Yesterday was a packing day! As I prepared to pack some of the pantry, I thought about what kind of pie would taste good in the evening after dinner and we sit down for a couple hours before going to bed. Lemon meringue!!! That sounded like the perfect dessert for the night! When we lived in CA, a dear friend, Kathy, use to make the best lemon meringue pie. Asking her for the recipe, she took me into the kitchen and showed me the box of cook & serve lemon pudding and said “follow the instructions on the side of the box”. I was so surprised to learn that it was that simple and so delicious. So ever since then, that is what I have done. Except in today’s world, cook & serve lemon pudding is not easy to find. I had to order it from Walmart to be delivered. It is never in their stores. AND it costs $13.99 for 4 small boxes. But when you take that first bite of pie, you won’t mind that the little box of pudding mix cost you $3.50 a box.
I ended up making a chocolate pie for Sevy, our grandson who came over to bring us more boxes and requested I make him a chocolate pie with whipped cream. This one is not from a box. But the recipe is on the blog.
Lemon pie
1 small box of lemon cook & serve pudding
2 1/4 cups water (divided)
2 egg yolks (keep the whites for the meringue)
1/2 cup sugar
In saucepan, combine the sugar, pudding mix, egg yolks and 1/4 cup water. Using a whisk, stir mixture until smooth then add the remaining 2 cups of water. Continue stirring over medium heat until pudding is thickened! Pour into baked and cooked pie shell.
Meringue
Beat room temp egg whites (I added a 3rd egg white to the mixture to be sure it would be enough to over the pie well)
After whites have begun to get stiff, add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, slowly, as you continue to beat until whites form stiff peaks. Spread meringue over entire top making sure the meringue goes all the way to the edge touching the crust on the side. Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 10-12 min or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool (if you can before you “have” to have a small piece, just to “try” it!
Chocolate Castles 