Pudding

The grand kids like pudding of every kind.  Vanilla, chocolate, and rice are their three favorites.  I will make rice pudding for breakfast if we have left over rice from the night before.  It takes about 2 or 3 minutes to make to make pudding.  It's really that easy.  And no, it's not the instant pudding mix package.

It's easy to make your own mix to have on hand.  The ingredients are all things you should have in your home storage.  If you don't have these items then you'd better add them to your storage program!  You still have to add ingredients at the time you make it, it's not one of those home made mixes where you just add water.

Vanilla Pudding Mix - makes about five cups of mix or about 20 servings
3 cups instant powdered milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups corn starch or potato starch (don't pack it down when measuring)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

To make vanilla pudding
In a saucepan mix the following ingredients:
1 cup of the pudding mix
3/4 cups milk
1 1/4 cup water
1 beaten egg
Cook this together on medium to low heat.  Mix constantly.  Once it starts to thicken cook for another minute.  Stir constantly.  Turn off the heat.
Add in:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon melted butter (optional and I don't add it)

Chocolate Pudding Mix- makes about four cups of mix or about 16 servings
2 1/4 instant dry milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch or potato starch (don't pack it down while measuring)
2/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt

To make chocolate pudding
In a saucepan mix the following ingredients:
1 cup of the pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 cup water
Cook this together on medium to low heat.  Mix constantly.  Once it starts to thicken cook for another minute .  Stir constantly.  Turn off the heat.
Add in:
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon melted butter (optional and I don't add it)

The kids like rice pudding so once the vanilla pudding is done I just mix in some cooked rice straight out of the refrigerator.  The cold rice cools down the pudding so they can eat it right away.  This rice pudding is certainly not like the rice pudding you make when you steam the pot of pudding in water for an hour or so.  The rice does not plump up.  Since the kids don't know any different, only I do, they are happy to have it the way I make it.  Sometimes I will put raisins and cinnamon sugar in just to change things up a bit.  If you wanted to make the rice more soft and plump you can soak the rice in some milk overnight and add that to the pudding in the morning. 

These two mixes are easy to make, perfect for a quick breakfast or dessert, and come right out of your food storage.