Rice Remake: 6 INGREDIENT Rice Pudding

I had a TON of left over rice, (Which in case you didn't know FREEZES BEAUTIFULLY!!), but I really wanted some Rice pudding, but most pudding recipes start with uncooked rice...So I tinkered with a couple recipes and enter in:

 "6 Ingredient RICE PUDDING... MotherHOOD  style!!"

 

My Family Just loves this custardy-eggy vanilla infused pudding,my daughter LOVES hers with raisins, 

but is allergic to cinnamon, 

my hubby is a purest no raisins but LOVES cinnamon,

my son LOVES nutmeg, and I really don't care- sometimes 

I will soak the raisins I use in rum and 

call it drunk raisin pudding 

for ADULTS ONLY of course.... 

soooo how to please so many palates and allergies?? 

I make one big batch and before I bake them I place them in smaller ramekins or other oven-proof glass jars and individualize each bowl to family's personal tastes. 

One thing is for sure, the vanilla bean is the KEY! There is no comparison to taste, 

you can of course omit it if you don't have any in your pantry storage, 

I encourage you to get some if you can, here is a source I use.

 

Amazing 6 INGREDIENT Rice Pudding with COOKED rice

• 1 C-COOKED RICE
• 2 C WHOLE MILK
• 2 EXTRA LARGE EGGS
• 1 teaspoon VANILLA
• 1/2 *VANILLA SUGAR OR REGULAR SUGAR
• 1 VANILLA BEAN POD
•  OPTIONAL STIR-INS:
• SPICES AS DESIRED, CAN ADD: FRESH GRATED NUT MEG, CINNAMON, ALLSPICE, GINGER GROUND CARDAMON, GROUND CLOVES...
• CAN ADD: DRIED RAISINS (TRY SOAKING IN A WEE BIT OF RUM FOR 10 MIN PRIOR FOR AN ADULT TREAT!!, CRANBERRIES, OR CRAISINS)

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1. IN HEAVY SAUCE PAN GENTLY HEAT MILK AND RICE, STIRRING CONSTANTLY- DON'T LET MILK GET TOO HOT OR WILL SCORCH IN PAN
2. SLICE DOWN CENTER OF VANILLA BEAN POD LEAVE END INTACT AND USE DULL END OF KNIFE TO SCRAPE OUT THE "SEEDS" (BLACK SPECKS, LOOKS LIKE DIRT DON'T BE SKEERED- IS DELISH!!) AND PLACE PODS, SEEDS AND ALL IN HEAVY SAUCE PAN
3. SIMMER OVER LOW HEAT FOR ABOUT 10-15 MIN FOR VANILLA TO INFUSE THE MILK
4. WHISK EGGS UNTIL COMBINED  THEN ADD VANILLA SUGAR AND VANILLA EXTRACT IN A MEDIUM HEAT PROOF BOWL
5. *Remove the vanilla bean pod from milk mixture-don't discard!! place on paper towel and allow to dry overnight
6. SLOWLY WHISK IN SMALL AMOUNTS (I USE A LADLE) OF MILK MIXTURE INTO EGG MIXTURE, THIS IS CALLED "TEMPERING THE EGGS" THIS IS IMPORTANT SO YOU DON'T GET SCRAMBLED EGGS! 
7. I SLOWLY ADD MILK TO EGG MIXTURE UNTIL EGGS ARE SAME TEMPERATURE OF MILK, THEN ADD EGG MIXTURE TO REMAINING MILK MIXTURE AND COOK A FEW MINUTES MORE, CONSTANTLY STIRRING
8. POUR PUDDING INTO 4-6 INDIVIDUAL RAMEKINS (DEPENDING ON SIZE OF RAMEKINS)
9. THIS WOULD BE THE TIME TO ADD IN ANY STIR-INS YOU DESIRE, I DO THIS ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, BECAUSE WHAT I MENTIONED ABOVE
10. PLACE SMALL RAMEKINS IN LARGE PAN (I USE A 9"X13" PAN) AND POUR ENOUGH WATER TO COME HALF WAY UP ON RAMEKINS
11. BAKE FOR 20 MINUTES UNTIL PUDDING IS SET AND CREAMY, IF NOT "PUDDING IN TEXTURE" MORE SOUPY, LET BAKE A LITTLE LONGER.

ALLOW TO COOK SLIGHTLY AND SERVE WARM, OR COOL TO ROOM TEMP AND PLACE IN REFRIGERATOR. 

 MY FAMILY LOVES THIS COLD TOO...

JUST BE SURE TO EAT WITHIN 3 DAYS...AS IF YOU WOULD HAVE ANY LEFT OVER, LOL!!

*Vanilla sugar: DON"T DISCARD SPENT VANILLA POD!!  After you used Vanilla Bean pod in your rice pudding recipe, allow it to dry overnight. Then place pod in sealed canister you hold your sugar in. Will flavor the sugar, and give you vanilla sugar. 

Picture Credit

 Vanilla Beans are an expensive ingredient, good to know that it can do double duty as vanilla flavoring plus become vanilla sugar which is also an expensive ingredient to purchase on it's own.  

 NEVER throw the pods away, keep placing the spent pods in the sugar canister. Keeps indefinitely or close to it if your canister has a TIGHT seal.

Frugal Fridays- MYO Christmas Gifts #1: Gourmet Vanilla Extract & Vanilla Sugar

I have seen a tons of posts ALL over Pinterst in the past few years of DIY BLOGGERS making homemade Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Sugar...  

So this  is what I am planning on giving my son's therapists, my visiting nurses, my besties, and my mom, step mom, & sisters (in-laws too!) For Christmas this Year... ALONG w/Customized Truffles, Coconut Bon-bons, & Buckeyes Candies

IT is SOOOO easy you can't even imagine, can be quite frugal, you have to invest in medium priced vodka (too cheap gives the extract an aftertaste that more gourmet vanilla just doesn't have~ it's what sets them apart.) You can get about 15, 4-ounce extract gifts out of one bottle and about $15 for 1/2Lb Vanilla Beans (I bought 1 LB), before you add in the tags and decorative jar, you have spend about $2/person!! For Gourmet NEVER ending GOOD Vanilla (INA would APPROVE!!)
  
I also made the recipe SUPER SIMPLE: 

• by adding the beans directly to the vodka bottles. 
• I will strain the extract with a coffee filter and mesh strainer. Sterilize the gift bottles before I add in extract with a small funnel. 
• I used the portion of  Vodka I had to remove, making room for vanilla beans, to make coconut extract (You could also make citrus extract or mint extract. Mint I would REMOVE after a week to avoid any mold or spoiling issues. The rest would be able to stay in to make a stronger flavor.)

 

The start up fee includes:

• Vanilla Beans: $31.96/LB
• * Vodka: $13/1.75L
• Decorative Containers: $14.92/Dozen

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• The best price for the amount rec'd I found online was Madagascar Bourbon Planifolia Extract Grade B Vanilla Beans 6~7" $31.95/Lb with FREE SHIPPING PLUS FREE I rec'd 1/8 pound of near gourmet Madagascar Planifolia vanilla beans. 
•  You will need to add about 12 beans per 1.75L (about 1/4Lb)... Now there were quite a bit shriveled and hard to scrape all the seeds out, but I was pleased that most were plump and all was fragrant.  

If you plan to make gifts plus have some on hand you can really purchase 1/2Lb and be just fine. I bought a little more- but I will have it for at least a year.

• The *Vodka- I bought 3- 1.75ML ($13/each) will make about 15- 4oz extracts in each bottle...I over bought, but I plan on giving some ppl a larger size and I want a LARGE size for my baking needs...  

*(I bought a medium price range vodka, "Smirnoff'"- When I went to State Liquor store within our neighborhood grocery store, the attendant knew nothing of the variety of vodkas they store carried. Fortunately for me the owner of a high-class restaurant in town that is known for their cocktails and mixed drinks overheard me. He told me the restaurant had a blind taste test where about 75 or so ppl chose from a variety of vodkas and "Smirnoff" was the most chosen vodka. So I decided on that brand)

• Decorative containers, there is about 60 oz in a 1.75L bottle, you loose about 1.3oz of your bottle when you add in beans, so account for that loss (I poured the excess into a smaller glass container and added some organic unsweetened coconut to make coconut extract- I will add to my coconut bon-bons). I mistakenly bought the 1 oz size, now I have a TON of vanilla extract... (BUT I did save various decorative bottles that once held capers, artichoke hearts, jams, tahini paste, canning jars. So some I will give a small amount some I will give a larger size!)

------------------------------
 
Vanilla Extract:

•  1/4 Lb beans per 1.75L bottle of vodka (I use Smirnoff*), pour about 1.3 oz of vodka out in small container then cut beans into quarter (I didn't cut in half and scrape, b/c seeds will come out over the 12 weeks "curing time"), replace lid.

Place in a cool, dark area for about 9-12 weeks to develop a more rich and gourmet deep flavor.  

DON'T FRET if you have started this later than you had hoped, you could always make a tag that reads, "For best flavor-Don't use until ___date". I think the recipient of the gift would love rec'ing the extract then wait expectantly to use later, like 2 gifts in one! :-)

  

  
Vanilla Sugar:

• From the same batch of beans I added about 3-5 beans per 19 once glass containers, filled with sugar, then added lid. 

I then shook the jar once/week to distribute the sugar. This will keep about a year, if kept air-tight will nearly be indefinitely, its the humidity that will compromise your beans and cause mold. So an air-tight container is a must, if you want this to really last! 

Coconut Extract in center made with the vodka I had to pour out to add in beans

Your extract will immediately darken, and continue to do so, you will see flecks, this is the seeds and IS NORMAL, that is the FLAVOR. 


Shake once a week and leave alone to develop the rich sweet smoky vanilla goodness!

The sugar will start to clump, keep shaking the jar to break up clumps and incorporate the vanilla taste throughout. Now specks and flakes  are normal for vanilla sugar. 

What I intent to do, bc I am not sure the recipients of these gifts will understand 

the flakes and pods are normal-  

I will be using a food processor to on half of gifts to blend the pods, sugar, and seeds.  

The rest I hope will be ok, bc you can continue to add sugar to the pot, and have a "Never Ending" vanilla sugar to add to coffee, teas, baked goods, breakfast foods...

Oooohh yeah!!

Linked to Weekend Potluck

   

Teach Me Tuedays: Making Homemade Yogurt-2nd Time around Homemade Yogurt:

Making Yogurt with Store Bought Yogurt as a Starter

I have had some ppl voice their concerns about making yogurt at home and I have done so much reading and research from various web sites and books-

basically yogurt is created using "helpful" bacteria (usually lactobacillus bulgaricus & streptococcus thermophilus), found in Dannon PLAIN, which will cause the WHOLE milk to ferment.

For all the science behind what these particular HELPFUL BACTERIA do to the WHOLE milk check the blog below!

Before pasteurization and refrigeration, this was the only way to make milk last longer !!!
 

I find this  homemade yogurt to be more like a Keifer than a thick yogurt. Remember that MOST STORE BOUGHT YOGURTS use pectins and other such additives to thicken. IF you want a thicker yogurt, after making use a mesh strainer lined with cheese clothe or a coffee filter and place over a bowl in fridge. The Whey will strain off and make a thicker yogurt. Don't waste the "whey", use it to ferment veggies, add to lemonade (MY personal fav!), this is good stuff!!

2nd Time around Homemade Yogurt:
I learned some things from the last time I attempted making yogurt at home from a yogurt starter.

• If you hold the WHOLE milk at 185°F for 30 minutes, you will get a thicker consistency-just read that, only held that temp for minutes, if it doesn't get thick this time I will remember to hold 185 for 30 min next time.
• Make sure house is not colder than 68- ideal temp is 70-72. Too cold temps won't allow the starter to ferment the WHOLE milk into yogurty loveliness!
• Allowing the  starter to sit 9-12 hours-is the stage of tanginess I like!
• Just found out about using the lactobacillus bulgaricus & streptococcus thermophilus cultures, the yogurt I used doesn't have those 2 listed, so if you are going to make a yogurt with the thought of having a "mother starter" you need to check the ingredients for these 2, apparently Dannon's Plain Yogurt is the one that contains this strain, not a fan of the way that way one tastes will check other brands to see if they contain these 2. UPDATE: Wasn't an issue-  it tasted fine!
• Place yogurt in the coldest part of your refrigerator and wait overnight, for a tastier and thicker yogurt.~THE BACK OF THE FRIDGE!
• The recipe I initially used called for 1/2C yogurt & for the one I have seen from a very reputable home yogurt maker uses 2-3T of starter. It was just fine with only 2-3T, I do this now.
• Take 2-3T from your container right away so the starter doesn't die off if you wait too long and if you aren't going to be making yogurt within 5 days- freeze your starter. Just thaw in fridge overnight and proceed with the recipe as usual. I do this all the time, not an issue!
• USE WHOLE MILK! Lower fat milk didn't give me a good result.

  Now the recipe I use (From Web site Below):

• 1/2 gallon of WHOLE milk (The amount of  WHOLE milk you use, is the amount of yogurt you will make so use what your family will gobble up!)
• 2-3 Tbs of plain Dannon yogurt (as a starter)
• 1 8-10 Qt stock pot
• 1 4-5 Qt pot with lid
• 1 Metal or plastic spoon (NO WOODEN SPOONS!)
• 1 candy thermometer with clip
• 1 Heating pad (can be replaced by a hotplate)

Milk as it starts to cook, notice the bubbles are starting to get @ 130 degrees   

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the WHOLE milk to reach 185°F  this temp will kill any bacteria- stir constantly.

Helpful Hints:
•While you are waiting for the milk to reach 185°F, fill your sink about 1/4 of the way with cold water. You know- while your stirring the yogurt at the same time, you can do this! :-)
•For your final trick...Add some ice to the sink water.

Notice the the texture of the milk @185 degrees

This took about 10-15 min over med heat, if you do this method you need to constantly stir so you don't scald the WHOLE milk.

If you do not have a thermometer, this is also the temperature that milk will begin to froth, like in a latte.

Once the temp heats to 185 degrees- keep the WHOLE milk at this temp for 30 min, Haven't tried this method yet.UPDATE: Did try and it helps slightly, enough that I do it every time now.

Cool to WHOLE milk to 108°F -110°F . 

This is the temperature where you get to  
start the yogurt magic. 
(For reasons behind this phenomenon check the blog below)

Slowly & Carefully place the pan of WHOLE milk into the sink that has been filled with ice water.  The level of cold water in the sink REALLY needs to be pretty much even with the level of WHOLE milk in the pot.- I waited for the WHOLE milk to cool on its own, with the thought that yogurt likes to be still and undisturbed about 10-15 min and I also stirred occasionally to help cool, pretty much same results.

Adding the yogurt starter

Pour your 2-3 Tbs of yogurt into your 110°F milk.

Helpful Hints:
•Again, if this is your first batch, use only Dannon plain yogurt. All
future batches you will make using your own.

Yogurt all warm and cozy

The 7+ Hour Wait
After stirring you need to leave the yogurt undisturbed and warm for at least 7 hours!  I used a corner of my stove top &  turned the hood light on. (I know seems scary, but that back burner doesn't work)

Stir WHOLE milk well to incorporate the yogurt you just added.

I covered with a towel bc of all the blogs I read told me to allow "natural gasses to escape".


**The household temps will affect the yogurt setting up, so be sure to really insulate the yogurt. NOT too hot either or you will kill all that healthy bacteria... Wait at least seven hours to uncover.

What I did to make my own YOGURT MAKER: 

Set heating pad to medium and place on a cutting board or as I did a pizza stone. Place your pot of yogurty goodness on top. I THEN Cover with several towels and blanket to insulate THE PAN and keep  it toasty as my household temps are below 68- I really wrap it up.


NOW THAT YOU WAITED PATIENTLY  OVERNIGHT AND LEFT THAT YOGURT ALL SNUGGLY AND UNDISTURBED...

Stir, Stir, Stir!!

THE BEST PART!! After waiting at least 7 hours, or in my case 9-12 hours, it's like Christmas time, you get to see what all those patient hours made!!

Remove from heating pad, uncover yogurt,  & use a sterilized spatula/spoon to combine the curds in with liquid.  

DON'T BE SCARED! 

IT might look like you did something wrong at first or smell a bit "off" it is normal, all cheese kinda smells off to me anyways...

Helpful Hints:

•Sometimes there might be a strong, cheesy odor, and you might even see some greenish liquid on top. This is ok, it's part of the process and what want to you to see, it freaked me out at first too!

•Really stir it well to incorporate the clumpy curds into any remaining liquid, you DON'T want curds and whey, remember what happened to Little Miss Muffet dontcha?

Almost there!!

Pour YOUR yogurty delicousness into chosen container/s & cover with tight fitting lid/s...You can use any containers that have a GOOD fitting lid and can hold whatever size batch you are making, I sometimes use more than one container.

Helpful Hints:

•Yogurt will be thinner than commercial yogurt, remember they use thickeners plus, your yogurt is not yet in its finished state, see below*

*Once you stir the yogurt like you mean it, quite robustly, you stop the whole process then storing in coldest part of fridge overnight will help thicken it up. Trust me it does help! For the science part check the blog below

Chillaxxxxx 
& Enjoy all that delicious yogurt that saved you bunches of money & in my personal opinion TASTES wayyy better!!

This blogg "How to make Your Own Yogurt" 

is amazing if you have any in depth questions or want to see more pics, I got a lot of my info from this blog...

http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/

TEACH ME TUESDAYS: Food for thought...

My family eats so many oranges and uses limes and lemons in our water, so much that I often feel guilty throwing away all these peels. I will take my microplane and zest the limes and lemons for cooking in the freezer but that is about it, I don't really know what to do with oranges. Until.....I came across some bloggs lately, and all I am hearing about is dried citrus peel uses, and ground citrus uses so I was so inspired I made some this morning...



 Some of the recipes and ideas are from: Crunchy Betty Blogg http://www.crunchybetty.com/the-great-grapefruit-scouring-scrub?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&  


I took the citrus we have been eating over the past 7 days: Key Limes, Cara Cara oranges, Milano Oranges,  Blood Red Oranges, Navel Oranges, Lemons, Cuties...we all eat one citrus or use them in our water so we accumulate quite a bit in several days. Here is a portion of the citrus peels, cut into small pieces and partially dried. I ended up drying in oven bc some started to mold apparently my house has quite a bit of moisture.  I placed it in a cold oven, no heat so the essential oils would still be intact. I then took the peels and ground up in a "bullet" type blender/processor. The smell was amazing as it ground. I think we had about 7 or 8 peels and it    made about 4 oz of ground goodness.

So now what, u ask? I have 4 oz of peeling goodness and we eat about 3 lbs of citrus.  Make your scrub according to Crunchy Betty's site:

• 3 Tbsp dried, powdered Citrus peels
• 3 Tbsp borax
• 5 Tbsp baking soda

Combine everything in a shaker (like an old parmesan container) and shake well to combine it all. Use liberally wherever scouring is required. Be sure to rinse the scrub off well with a clean, wet sponge.

I used a upcycled garlic powder/dried herb container, I didn't add the citrus powder to the above recipe, will use as needed until I use up a herb container I have in mind to use. Below is the handmade labeled Citrus powder scrub a the half gallon of homemade fabric softener I made this weekend.

 Hmm, what else... ???  ( Keep in mind if you will be using citrus peel for any edible applications, and especially if you will be extracting the flavor with alcohol, it is best to source organic, sustainably grown fruit if you possibly can. In general, the peel of most conventionally-farmed fruits contains the largest concentration of pesticides, fungicides or other chemicals used in treating the fruit. Since citrus peels are not typically eaten in the US, data on pesticide load tends to concentrates on the flesh of the fruit, and is likely an unreliable indicator of pesticide load present in the peel.)

• Citrus salt from 101 Cookbooks
• Citrus sugar from Baking Bites
• Orange butter from Gilt Taste
• Meyer lemon olive oil from Buff Chickpea
• Lemon olive oil from Food.com
• Lemon lavender vinegar from a new bloom
• Dehyrated citrus slices from Well Preserved, dried peel or zest  from About.com
• Candied grapefruit peel from Hitchhiking to Heaven and Martha Stewart
• Candied lemon peel from The Luna Cafe
• Homemade lemon extract (and thyme lemonade!) from Infinite Feast
• Add orange peels to brown sugar to keep it soft
• Add dried peels to tea (via Chiot’s Run)  and/or use in your own tea mixes to enjoy or gift
• Freeze citrus peels, or quartered or halved whole fruit, then use later to flavor roasted chicken or braised meats (via What Julia Ate)
• Dry citrus rib rub from Hudson Valley Food Network
•  Add it to coffee grinds as it brews, or add to tea ball make a version of Earl Grey
• Add to facial masks
• Add peels to vinegar and allow to infuse for about 4-6 weeks to make vinegar cleanser/could also make vinaigrette for salads
• Add it to the dishwasher now and then to clean it up and make the dishes sparkle, leaves a nice orange scent too
• Thinking of adding ground citrus peel to cracked ground pepper like a citrus pepper chicken, doesn't that sound awesome with a little honey and kosher salt perhaps some crushed garlic for a marinde and then grill the chicken? 
• Mix it with with Epson salt for a bath-time soak
• Make a bath bomb with the citrus powder, essential oil,
• Use the dried citrus peels as a kitchen deodorizer  (b4 you grind them, could even use this b4 you dry them) in a small saucepan- fill with 1-2" of water, add citrus peel, a cinnamon stick, and a few cloves. Heat over medium-low for a lovely citrusy kick.
• After you dry the peels add cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, and star annise for homemade potpourri even a hint of vanilla bean.
• Add with sugar or fine ground sea salt and neutral or light oil to make a scrub (1 part ground peel and sugar to 2 parts oil) would be an awesome body scrub.
• Thinking of adding to a toothpaste recipe along with myrrh gum powder, clove essential oil baking soda, extra virgin coconut oil and raw honey. 
• Also thinking of making a mouthwash w/nearly same ingredients and adding peroxide and tea tree essential oil.
• Could add to cold processed soaps
• Make Orange cookies and icing
• Add dried peels to vacuum cleaner bags
• Adding it to baking soda and sprinkling on the carpet...wonder if it would leave a sticky residue?
• Add to sugar to make a citrus sugar, hmmmm, interesting....
• Add to plain cake batter to make a citrus cake, yummmmy!
• Add to bread to make a citrus spring tasting bread
• Add to butter to make a marmalade butter, press into a candy mold like a daffodil, wouldn't that be sweet?
• Infuse Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Make a dry citrus rub
• Infuse Liquor, think Lemoncello, Lemonpeel vodka, grapefruit tequila...
• Perk up homemade mustard with citrus zest: see habanero lime chipotle or winter lager mustards
• Make citrus pectin, using the peels from 2 or 3 grapefruits. Based on Julia’s recipe, but slightly modified:toss peels, unchopped, in a medium saucepan, covered them with filtered water, and brought to a boil. I let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, then removed from the heat and let it sit, covered, overnight. The next day strain out the peel and froze the pectin in 1-cup portions. It’s fairly bitter in taste, and would not do for all types of preserves, but for anything that needs a bit of a flavor edge, not to mention a pectin boost, this is perfect.
• Microwave lemon peels, in a small bowl of water, in high for 1 minute, to deodorize the microwave
• A wealth of limoncello recipes from Punk Domestics
• Meyer limoncello from Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking
• Pompelmocello from Hedonia (who tells me it was also incredible made with yuzu zest)
• Grapefruit & juniper bitters from Autumn Makes & Does
• Buddah’s Hand (citron) vodka from White on Rice Couple
• Lemon peel vodka from taylor takes a taste
• Cranberry-orange vodka from the Food Network
• Grapefruit tequila from Fine Cooking
• Vin de pamplemousse from Local Kitchen
• Citrus pectin from What Julia Ate
• Add slivered citrus zest to most any jam or preserve for a little texture & zing: try apple jelly with lemon & lavender (using lemon peels instead of whole lemon slices), sour cherry bam! punched up with lemon zest, orange zest in a cranberry chutney, or lime zest added to blackberry or raspberry jam
• Add chopped candied citrus peel to jams or preserves for another layer of texture and flavor
• Dry citrus peels, then crumble for use in a sachet or potpourri
• Orange peels as kindling/fire starter from Apartment Therapy
• Homemade orange oil extract for cleaning from Two at the Farm
• Add homemade orange oil/extract to perfume homemade hand cream
• Add citrus zest to homemade body scrub: see avocado & citrus sea salt scrub (use finely grated citrus zest in place of essential oils), or Meyer lemon sea salt scrub from Hitchhiking to Heaven
• Spread orange peels throughout the garden or household plants to keep cats away; I’ve seen the same tip as a mixture of ground orange peel and coffee
• Freeze citrus peels throughout the season, then grind and use to dress vegetable beds to keep squash bugs (and other critters!) away (via Maggie’s Farm)
• Ground orange peel, lemon peel and lemon juice are all effective ant deterrents
• Toss orange peels down the garbage disposal, or keep a few at the bottom of your trash barrel, to freshen
• Microwave lemon peels, in a small bowl of water, in high for 1 minute, to deodorize the microwave
• Add citrus peels to a dishwasher run to deodorize the dishwasher (I’m going to try wedging some into the silverware tray under a small Weck jar)
• Design your own biodegradable kitchenware (!), via David Lebovitz
•  freeze peels, and sometimes they are not sliced but a half of the fruit. I use those, straight from the freezer and use either for a brine for meats, or stuffed in the cavity of a chicken (or turkey) that I intend to roast. 
• Citrus Peel candy http://thekalechronicles.com/2011/11/15/my-first-orange-plus-candied-citrus-peel/ , neat idea, will definitely try this one...

http://localkitchenblog.com/2012/01/23/what-to-do-with-citrus-peel/  A lot of info gathered from Local Kitchen Blogg, "what to do with citrus peels" post and many more ideas and links...

Food for thought, huh?? What else am I throwing away that I could be using??