Homemade Banana Pudding

I will admit that I don't remember a lot of banana pudding in my life growing up.  If we had it, it was probably banana pudding mix out of a box.  So this recipe which takes a little more time but is from scratch and fool proof is a joy.  (I do love telling people "Oh this? I made it from scratch!) 😀

This is wonderful and good warm and cold.  

For a Double Boiler, I simply fill a pan with water and set another pan in it. So long as the pan without the water sits above the pan with the water, it's                                             all good.

If you are concerned that there are three layers and that the layers be equal, put your cookies in 3 piles, your bananas, once sliced, in three even bowls and when the custard is done, put it in a large, glass measuring cup and once you've put a small amount on the bottom of your pan, you can see how much custard you have and divide it by 3.    

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar separated

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 dash salt

3 eggs, separated

2 cups milk (I use 1 cup skim and 1 cup half and half, but I think any kind or combination will work)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

45 Vanilla Wafers

5 ripe bananas (about 3 1/2 cups divided)

Additional vanilla wafers and bananas for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

1) Peel and slice bananas and count out cookies before you start the pudding because it needs to be stirred constantly.

2) Mix 1/2 cup sugar, four and salt in the top of a double boiler.  Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk.  Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly, for 10-12 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

3) Reserve 10 wafers for garnish.  Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1 1/2 quart casserole dish; cover with a layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas.  Pour about 1/3 custard over bananas.  Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make 3 layers total, ending with custard.    

4) I place the pudding in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes to make sure the pudding doesn't boil. Then remove.

5) Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry.  Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly over entire surface and sealing well to edges.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until browned.  Cool slightly.  Garnish with additional wafers and bananas and serve warm and refrigerate after cooling and serve cold with additional wafers and bananas.

**Adapted from the Banana Pudding Recipe on the back of the 'Nilla Wafers Box.

Homemade Chunky Applesauce

 

The great thing about recipes is you can play around with them a lot.  I found, as I got older, that my taste buds were changing and that my baked apples were suddenly something that tasted SO spicy to me that I couldn't eat them anymore.  So I took an applesauce recipe from the McCormick's website and played with it a little and found a wonderful way to eat cooked apples that I could enjoy!  And it's VERY easy!

Ingredients:

3 pounds of apples (I use a pound each of Granny Smith, Gala and Honeycrisp) peeled, cored and sliced 

1 cup apple cider

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a large pan.  Cook on medium high heat 20-25 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally.

As far as I'm concerned these apples are done.  We use them in oatmeal, muffins, eat it straight out of a bowl.  But if you want it to be a little less chunky then spoon apples into food processor or blender container.  Puree until desired consistency and pour into medium bowl, cover and refridgerate.   

These are great warm or cold and if you plan to use them in other things and eat straight, just double the recipe and use a bigger pot.  It will look like a lot of apples when you start, but they cook way down.