Irish Cream Rice Pudding (using leftover chinese takeout rice) & A Surprise!

I aways seem to end up with an extra container of white rice every time we order Chinese Takeout.  I hate just throwing it out, and part of being frugal is learning to "waste not, want not" with just about everything!  This is a recipe I whipped up the other day using the leftover rice.  It's VERY decadent, so take it in moderation!

 Ingredients:

4 Cups Milk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Irish Cream
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Container Leftover Chinese Rice
1/3 C Raisins (Optional)
1 T Cornstarch mixed with 1/8 Cup Water

Let's begin by gathering it all together

(I know there's a few extra ingredients here...that's for the surprise later!):

In a saucepan, add the Milk, Vanilla, Irish Cream, Sugar & Eggs.  Beat the eggs well into the milk and then turn on the heat to Medium-High.  Keep whisking it to prevent the milk from burning. 

Next, dump in the leftover Chinese Rice (and optional raisins). Mine was a few days old, so it was a little dried out.  No matter, because the milk will re-hydrate it and make it super yummy!  Hint:  if it's really stuck together, you may need to break it apart a bit with your whisk.  The hot milk will eventually break it all down into separate grains.

Let the rice pudding boil on Medium heat for15 minutes.  Then, add the Cornstarch & Water mixture to the pudding while whisking quickly.  It will begin to thicken immediately.  Take the pudding off the heat and allow it to cool on the stove top for about 30 minutes.  It will get substantially thicker as it cools.   You may now either serve it up warm or put it in the fridge for a cool treat later!

Wait a minute!  What's that Butter Rum Caramel Sauce on top of the rice pudding? 

Isn't this dessert decadent enough already?



Well...if you want to go one step further...

Add 1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar, 1/2 Cup Spiced Rum, 2 Tablespoons Butter  and 1 Tablespoon Vanilla to a small saucepan on Medium-High heat.  Allow all of the ingredients to melt into each other and boil until the mixture starts to foam up and look like this:

When you see this, continue stirring and turn off the heat, leaving the pan on the burner.  Allow the caramel sauce to cool on the burner for about 30 minutes.  **Warning** The caramel sauce is VERY HOT, so please resist sampling it until it has cooled for at least 30 minutes. 

By the way, the Butter Rum Caramel Sauce is also excellent over some freshly cut Bananas and Vanilla Ice Cream for a Bananas Foster Sundae!  Yummy!  Hope you all enjoy!