The Sensible Mom

Food, DIY, Chicago Mom Blogger

mealtime

A Vintage Christmas Party PLUS A Recipe for Mexican Milk Rice (aka Mexican Rice Pudding)

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I shared this sponsored post a few years ago, but this is such a great recipe and relevant for the holidays so I’m sharing it again in 2020. I hope you enjoy.

Arroz con leche, Mexican milk rice, Mexican rice pudding…whatever you call the recipe I’m sharing in today’s blog post, I can tell that it’s simply sweet, creamy, and delicious.

And best of all, it’s ridiculously easy to make using non-GMO Minute® White Rice. I actually got a chance to share this recipe with other moms at a Vintage Christmas themed party last week, and it was a lot of fun!

We all brought dishes to the party that involved either Minute® White Rice, Minute® Whole Grain Brown Rice, or Minute® Multi-Grain Medley, and I can honestly say that I tasted some seriously flavorful new foods that I’m looking forward to making for my own family.

My personal favorite dish at the party (other than the Mexican milk rice that I brought and is a variation of my mom’s family recipe) was the brown rice lentil soup. It was SO good!

Now as for rice itself, I know that it can be a challenge to get right, but, trust me, it’s really hard to mess up rice when you use Minute® Rice. For real. It comes out just right every single time.

Drinks Using Rice

That’s right. You can even use Minute Rice to make drinks.

Maggie, our party host, created a beautiful and festive Horchata (rice milk) Bar for our coffee, so we all had the opportunity to indulge in a hot or iced coffee drink with our meal. I had a hot coffee with horchata creamer, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, Maggie! 🙂

Then after we finished lunch, we all made a Christmas craft to take home and enjoyed some delicious holiday treats. If you want more of a peek into my time at the party, the desserts, and that day, be sure to check out my latest vlog.

Mexican Milk Rice Recipe

Finally, I’m sharing the recipe for the Mexican milk rice I brought to the party. And I want to note that if you need to make more or less of the milk rice depending on your family size, it’s easy because the ingredients and the measurements are so straightforward and simple to adjust.

Here’s the printable recipe:

Print
Mexican Milk Rice

Ingredients

  • 3 cups long grain Minute® White Rice
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 cinnamon sticks
  • 1-1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Add ingredients to a large pot and stir. (I use a 6 quart stockpot.)
  2. Turn the heat on to medium-high, and bring ingredients to a boil. This will take about 10 to 12 minutes.
  3. Once boiling, stir the ingredients, then reduce the heat to bring the rice down to a low simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.
  4. Once the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, turn off the heat, and let it sit covered for 15 more minutes.
  5. Remove the cover, take out the cinnamon sticks, lightly sprinkle with ground cinnamon, serve, and enjoy! Also, it should be noted that this milk rice can be served hot, warm, or cold. It's delicious any way you like it!
https://thesensiblemom.com/2020/12/recipe-for-mexican-milk-rice-mexican-rice-pudding-arroz-con-leche/

Do you cook with Minute® Rice? What are some of your favorite rice dishes?


Grilled Fruits and Vegetables and an Easy Marinade Recipe

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grilled vegetables recipe

It’s springtime, and summer will be here before you know it. That can only mean one thing.

It’s time to fire up the grill!

We recently fired up our grill and had a full, delicious, healthy, satisfying meal with ONLY grilled fruits and vegetables. Is that really possible? Yes, it is possible when you can get a variety of fresh, quality, produce from a store like Mariano’s. Not only does Mariano’s have a huge variety of organic fruits and vegetables, but they also carry locally grown produce. I love that they support local farmers.

marianos fresh market

Mariano’s made it easy to create a nutritious meal of grilled fruits and veggies.

I simply…

  1. Decided on a menu of foods to grill
  2. Wrote out a grocery list
  3. Headed to Mariano’s to pick up the fruits and vegetables on my list
  4. Used my Mariano’s rewards card at checkout
  5. Then came home and created a meal my doctor would be proud of 🙂

marianos

I thought that instead of explaining the dishes we made, I’d show you in pictures. This way, you can get ideas for yourself and see just how easy it is to create a full fruits and veggies meal.

Here’s the first drool-worthy dish.

marianos

You can put a variety a vegetables separately on skewers and grill that way. (Be sure to soak your skewers for 30 minutes before putting them on the grill.)

grilled vegetables

Then toss them together in a bowl to bring the veggies together. Grilling your vegetables separately is a good idea if you’re grilling tomatoes, because they cook so quickly.

grilled veggies

You can grill your veggies huddled together on a skewer, sans tomatoes.

veggies

Grilled asparagus is so good on the grill. (It’s great in the oven, too.)

grilled asparagus

Portabella mushrooms are juicy and delicious. Wow!
We will definitely be grilling these again.

portabella mushrooms

And finally, grilled mango makes a healthy dessert. Yum! (We also grilled watermelon with honey drizzled on top, but it was not a family favorite.)

mango

We used an easy marinade recipe that was perfect for our grilled vegetables. Feel free to double or triple the recipe depending upon the amount of veggies you’re grilling. (A big thanks to my hubby for coming up with this recipe! He’s pretty great in the kitchen. :))

Here’s the recipe:

Print
Vegetable Marinade

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgen olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend for approximately 1 minute.
https://thesensiblemom.com/2020/03/grilled-fruits-and-vegetables-and-an-easy-marinade-recipe/

I’m looking forward to our next fruits and veggies cookout. I’m sure we’ll be enjoying a lot more of these cookouts for months to come!

Have you ever created an entire fruits and veggies meal on the grill? What’s your favorite veggie to grill?

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Mariano’s. #MyMarianos #cbias #SocialFabric

This blog post was originally published in April 2013.


Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker Unboxing PLUS How to Use it to Make Deliciously Fluffy Waffles

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Today, I’m unboxing and reviewing the Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker that my husband got me for Christmas! PLUS, I show you how to use it to make deliciously fluffy Belgian waffles. I hope you enjoy the video, and, as always, thanks for watching! 🙂

BELGIAN WAFFLE RECIPE FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO:

This is a delicious Belgian Waffle recipe! Check it out!

Belgian Waffles

Sandra
This is a fluffy and delicious Belgian waffle recipe.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp fine ground cornmeal
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 large eggs, separated
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 3/4 cups buttermilk (or I used 1 3/4 cups of milk mixed with 2 tablespoons of vinegar -- left standing for 5-10 minutes)
  • pinch cream of tartar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the waffle maker.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, sea salt, and baking soda together.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and melted butter. Then add the buttermilk to that mixture.
  • In a third bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
  • Pour the buttermilk mixture into the large bowl with dry ingredients, and gently whisk until just incorporated (some lumps should remain). Then fold the whipped egg whites into the batter.
  • Spray the waffle maker with cooking spray to keep waffles from sticking.
  • Pour the prepared batter onto the waffle maker and cook through, about 3 minutes per waffle. (I use a measuring cup to measure out 1 cup of batter at a time and then pour it over the waffle maker) *You can keep waffles warm in a 200-degree oven or serve one at a time.

NOTES:

Here is the Bella Belgian Waffle Recipe video that I mentioned in the above video, and here is the other Belgian Waffle Recipe that I’ve shared in the past on my blog.

Find this Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker on Amazon using my referral link here.

Also, please feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel as I publish videos there before they make it on the blog. Oh, and I share a lot about food, family, and more in my Instagram Stories, so you may want to follow me there as well.

This is a delicious Belgian Waffle recipe! Check it out!


Pancakes Recipe from Scratch and the Bella Ceramic Griddle

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I love the Bella Ceramic Griddle, and I think it’s great for our large family of seven.
Thanks to Bella for sending me this griddle to review.

Hi, guys! In this video, I share a pancakes recipe from scratch, and I unbox and review the Bella Ceramic Griddle.

I hope you enjoy the video. 🙂

You can find the recipe that I show you in the video here on my blog.