice Pudding with Cinnamon Apples. There is something comforting about the creamy sweet rice and the tender bite of the apple chunks. The original recipe called for raisins but we prefer dried cranberries or neither one at all. Making it in the crock pot takes all the worry out of what to have for dessert!

Rice Pudding with Cinnamon Apples
2 1/2 cups cooked rice (I prefer a long-grain type, like Uncle Ben's rice)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons butter, mleted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a vegetable oil sprayed crock pot. Cover and cook on either low for 4-6 hours or 1-2 hours on high. Stir once or twice during the cooking time.

While your rice pudding is cooking:

2 apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Peel and dice the applies and mix with the other ingredients. Place in a small cooking pot and heat through until the apples release some moisture and start to get tender. You might need to add a bit of water. When the apples start to mush up a bit and resemble chunky applesauce, turn off the heat and set aside.

When the crock pot is finished with your rice pudding, turn it on warm and stir in the apple mixture, and serve. Leftovers need to be refrigerated and taste almost as good as the hot/warm rice pudding.