Homemade Vanilla Pudding

"It has been said that frugality is a hallmark of a good cook. Some of the most talented practitioners I know are nearly fanatical about never wasting a morsel - chunks of stale bread are used for bread crumbs or bread pudding ... and vegetable trimmings invariably find their way into stock. This does not reflect a penurious bent so much as a love of and respect for food and its preparation. Cooking economically is part of the challenge of cooking well."--Pierre Franey

This morning as I was getting ready for breakfast, I noticed that the milk was going a little sour again. Why does that keep happening to us? I guess we need to drink it faster. Anyway, rather than just throw it out, I chose to use this milk on its last legs to make something yummy! Last time that happened I made it into yogurt. But this time there were only a couple cups of milk that needed to be used right away. So I decided it would be fun to make pudding for breakfast.


This recipe comes from allrecipes.com, and is very delicious! It utilizes cornstarch as a thickener instead of egg. So it's cheaper, and I actually think I prefer the flavor of this pudding as opposed to an egg-thickened pudding; the cornstarch allowed the vanilla flavor to come through a bit more.

Homemade Vanilla Pudding
2 cups milk
1/2 cup white sugar (can be reduced if desired)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter

In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until bubbles form at edges. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour into hot milk, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve (typically you don't add cornstarch to hot liquid. But I trusted the recipe and did it this way. As long as you add it very gradually [like, a teaspoon or two at a time], and whisk continuously, there shouldn't be any problems with clumping). Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes. Chill before serving.

Actually, I served the pudding warm this morning, because I didn't think the kids would be patient enough to wait for it to chill. I sliced banana into the kids' bowls of pudding, but I ate mine plain. It would also be good sprinkled with cinnamon or nutmeg.