Pumpkin Pudding Parfaits

Did you see me do the little happy dance in the aisle of Kroger in the morning on New Year's Eve Day?  Yep, that was me, right there in the aisle by the frozen foods.  I found a clearance table loaded with goodies from the holidays that Kroger was practically giving away so they could fill their shelves with the products that encourage healthier eating habits after a month of holiday gorging.

Now the real bargain hunters were out there in the days following Christmas trying to fill their stockpiles with all kinds of markdowns.  Not me.  I was home hosting a slew of playdates and sleepovers for my girls, getting some things done around the house, and taking stock of what I already have in the pantry and freezer.  We have plenty.  We don't need more.  I just need to use what we have!

But when I made a trip to the store to pick up the items I needed to complete the things I was bringing to the New Year's Eve party, I stumbled about this great bargain for a dime.  Yes, a dime.  10 pennies.

At a dime, I picked up 2 for us to have at home and 4 to give to the local food pantry. 
I left plenty on the table for other bargain hunters to find, and we won't have a closet full of pudding!

For a dime, I'm willing to try anything.  My kids like pudding.  They like pumpkin pie.  So what's not to like about a pumpkin pie pudding?  Especially for 10 cents!

Monday we had a pot of turkey noodle soup that I had pulled from the freezer for dinner.  I had made the soup using the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving and made a big batch so that we could it enjoy it for more than one meal.  I prefer to freeze my second portion and eat it later on rather than eat the same meal twice in one week.  I like variety in my weekly meal plan.

So, I thought that the pumpkin pudding would be a great ending to the turkey soup.  Plus I had two gallons of milk in the frig that were taking up too much space.  I needed to finish up one of the gallons of milk, and pudding seemed like the perfect way to do that.

Now a small box of pudding makes 4 servings.  We have 5 people in our family.  So what's a mom to do? 

Get creative.  Now when I serve pudding, I turn them into pudding parfaits.   I serve them in a fancy dish, a set of footed bowls that we received from my mother in law a few years ago when the girls were in their Fancy Nancy stage.   The girls call the dish a "Bup" or a "Cowl" because it's a combo cup/bowl in their eyes.  I top them with whipped cream from a can.  Sometimes I'll add fruit or sprinkles or a layer of cookie crumbs on the bottom to make it like a pie.  The possibilities are endless.

For the pudding parfaits, I made the pudding according to the pkg directions.  I put some crushed graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of each dish.  (Cinnamon or plain graham crackers would work)  Divide the pudding among the 5 serving dishes.  Top with whipped cream from a can.  Serve with a smile.  No one has to know this beauty costs less than a quarter and took 5 minutes to create.

Pumpkin Pie Pudding Parfait

What's a 5 minute fancy dessert you like to serve your family?