Homemade Apple Pudding . . .

Not exactly a pudding in the usual sense of the word but a fast way to have dessert going in the oven when you are busy with other kitchen needs for getting dinner on the table. It also works with pears, too. My mother used to make a version of this and I have added my own touches over the years. Another reason to look forward to Fall and the return of apple season . . . although I don't always wait that long to treat the family to this.

Homemade Apple Pudding
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons or so of freshly grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Vegetable oil spray a baking dish.

Combine the sliced apples, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Spread the apples out on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Cream together the shortening, sugar, and egg. Mix in the dry ingredients and vanilla. Spread in a layer over the apples.

In a small saucepan, combine:

1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups water or apple juice

Bring to a boil and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Drizzle over the apples and batter. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Cool to warm, scoop out and enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. It can be reheated in the microwave the next day or eaten cold.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

My family likes to see extra bread not being used because they know they can soon expect to find the aging bread wrapped up in a bread pudding. You can make bread pudding with just about any fruit you have on hand. Around the holidays, a Pumpkin Bread Pudding sounds most appropriate.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Approximately 8-10 slices of sturdy white bread, cubed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash of ground cloves
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, place the cubed bread. In another bowl, combine the sugar and spices and mix well. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the bread and toss to get every cube dusted with the seasoning. Mix in the dried fruit of your choice. Combine the pumpkin, milk, eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Pour over the bread and mix well. If it seems too dry, you can add a bit more milk.

Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish. Bake for approximately 45-60 minutes or until it is golden brown on top. Serve hot, warm, or cold. It begs for a scoop of ice cream or a generous topping of whipped cream.

Ideas . . .
Diced apples can be added for a denser but more fruity pudding.
I've used half whole wheat and half white bread and still got rave reviews.

My favorite egg pudding . . .

Sharing a budget worthy recipe to brighten up a pre-payday meal! I use this alone or with a topping of fresh fruit, canned fruit, over cake, etc. It is simple but tastes very good. It also fills cream puffs very nicely.

My Favorite Egg Pudding

2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
dash salt
4 cups milk
6 egg yolks, slightly beaten
4 tablespoons  butter
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Grated zest of one orange, optional

Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt and yolks in a large saucepan. Whisk thoroughly. Stir in milk gradually. Cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens and begins to boil. Continue to boil for approximately one minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter, extracts and orange zest.

Best eaten slightly warm or cold. Can be served with fruit, cake, layered with jam, crumbled cookies or topped with whipped cream. It all depends on what is in your mind and in the refrigerator. It can provide a pre-payday dessert without a trip to the market. Your family will begin to think you are a magician.

A departure from the war aspect of the vacation!

At our first meal with the tour, we enjoyed a typical English dessert called an Eton Mess. It was comprised of whipped cream, broken meringue cookies, and layers of strawberries. Much to my surprise, when I opened my latest Food Network magazine, they featured a recipe for Eton Mess. My son ordered it, mostly because of the name, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

You can Google a multitude of recipes on-line but the basic premise of the recipe is broken meringue cookies (which you can purchase or bake yourself), slightly sweetened whipped cream (I'll include my relatively fool-proof recipe!), and fresh fruit of your choice but it should be in the strawberry, raspberry, blackberry group. You dig out some tall dessert glasses or just put them in pretty bowls. You layer the ingredients, refrigerate until serving time, and then practice your humble smile at the applause from your family.

When I make whipped cream, I use two cups of heavy cream, four to five tablespoons of granulated sugar, three tablespoons of sour cream, and a touch of vanilla extract. I whip the ingredients until it holds it's shape but BEFORE you get butter. This method keeps the cream from breaking down too quickly in your dessert.

For the fruit, you can slice up strawberries with sugar to taste. A touch of brandy wouldn't hurt! Smash them a bit and let them sit for 30 minutes to release the juice. Even though it isn't mentioned, I'd think you could get away with using fresh peach slices, blueberries, etc. according to what it in season and to your personal tastes.

Meringue cookies are not difficult to make (lots of recipes on-line) but keep your fantastic dessert simple and go with the store bought ones. After all, who will really notice with all the wonderful cream and fruit.

Just desserts . . .

The family wanted dessert the other evening as opposed to needing something sweet. I decided a small treat was in order.

Chocolate pudding was the number one choice but I discovered a four-serving package cost a dollar or more when not on sale. Anyone with more than the acceptable 2/1 children knows that four servings of anything tempting doesn’t go far in the family circle. I took some time to go through a few cookbooks and found that making pudding (without the help of the handy cardboard box!), wasn't all that difficult or time consuming. From beginning to spooning it into individual dishes, took me all of ten minutes. The ingredients for eight servings may have come to the cost of a dollar but it was still twice the product offered on the quickie shelf variety. I got out my favorite, medium-sized pot and placed the following in it:

1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt

I used a wire whisk and thoroughly combined the dry ingredients. I blended in four egg yolks and one cup of milk, mixing it until smooth. Then I gradually stirred in three more cups of milk. Keeping a constant eye on and spoon in the mixture, I brought it to a boil. I kept on stirring until it thickened. At that point, the pot was removed from the heat, four tablespoons of butter and two teaspoons of vanilla were beaten into the pudding. Spoon into dessert dishes, refrigerate and there you have homemade pudding at half the cost. And I imagine that the ingredients are already on your shelf.

In ten minutes, you can master chocolate pudding. Give yourself another five and you can turn it into pie filling, too. Reduce the milk by one-half cup, proceed as above and pour the finished product into the baked or crumb pie crust of your choice.

I was thinking about going into details about what to do with the leftover pudding after dinner but there wasn’t any! And I don’t believe you will have to worry about that either.

Using it all up . . .

I enjoy baking bread but often end up with leftover ends and pieces that are quickly heading for the stale department. I dislike wasting food if I can help it and came up with a recipe that uses leftover bread and the family actually enjoys the results. I know that thinking about using old bread for a dessert doesn't sound promising but my family looks forward to this. You do, however, have to use a firm, homemade bread or a better quality purchased type. The soft, sandwich stuff will just mush down into a nasty paste.

Bread Pudding

Approximately 4 cups cubed bread
1 cup finely chopped apple
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3 well-beaten eggs
½ cup packed, brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
½ cup fresh orange juice
Juice and zest of one lemon
1/4 cup brandy (optional - you can use apple juice)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Place bread in large mixing bowl, add everything and combine well. Mixture should be very moist but not waterlogged. Add more juice, if necessary. Arrange in a buttered baking dish and bake approximately 30 minutes until golden at 350 degrees. Tastes good hot, warm or cold. Ice cream, whipped cream, or just a dribble of heavy cream can only upgrade your creation.

You can substitute any fruit you have on hand for this, add raisins, cranberries, canned peaches, etc. The main thing is that it has to go into the oven moderately moist.

Stove-Top Rice Pudding

To my thinking, this is the ultimate comfort food on a cold evening! Actually, it is pretty comforting to make in the summer because you don't have to turn on the oven to prepare it. Just a note, I use a long grain rice so can't say what Jasmine or short grain rices will produce.

1 cup rice
3 cups milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a heavy cooking pot. Gradually bring to a boil, stirring often to prevent burning. As soon as it reaches a boil, cover and turn heat down very low. Continue cooking until all the liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Serve warm or cold.

A nice variation is a cup of chopped apple dredged in a teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter cup of sugar. Stir in after pudding has been cooked.