Jac, you've touched on a subject near and dear to my heart. I have grown to love cooking, and I agree, using good ingredients to begin with makes a big difference. I find it very sad that so many people eat out of boxes and such. I used to, and still do sometimes, but for the most part it's just not necessary. For example, take pasta. I used to make those pasta dishes that you buy in a box with the seasoning package. Basically with those boxes you bring water to a boil, you throw the stuff in the box into the water, and it's done. That was never enough for me; I'd chop up some spinach, onions, and garlic, and add them to the pasta. Then I got to wondering, why am I doing this? I can get a package of pasta, boil it, do the same thing with the onions, garlic and spinach, add some olive oil, salt and pepper, grate some parmesan cheese, and wallah, a much better tasting meal in the same amount of time with the same amount of effort, and much healthier. So much of the packaged foods are not much easier to make and taste so much worse than real food. I have to admit that I've tried not to nag my dil and son about anything during their time together, but I did find myself doing just that about their nutrition and cooking. Since she's expecting now, I thought I'd point out that they really need to start cooking more and eating out less, both for their budget and for their nutrition. I've got a long way to go to convince them that cooking real food will make a big difference in their health and their budget, but I'm working on them. Did I say you hit one of my buttons, Jac? I'm going to copy that recipe, thanks for posting it. Sally

Debbie, According to Baking 911.com, Lemon Meringue Pies were originally meant to be eaten quickly and not refrigerated. There is some information on their website as well as some more on this other website about weeping Meringue. Ann

I made a Chocolate Buttermilk Pie that was from Sandra Lee (amazing since the only part that wasn't from scratch was the crust). Here is a link that might be useful: Chocolate Buttermilk Pie

I would speculate that the pudding base was not cooked to a full, yet gentle, boil before the eggs were added. I make chocolate pudding all the time for hubs, as it is his go to favorite. It is much the same process of making a thickened pudding base before adding the eggs. Once the base comes to a boil, let it cook gently for a couple of minutes until it thickens up, but do account for the fact that it is going to get thicker as it sets up. Then add in the eggs and I generally bring it back to a very gentle boil ,briefly If you continue cooking that with the eggs in it, it is going to do some strange things to the eggs. After all, this is not really a custard pie such as a pumpkin or a buttermilk where it gets baked in the oven. I have a recipie from an old Betty Crocker book that uses both cornstarch and flour in egual measure. I like it better than just corn starch. It seems to give some extra body to the pie, but it doesnt taste at all floury. My difficulty is with the meringue... I cant seem to make one that does not end up weeping. You might try adding in a couple of tablespoons of flour along with the starch. I think it makes a nice difference and I have never had any problem with it not setting up. But, really, cook it until if has thickened BEFORE adding the eggs, and bring it back to a gentle boil very briefly after the eggs. I bet that solves the problem.