- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup lemon juice (I used bottled lemon juice.)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- yellow food color is optional. I used two drops.
Instructions:
- In a microwave proof bowl (mine was a large glass Pyrex measuring cup), combine sugar, cornstarch & salt - stir well.
- Add the milk - stir well to combine (until smooth).
- Place the egg in a separate small dish and stir to scramble the egg. Hold the egg out while completing the next steps. (My instructions will tell you what to do next with the egg.)
- Microwave the mixture containing the sugar, cornstarch, salt & milk for 1 minute and stir. Microwave another 1 minute and stir.
- Keep microwaving/stirring in short increments until the mixture starts to bubble and get thick, stirring often. (I probably did this three or four times).
- Once it feels thick (like gravy), remove from microwave and stir again to incorporate that thickness throughout.
- Ok. Time for the egg. Add a couple of spoonfuls (the size of a heaping tablespoon) of the hot mixture to the dish with the egg (to temper the egg). Stir well. Now add the egg mixture to the hot thickened sugar, cornstarch, salt & milk mixture. Stir really well to fully incorporate the egg into the thickened mixture.
- Microwave 2 minutes, stirring in between if it's bubbling hard.
- Remove from microwave, and add 1/2 cup of (bottled) lemon juice, two or three drops of yellow food color (optional) and 2 Tablespoons of butter. Stir until smooth and the butter is melted/fully incorporated into the pudding.
- Cover the hot pudding and place in the fridge.
- Let cool completely and then dive it. So delish!
THE CHIT-CHAT:
(The highlighted text below are links.)
I mention to nearly everyone I talk to lately that I have a thing now for homemaking/gardening YouTube videos.lol I cannot get enough of them! I enjoy the subtitles, the relaxing music, as well as all of the things I learn from them. What a wealth of information! Who doesn't need homemaking hacks and inspiration?
While watching a favorite homemaker from Canada the other night (Farmer's Wife LINK IS HERE), I heard Suzanne describe what I've obviously been feeling a lot of lately - Daydreaming about Homemaking. That's it! That's my obsession these days. It has a name...Daydreaming about Homemaking!
Not everyone can relate and I understand that. I'm sure lots of people hate homemaking. They hate cooking or cleaning but I don't hate those things. I actually look forward to all of them, probably because I never get to do them. There's that, "I get to - instead of I have to" mindset which changes a lot of things once you put them into that perspective.
I am 59 years old and have worked at various small and big jobs since I was about 12 years old. My first job was babysitting for the lady down the street instead of the fun things that most 12 year -olds were doing back in the 1970's. I have worked full-time, commuting an hour each way for the past 40 years. I love my job! Don't get me wrong. I really love it and I especially love my work family and commuting to/from work with my husband every day but I find that I am doing too much "waiting to live". My PTO (Paid Time Off) is reserved for visiting special loved ones or taking off work for practical reasons like meeting a delivery person, medical or dental appointments, being sick or preparing for a holiday. While I dearly love visiting my loved ones and am grateful for PTO instead of unpaid time off for the other things, at this juncture in life I feel like the "waiting to live" part of my life is wearing me down.
I crave hanging out my laundry, folding clean clothes, baking bread, making "ditch the box" recipes like homemade yogurt, pudding, brownies, and cakes. I crave a few moments to clean out my car or organize my closet. I dream about sewing dolls and crocheting homemade gifts. I crave making special dinners for loved ones without multi-tasking.
During my working life these tasks have absolutely been enjoyed but they have been completed during "stolen moments" like making biscuits at 5am before I get dressed for work, or late night canning sessions after getting home; buying groceries before work and stashing them in the office fridge; making 5 Minute a Day bread that can be refrigerated for baking another day; and using my crockpot to make wonderful dinners like THESE.
My mom was usually home most every day. She had jobs here and there but for the most part I remember her being home. I remember her making yummy meals and keeping our home at perfection, tweaking curtains and recovering furniture. I know this is the life experience that is pulling me to this dream of homemaking but that is what I feel I'm missing out on.
When I heard the phrase "Daydreaming about Homemaking", I knew that was it. I never wanted to be a business professional type person. I wanted to be a stay-at-home wife/mom my whole life and at 59, I'm tired of waiting. I'm a little tired of squeezing those things into someone else's schedule for my life.
However, it's not in the cards yet. We still have bills to pay and for now, I'll keep squeezing in mixing up cookie dough and baking the cookies in stolen moments. I'll keep using my crockpot to make Easy Dump & Go Crockpot Parmesan Chicken and I'll find shortened ways to make homemade pudding like this delicious and amazing Microwave Lemon Pudding. (Making pudding in the microwave is the easiest, completely fastest way to make pudding. No mixer or beaters to wash, no pot to scorch and scrub. If there was a shortcut that is life changing in my homemade kitchen, this is it!)
But - I AM going to find a way to spend more time at home though. I really am!
Let me know if you try the pudding. It's beyond delicious and you'll know exactly what's in it, sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk, an egg, lemon juice, and butter (food coloring is optional but does make it look more like store bought lemon pudding).
Enjoy!
Gina
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