How To Make Congee Rice Porridge

on the stove top The Kitchn  or In a crockpot

Ingredients

1 cup rice — any kind
6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
2 celery stems and onions (chopped and sauteed )
1 (3") piece ginger, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2T chicken boullion
(Optional, for richer congee: leftover cooked chicken wings or bones from a roasted chicken, skin removed)

• When serving add Optional garnishes:
• 
  
• -Soy sauce
• -Sesame oil
• -Thinly sliced green onions
• -Wilted greens
• -Soft- or hard-boiled egg
• -Leftover cooked chicken, pork, or beef
• -Fried garlic
• -Fried shallots
• -Pickled vegetables
• -Cubed avocado, lime wedges, cilantro, fish sauce

• Equipment
• Strainer
• 2- to 4-quart saucepan with lid

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice: Place the rice in a large strainer or colander and rinse it under cool water. The water running through the rice will usually look milky at first, but will then become clearer. It's fine if there's still some haze in the water.
2. Combine the rice and cooking liquid in the saucepan. If you're using any chicken bones, add them to the saucepan now. Or cook in a crockpot for 5-8 hours
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and partially cover.
4. Continue simmering for about 1 1/2 hours: Stir the congee occasionally during cooking — this will make it more creamy. If the porridge is getting a little stiff, or if you'd like a looser porridge, add more cooking liquid. The congee is ready when the rice is as soft and porridgy as you prefer.
5. Remove any bones and shred the meat: If you used any chicken bones, pull them out of the congee. Shred the meat and stir it back into the congee.
6. Serve the congee: Ladle the congee into individual bowls and garnish with whatever toppings you like.

Recipe Notes

Leftover congee can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Warm in the microwave or on the stovetop, and stir in a little extra cooking liquid to loosen it up, if needed.

Crockpot Taco Dip

Moms with crockpots

Moms with crockpots

Ingredients
1 lb Ground Beef Browned & drained
1 16oz can Refried Beans
2 cups Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend divided
1 cup mild or medium salsa
1 8 oz package cream cheese softened
1 cup sour cream plus additional for serving
1 package taco seasoning
Tortilla Chips for serving
Taco Toppings for serving sliced olives, jalapenos, tomatoes, guacamole, etc

Instructions

In your crockpot stir together browned ground beef, refried beans, salsa, 1 cup cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning. Once blended well spread out evenly with a spatula.

Top with remaining shredded cheese, cover and cook for 2 hours on high.

When done remove lid and top with additional sour cream, sliced olives, sliced jalapenos, or whatever taco toppings you like.  

• Enjoy with some tortilla chips. 

BEST BLACK BEAN BURGER

Tastes Better From Scratch

Makes  4 or 5 patties

Ingredients

For the Burger:

• 15 ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic , peeled
• 1 large egg , beaten (*see note below)
• 2/3 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (or crushed tortilla chips)
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste

For the Chipotle Mayo Sauce:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• hamburger buns
• desired burger toppings: lettuce, tomato, etc.

Instructions

To make the Burger:

1. Place rinsed and drained black beans in a bowl. If needed, blot them with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture. Place in a large bowl and mash well with a fork.
2. Place the bell pepper, onion and garlic in a food processor and process until finely minced. 
3. Transfer mixture to a fine mesh strainer to remove the excess water. (Remove as much moisture as you can--if it's too wet, the burger wont hold together as well.)
4. Add the strained vegetable mixture to the bowl with the black beans.  Add the chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper and stir to combine. 
5. Add beaten egg and mix. Stir in bread crumbs. Form mixture into 4 or 5 patties.

At this point you can choose to:

1. Grill the burgers on a well oiled grill for about 4-5 minutes on each side.
2. Bake them at 375 degrees F on a lightly oiled baking sheet, for 10 minutes on each side.
3. Cook them on your stove using a grill pan, for 4-5 minutes on each side.
4. Refrigerate them for later.
5. Freeze them, covered, in a freezer ziplock bag for a quick weeknight dinner in the future.

For the Chipotle Mayo Sauce:

1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Serve burgers on a white or whole wheat bun topped with a spoonful of chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, or any other desired toppings!  Enjoy!
3. Serve with one of these healthy side dishes!

SOME TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

1. AFTER CHOPPING THE BELL PEPPER AND ONION, STRAIN THE MIXTURE REALLY WELL.

Removing that extra liquid will keep the burger from falling apart. Once you add the egg and breadcrumbs they will bind together really well.

2. IF YOU DECIDE TO GRILL THEM, MAKE SURE YOUR GRILL IS WELL GREASED.

We don’t want them to stick the grill when you try to flip them. You could use cooking spray, or oil your grill with a brush.

3. YOU CAN MAKE THESE BURGERS IN ADVANCE IF YOU WANT A STRESS-FREE DINNER.

Make them and cover them well in the fridge before baking. They also freeze really well! I lay them flat inside a ziplock freezer bag. Place a piece of parchment paper between them if you stack them.

When you’re ready to grill them you can cook them from frozen or let them come to room temperature in your fridge.

4. THE TEXTURE OF THESE BURGERS IS A LITTLE SOFTER THAN A REGULAR BURGER, WHICH CAN BE EXPECTED SINCE IT’S MADE WITH BLACK BEANS, BUT IT’S TOTALLY AMAZING!

Pile on the homemade chipotle mayo sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and avocados and you’ll be in healthyburger heaven!

Popcorn

Bless this Mess

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 1 medium brown paper bag
• Melted butter and salt or other seasonings to taste

---

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the popcorn to the paper bag and fold the top over a time or two.
2. Microwave on high until the popping has a one second gap in it, My microwave took 4 minutes
3. Stop the microwave, dump the popped popcorn into a large bowl and season as desired.
4. Repeat as needed to get the desired amount of popcorn.

LENTILS WITH SPINACH OVER RICE

Doctor Yum

INGREDIENTS

2 cups brown rice, cooked according to packaging (I actually prefer it on a sweet potato, not rice)

1 tablespoon coconut oil (substitute olive oil)

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

½ tomato, diced (large)

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon chili powder (less for baby food option) (I didn't add)

1 cup lentils (red), rinsed with cold water (I only had brown)

2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped (finer chop for baby food) (I didn't add)

⅔ cup culinary coconut milk (not coconut milk beverage) (I didn't add, but I did add water)

½ teaspoon salt

dash black pepper

chicken 1/4-1/2t boullion

sweet potato

METHOD

I sauteed onions, then added lentils, tomatoes, turmeric, curry, 1/2c water, boullion, salt and pepper cooked for 10 mintutes.  I ate the lentil mixture on top of a sweet potato, it was so delicious!!!

Cook rice while preparing lentils. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Cook onions until soft, about 3-4 minutes, add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add tomato and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add curry powder, turmeric and chili powder and mix. Add lentils and enough water to cover lentils by ½ inch. Cook for 5-8 minutes until lentils are soft. Add spinach and coconut milk and simmer another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper and add more to taste. Serve over brown rice.

BABYFOOD OPTION:

When I was a child, I spent many summers in my parents' native country of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. I have watched my cousins and family friends feeding babies and noticed that people generally do not buy baby food in Sri Lanka. Instead, babies are offered an array foods like nutritious meat and vegetable curries, spiced mildly, with rice (which is usually started at about one year of life). One common early finger food is rice mixed with lentils or other meats and vegetables and shaped into small sticky balls. These little rice balls can be easily fed to babies by hand or given to babies to feed themselves. (see picture and recipe below for “Rice Balls with Lentils”). Take about a cup of cooked brown rice. Add a teaspoon of the lentil spinach mixture and mix with your hand. Add more lentils by the teaspoon and keep mashing until you can form the mixture into ¾ inch balls. This can make a great school lunch for slightly older kids, too!

#2 Overnight French Toast

Epicurious

YIELD- 

Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
For the french toast:                                                                                                                                  1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
                                                                                                                                                                    For the maple syrup:
2 cups maple syrup
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

PREPARATION
To make the french toast:Spread butter over bottom of heavy large baking pan with 1-inch-high sides. Arrange bread slices in pan. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt to blend in large bowl. Pour mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake French bread 40 minutes. Transfer cooked toast to plates and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately, passing Maple-Walnut Syrup separately.
To prepare maple syrup:
Combine syrup and walnuts in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to simmer. Serve syrup hot. Makes about 3 cups.

This could be doubled and freeze one for a later time in the freezer.

Serve others

Sister and Elder Kearon

Finally the English video version (scroll through the videos to "Worldwide Devotional May 2018)

I loved this youth world wide devotional. Especially Elder Kearon, he explained as he was a teenager in Ireland and being self absorbed, feeling alone, and depressed. One day he helped do service for strangers and he felt so much joy and an absence of his preoccupation with himself.  This is a lesson to build confidence and to show us look outside of ourselves when we are feeling sad/alone/depressed

Fast forward, He starts speaking around 27:57

Youtube weirdly enough, this is the french version

 or the written transcript

VEGAN CHEESECAKE

Minimalist Baker

CRUST

• 1 cup packed pitted dates*
• 1 cup raw walnuts ( I used almonds)
• 1/2t salt
• 2 T coconut oil (maybe omit next time, see how it turns out)

FILLING

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews (quick-soaked*)
• 1 large lemon (juiced or 1/4 cup or 50 ml) plus 1/2t
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 2/3 scant cup full-fat coconut milk (see instructions for note)
• 1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (or honey if not vegan) ( I did 1/4c sugar and 1/4c honey)
• 1/4t salt
• 1 t vanilla

FLAVOR ADD-INS optional

• 2 Tbsp salted natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup wild blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 Tbsp bourbon caramel sauce

Instructions

1. Add dates to a food processor and blend until small bits remain and it forms into a ball. Remove and set aside.
2. Next add nuts and process into a meal. Then add dates back in and blend until a loose dough forms - it should stick together when you squeeze a bit between your fingers. If it's too dry, add a few more dates through the spout while processing. If too wet, add more almond or walnut meal. Optional: add a pinch of salt to taste. I must've added too much dates b/c mine was a wet, goopy delicious mess. I still used it
3. Lightly grease a standard, 12 slot muffin tin (or put in paper cupcake holders). To make removing the cheesecakes easier, cut strips of parchment paper and lay them in the slots. This creates little tabs that makes removing them easier to pop out once frozen.
4. Next scoop in heaping 1 Tbsp amounts of crust and press with fingers. To pack it down, use a small glass or the back of a spoon to compact it and really press it down. I found the bottom of a glass works well. If it sticks, separate the crust and the glass with a small piece of parchment. Set in freezer to firm up.
5. Add all filling ingredients to a blender and mix until very smooth. For the coconut milk, I like to scoop the "cream" off the top because it provides a richer texture. But if yours is already all mixed together, just add it in as is.
6. You don't need a Vitamix for this recipe, just a quality blender. I mixed mine for 1 minute, then "liquified" or "pureed" it until silky smooth. If it won't come together, add a touch more lemon juice or agave or a splash more coconut milk liquid as the liquid should help it blend better.
7. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. If adding peanut butter, add to the blender and mix until thoroughly combined. If flavoring with blueberry or caramel, wait and swirl on top of plain cheesecakes (optional).
8. Divide filling evenly among the muffin tins. Tap a few times to release any air bubbles, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze until hard - about 4-6 hours.
9. Once set, remove by tugging on the tabs or loosening them with a butter knife. They should pop right out. Our favorite way to devour these was with a little more caramel and a touch of coconut whipped cream. But they're perfect as is! Keep in the freezer for up to 1-2 weeks.
10. Optional: You can set them out for 10 minutes before serving to soften, but I liked them frozen as well.

Notes

*If your dates are not sticky and moist, you can soak them in warm water for 10 minutes then drain. But be sure to drain thoroughly and pat dry to prevent the crust from getting soggy.
*To quick-soak cashews, pour boiling hot water over the cashews, soak for 1 hour uncovered, then drain and use as instructed. ( I did This)
*Adapted from Sidesaddle Kitchen (Absolutely smitten with her.)
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without toppings or added flavors.
*Prep time does not include freezing (4-6 hours)

11/24/18 I absolutely loved the final product. Next time leave out the coconut oil in the crust. I think that made it become like nut butter, still delicious but definitely not crust like.