White Chocolate Orzo Pudding

I saw this on food t.v. and it looked delicious and easy, especially if you like rice pudding which we do.  I halved the recipe being that there was only two of us and had to improvise a little with the ingredients.  I had leftover Italian white chocolates from a Christmas box, so that's what I used instead of white chocolate chips.  What I used tonight:

• 1.5 cups evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1.5 tablespoons organic sugar 
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1 cinnamon stick 
• 1/2 cup dried orzo pasta 
• 1/3 cup white chocolate 
• Orange zest, from one orange
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup crushed ginger shortbread cookies 

Bring the milk, sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon stick to a simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan. 

Stir in the orzo and reduce the heat to low, just to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the orzo is cooked and the liquid is beginning to thicken slightly, 12 to 14 minutes; there will still be a good amount of liquid. 

Add the white chocolate  and orange zest and stir until the chocolate is melted. 

Allow to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming over the surface. Discard the cinnamon stick.  

Spoon the pudding into serving vessels of your choice and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Serve with crushed cookies sprinkled on top.  I also added a dollop of whip cream.  I made these before bed and had one for breakfast.  

Wowza!  Delish!  Mmmm.  Rich, creamy, and dreamy.  The chocolate amped up the specialness for sure and loved the hint of orange.  Sweeter than I thought it would be though.  Cookies are mandatory for the texture crunch.  This goes into the dessert repertoire and "pudding for breakfast" should be a thing!