Pioneer Pudding

This is a recipe out of The Friend magazine that my kids get.  They always have one recipe in each issue and I get so excited to see what it is each month.  

I am a big fan of rice pudding and this one looked so easy that I couldn't wait to try it.  When I first took it out of the oven, I thought it was a major fail, but then it came around and we ended up really liking it.

2/3 cup rice
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg (I did both)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup raisins (I left these out)

*Put all ingredients into a 2 quart glass baking dish and stir together.  Bake at 275 degrees for 2 hours. Take out and let cool for 15 or so minutes, then stir really well before serving.  Or refrigerate and serve cold.  It looks super duper soupy when it comes out of the oven, but after it cooled a little and I stirred it real good, it thickened up.  I liked it warm but I think I even liked it better today out of the refrigerator.  It's not custardy, because there are no eggs in it, but it has a great flavor.