Homemade Pudding and Pie filling mixes

Sorry to say, that these do need to be cooked on the stove top or in a microwave, but they are easy to make.

Each batch of the mix will make 15 one cup servings or 5 nine inch pies.

To make each mix: Mix the ingredients together and store in a zip lock or mason jar(s) on the shelf. (These have a long shelf life, there's really nothing to spoil in it.) Write the cooking directions on a 3x5 card and tape to the zip bag or jar(s).

To make 3 cups: Measure out the amount of mix called for in each recipe - it varies, into a medium size sauce pan. A heavy pot is best. Gradually blend in 2 3/4 cups of milk over a low heat, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken and come to a boil. Let it boil gently for 1 minute, but keep stirring it. Remove from the heat and add vanilla extract (or extract of your choice). Adding 1-3 Tbs of butter after adding the extract will give a richer taste, especially if you've used skim or powdered milk to make the pudding.

You can portion this out into six 1/2 cup portions, or store it in a bowl. When it's cooled a bit, you need to cover this pudding to keep a skin from forming. The skin won't hurt you, but it's a little tougher than the pudding underneath it. I put some plastic wrap directly on the cooled pudding. (If it LASTS that long! lol)

Basic pudding (vanilla flavored)
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

Use 2/3 cup of mix (add 1-1 1/2 tsp vanilla to cooked pudding)

Chocolate pudding
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

Use 1 cup of mix (add 1-1 1/2 tsp vanilla to cooked pudding)

Butterscotch Pudding
1 7/8 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

Use 3/4 cups plus 1 tbs of mix, plus 2-4 tbs butter (not optional if you want the correct taste)
1 - 1 1/2 Tsp vanilla to cooked pudding.

You can make any other flavor pudding by adding that flavor extract to the basic pudding (in place of the vanilla extract - or even with the vanilla).

Pie Filling
Prepare any flavor pudding to the boiling point, but don't let it boil for that minute, just take it off the stove and stir in your flavorings and opt. butter. Let cool, stirring once in a while, for 10 mins. Pour the filling into a cooled, baked 9" pie shell and chill until it's firm. You can add any bits of candy , chocolate chips, nuts, Cool Whip, fruit pieces (fresh, frozen, canned or dried), coconut or any other add-ins that you can think of. Strawberry extract with pieces of strawberry, lemon extract with mandarin orange pieces, etc.

You can also add artificial coloring to your cooked puddings if you want to, but why?

These puddings can also be made with powdered milk, but will have a limited shelf-life, unless you keep the mix in the freezer. You would have to adjust the amount of powdered mile to make 2 3/4 cups of milk and then when you go to cook it, just use that amount of water instead of milk. You would also need to divide the amount of powdered milk you used into 6 portions and add that much more to each basic flavor.

For instance, my milk calls for 1/3 cup of powder for each cup of milk you want. So I'd add 4.5 cup of powder (yes, it is a little off, but not enough to hurt anything), and add that to the dry ingredients, mixing it all together very well. Then for each recipe, I'd need to add 1 scant cup (11/12ths of a cup) more of the mix than what the recipe calls for. So for the Vanilla pudding, I'd measure out 1 2/3 cups mix and remove 1 tbs of mix.

Actually, for me and my laziness, either way I made the mix - with or without powdered milk; I'd make the mix and then immediately divide it equally into 5 packets. Each packet will make 3 cups which is six 1/2 cup servings or filling for one pie. Keep the packets all in a larger zip bag with the instructions inside it. When we want pudding, dump the packet (save bag to refill later), add the milk/water and off you go.

Oh, you find cornstarch in the baking aisle with the salt, baking powder, baking soda, etc.