Today was a good day! It was pretty chilly here all day (which helped to inspire my BSI entry), but the sun was shining and the sky was blue.
After lunch, I ran up to the grocery store to pick up a few more things I couldn’t get earlier, then came home to fold some laundry. We bummed around on the couch for a while before I started on dinner.
I thawed some chicken breast and decided we needed a little Mexican flavor for dinner 
Cumin and Oregano Chicken Breast topped with Avocado (mixed with scallions, cilantro, cayenne, salt, and lime juice)
On the side, we had some brown rice mixed with salsa, cumin, and garlic powder and the leftover green beans from the other night. ¡Olé! Right Mara?
Now…for my first ever Blogger Secret Ingredient entry, I decided to make the perfect dessert on this chilly winter day.
Barley Date Pudding! A new spin on a classic rice pudding.
- 1 cup dry quick cooking barley
- 12 oz. can fat free evaporated milk
- 4 oz. skim milk
- cinnamon (to taste)
- pinch nutmeg
- 6 dates, chopped
- pinch salt (about 1/4 tsp.)
- orange zest (to taste)
- 1 tsp. honey
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
This makes at least 4 servings, maybe 6-8 depending on your serving size.
1. Put barley, evaporated and skim milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and dates in pot on stove. Heat to a low simmer, then turn heat down to low. You want it to stay hot, but you don’t want to scorch or curdle the milk.
2. Let it cook until the barley is tender and most of the milk has been absorbed. (I ended up adding about 1/4 cup of water near the end, too).
3. Take off stove, put into large mixing bowl and stir in fresh orange zest, vanilla extract, and 1 tsp. honey.
4. Drizzle a tiny bit more honey on top of each serving. Enjoy! We tried ours warm right off the stove and it was awesome. I will probably try it cold tomorrow
Enjoy your evening! I feel the need for pajamas
{ 12 comments }
