Easy Creamy Homemade Banana Pudding

Ok, so I finally made it to the grocery store for some butter. I went ahead and bought 3 boxes so I wouldn't run out any time soon (and couldn't use my lack of butter as an excuse to be lazy and not make a new dessert). I mentioned earlier this week that I wanted to make homemade banana pudding. I grew up with my mom making it for us all of the time, using an old family recipe. It is soooo good. It is more of a vanilla pudding with bananas added to it. It has a thicker texture than most puddings but that is what I love about it. It is also really easy to make. It only takes about 20 minutes so you can whip it up in a flash. Also, pudding is so versatile in that you can serve it different ways. As you can see from my pictures, I served in out of a trifle bowl. You can also serve in individual pudding or dessert dishes which is very cute. I probably should have done that with this because I only made one batch and it barely even filled a quarter of my trifle dish! I would definitely recommend doubling or tripling the recipe if you want to serve it in larger dishes.

Enjoy!

Homemade Banana Pudding

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 stick butter

Directions:
Combine sugar, flour and milk. Cook on stove over low-medium heat until slightly thickened.
Add egg yolks and continue cooking until thick.
Add vanilla and butter.
Layer in bowl with Vanilla Wafers and bananas.


NOTE: this recipe only makes enough for about 4 people. I would recommend doubling the recipe to make a larger amount. You can tell from my pictures that I barely filled up a couple of inches on the bottom of my trifle bowl.

Dessert Drought

Ok...Ok...I know it has been like a week since I've posted anything but I've been on vacation. Really. My husband, who had gotten used to our constantly having desserts in the house has started complaining about the lack thereof. I keep reassuing him that "No, I haven't already given up on my quest to domesticate myself and become a master dessert-maker, I'm just taking a couple days off." I have a list of desserts I have planned on making all week but I just haven't found the time. Ok, the truth is that I am out of butter and I just haven't wanted to run to the grocery store. Coming back from vacation is kind of depressing so I just haven't mustered the energy. I also ate about 3000 calories a day in desserts alone while I was on vacation so I thought a week haitus might be good for me. I am having dinner with girlfriends tonight so its a no-go tonight but I promise to whip up something yummy tomorrow! I'm thinking about making my mom's fabulous homemade banana pudding. I think the recipe comes from some great-aunt of mine. Regardless, it is sooo good. You will never want to eat store-bought pudding again after you see and try this recipe. It is a completely different texture and taste than regular pudding. I used to always request my mom's banana pudding for my birthday instead of a cake. Yes, it's that good. Ok, I've put it out there...and I'm craving it...now I have to make it.

By the way, did you know that there is a website called http://www.banana.com/. It has everything you need to know (and didn't even know you needed to know) about bananas. It has recipes, instructions on how to grow bananas and the history of bananas (which apparently dates all the way back to 6th century BCE). Kind of interesting stuff.

I learned that the banana plant is not a tree. It is the world's largest herb!!! Who would have thought?