The HH LOVES himself some tapioca pudding, so awhile back, while doing a bulk run at Winco, I decided to pick some up. Since tapioca is not something I have readily on hand usually, I sometimes forget how much he loves it. His little eyes totally lit up when I told him I had made it. Mental note: gotta try to remember to make it for him more often.
I have used this simple tapioca recipe for years. It’s tasty warm or chilled–however you prefer.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking tapioca
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
In a large saucepan, stir together the milk, tapioca, sugar and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce to low heat and stir for 5 additional minutes. Whisk one cup of the hot milk mixture into the beaten eggs. Add the milk mixture to the eggs 2 tbsp. at a time, so that it doesn’t cook the eggs. Whisking well each time. Stir the resulting egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes, or until the pudding evenly coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Transfer mixture into serving bowls and serve warm, or refrigerate for several hours if you like it cold.
I hope you enjoy it as much as the HH!
~Mavis
Gwenn says
Good call on the pudding Mavis. It’s something that was special, my mom and grandmother would make it for special occasions. Tapioca pudding and rice pudding (x-tra cinnamon please) were the two specialty puddings for special days.
Jeanie says
I have what might prove to be too personal a question and if that is the case, I understand. I think we are probably about the same age..at least we have similarly aged children. I recently quit working and am having a horrible time figuring out how to schedule my days.
I love it garden, I love to cook, I like keeping house and walking my dogs and reading and etc. I must don’t know how to keep from doing any of that to an extreme. I feel as if when I cook, it takes me all morning just to procure the ingredients and then clean up my mess and that is sometimes before I have even served it to my husband!
When I garden, I can spend hours just digging around and then the rest of life suffers.
So, if it isn’t too nosy, how do you do it all? You seem so organized and able to live your home on a moments notice to travel, etc. How in the world do you manage it?
Sue says
What a great question! I struggle with this too. I hope Mavis answers. I admire her ability to accomplish so much as well!
Mavis says
You both over-flatter me, I assure you. Remember that what you see on the blog is a combination of several days worth of work. No one has it completely together all of the time–me included. Some days I nail it, and other days I am utterly useless.
I know you want a more usable answer than that, though, so I will say there are a couple of things that I do that help me be more productive. One, I am a very EARLY riser. I get more done in the 3 hours before the rest of the house wakes than I do all day. I plan a to-do list for those hours, just so that the rest of the day I can fly by the seat of my pants. Two, freezer meals, my friends. There are days that I could not possibly fit one more thing in. Those are the days I pull something out of the freezer and dump it into the crock pot.
Meanwhile, I really appreciate you reading–and hope you continue to find tips you can use!
Teckla says
For what it’s worth, I’d lijke to offer a couple more suggestions for these ladies. It may not be your thing, but using lists and some pre-planning can also help.
Make a reasonable schedule for how your day/week needs to go, i.e., get up earlier, shower/dress, make breakfast, get the kids to school/hubby to work, put in a load of wash, clean the bath, prep for lunch/dinner (e.g., make a salad, get meat or frozen meal from the freezer), an hour or two to work in the garden.
The night before make a specific list of what you want to do the next day. Don’t torture yourself; make it reasonable. List the necessary appointments, then fill in with required daily tasks and your want to dos.
Use a timer if you need to when doing things you love, such as gardening. When the timer rings, move on to the next task.
Plan your meals for a week or maybe two at a time. Make a shopping list for those meals so you have ingredients on hand when you cook. Keep a running list of things you note daily to buy next time you are at the store. Ask your family to help you with that when something runs out. Try to avoid going to the store for just one thing. Ask yourself, do I have ingredients for an alternate dish? Try to keep one or two extras on hand for things you use regularly, e.g. toilet paper, Kleenex, toothpaste, canned goods, baking supplies, etc. Try to pre-plan for holiday cooking and pick up things ahead of time as much as possible.
Keep moving toward your organization goals. If you “goof up” don’t let it worry you. Make the best of that situation and keep moving forward.
I know these sound really basic, but I also know how much I’ve needed to review and adjust all along the way. It’s easy to get off track and life does change. We have to be flexible even while we are striving toward personal discipline. I know by experience. When I retired it was easy to become complacent and I lost most of the discipline I had. Now I’m trying to develop it again and it’s not easy.
I would also recommend the book, Sidetracked Home Executives by Pam Young and Peggy Jones. It’s an older book dating to the late 70’s, but a delightful read, full of humor. It’s the story of how these sisters moved from total disorganization to teaching classes on organization. Their method/suggestions can be followed precisely or used as a basis for a personalized plan you create just for yourself.
Best of luck to all of your seeking better organization. It’s not just a plan; it’s a lifestyle that grows and changes as each of us grows and changes.
Helen in Meridian says
Oh, I remember taking the classes from the Side Tracked Home Executives. I am still sidetracked.
Sandra says
My HH also loves tapioca. I don’t, but I do love the French yogurt jars you put it in. I brought back those same jars, and some of the little glass ones from our trip to France last month. My HH thought I was a bit nuts for bringing “trash” home as a souvenir! He might feel differently about them if I fill them up with tapioca pudding.
Mavis Butterfield says
You recognized them! I love the “throwaway” packaging in Europe too!
Katie says
I have about 16 of those in various colors in my cabinet. LOVE them. I also put baking soda and essential oils in mine as little room fresheners tucked in places around the house.