Beer Cheese Batter Bread

This is just the right bread to serve with a hearty soup or stew on a cold day. It has a muffin-like texture that tastes like just the right amount of beer. The trick is the double-sifting of the flour. Don't skip it!

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar

Spoon flour into measuring cup and level with knife edge. Then sift or shake flour through a sieve into a large mixing bowl. Mix in baking powder, sugar and salt. Then sift again.

Toss with some finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Pour in 12 oz of room temperature beer. Lightly stir in.

Add 1/4 cup melted butter. Stir in but be careful not to overmix batter so that your bread will rise.

Pour batter into greased bread pan.

Pour 3 Tablespoons of melted butter over the top of batter.

Bake at 375 for about 1 hour. Cool 1 minutes before removing from pan to cool.

Serve warm.

Norwegian Style Rice Pudding

This probably isn't terribly authentic but it makes a delightful breakfast served warm with melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top.

3/4 cup short-grained rice
1 1/2 cups water

Bring to a boil. lower heat, cover and simmer for 13 minutes.

Mix:
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
ground cardamom, to taste
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Add milk mixture to the rice, 1 cup at a time. Turn to medium heat and stir and cook until thick before adding the next cup of milk. This will take about 40 minutes or so.

Remove from heat.

Serve warm with melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top.

Chill leftovers. Can be served cold or reheated in microwave.