Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is one of our favorite breakfasts. Grandma Knight's grandmother, Kristina Johnson, immigrated to America from Sweden. She passed down many of her traditions and Swedish culture to her children. Things that I grew up with that seemed normal were actually unique to our family. Other people had never had rice pudding, or Swedish pancakes, and didn't have gingerbread cookies just as frequently as chocolate chip.

Everyone in mom's family has a recipe for rice pudding, but each household, (Grandma, Kara, mom) does it a little differently. Grandma uses eggnog, Kara uses cornstarch, Mom uses cream cheese. They're all delicious, but this is the version I grew up with.

Dad taught us to spread it out on plates to cool it faster so it wouldn't burn our tongues. That was something he learned from his mom.

Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups rice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar, or honey to taste
• 1/2 cube cream cheese (really 3 oz, not 4), softened
• 2 eggs
• vanilla

Directions:

1. Cook the rice (water, salt, rice) for 15-20 minutes, or until done in a big pot. 
2. Add milk and sugar. Continue to cook on medium high heat. 
3. Combine cream cheese, eggs, and a few tablespoons of milk in a separate bowl. Temper with some of the rice milk mixture. Pour into the pot and stir. 
4. Cook for 3 minutes or until it is thick enough to your liking. Add eggnog, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, raspberries, whatever you want. Serve on plates to get it to cool faster.  

Buttermilk Pancakes

These buttermilk pancakes are fluffy, tender, buttery, sweet, and delicious. We didn't have buttermilk pancakes, or normal pancakes, often. They often came second to our beloved swedish pancakes. But on the occasions mom made them, they were very good. These pancakes are absolutely delicious and downright addictive. If you need a basic pancake recipe, this is here for ya!

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Blend eggs, milk, and vanilla. 
2. Whisk in dry ingredients until just moistened. Don't overmix or the pancakes will be tough. It's okay if there's a few lumps.
3. Let sit for ten minutes, then cook in a medium hot griddle. 

Swedish Pancakes

Our family loves Swedish pancakes. They're our go-to meal for birthday breakfasts and special occasions. Daniel makes them almost every Sunday. They're kind of like crepes, but a teeny bit thicker and a little bit sweeter, perfect for breakfast, or even for dinner. It's heavenly with buttermilk caramel syrup, but I like it best with whipped cream and strawberries.

This recipe is pretty simple. We always whip it up in our blender so it's even quicker. This is the best Swedish pancake recipe I've ever had. It makes thin buttery delicious foolproof pancakes.

Swedish Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 stick melted butter

Directions:

1. Beat eggs, add sugar and salt, then milk.
2. Sift in flour and mix. 
3. Add in melted butter. Should be the consistency of heavy cream. 
4. Heat and lightly grease a skillet. Pour pancakes in thin layer. Brown both sides lightly

German Pancakes

This is a recipe for classic german pancakes. They're delicious, with their flakey buttery sides. You can have them with syrup, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar. One of my favorites is to have them with whipped cream and strawberries.

  GERMAN PANCAKES

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, melted 6 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup flour

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 425. Divide the melted butter in half and pour into two 9x13 pans.
2.	Put eggs in blender and blend for 1 minute. (If you have a Blendtec, do it for about 30 seconds).
3  4.	Leaving motor running, add milk and slowly add flour. Pour into the pans and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes.