"Nana Pudding"

Banana Pudding. It's a staple at any pot luck, funeral dinner, or Easter Sunday. I don't recall a single church meal where banana pudding wasn't present! I think that's because it is so easy and pretty much everyone likes it unless you are Pioneer Woman and despise bananas like I despise cilantro. (My taste buds just reject it, OK??)

Well, I have never been too impressed with any banana pudding I've had in public unless it came from my Nana's kitchen. We've always referred to it as Nana Pudding. I thought that was just because Nana made it, but it wasn't until I decided to give it a go that I realized her is, in fact, different from pot luck pudding. I assumed it was simply Jello-brand vanilla pudding with Nilla wafers and bananas... and maybe Nana's secret ingredient was an extra dash of vanilla or maybe she mixes it with Cool Whip??

Wrong!!

There is NO JELLO IN THIS PUDDING, y'all!

That's right, you heard me. It is made from scratch 100%. The only thing more "scratch" about it would be if we made the cookies and grew the bananas too, but then it would be called Nana Wafers, Bananas and Pudding. It's really just the pudding that's Nana's I guess. ;)

But fear not dear blog readers, even though it doesn't come straight out of box doesn't mean it is difficult. If I can do it, you can do it. All you have to know how to do is read and follow directions. And lucky for you, I took pictures of every step just for you.

What you need:

Milk, sugar, salt, eggs, corn starch, butter, flour, vanilla, bananas and vanilla wafers.

Combine sugar, salt

 

cornstarch,

 and flour in a 2 quart microwaveable bowl.

Whisker up. 

Add in the milk, 

 and whisket together.

Then add three beaten eggs. 

And whisk.

Now put 'er in the microwave on high for 12 minutes or until it all boils, 

removing it every few minutes to guess - whisk - again. It will start to thicken, just whisk it again and cook it a little longer. I think I pulled it out every 3 or 4 minutes to whisk.

While you're waiting on the pudding to microwave, take a picture of yourself in your roommate's mirror because you're bedroom floor is not blog-worthy.

APRON CHECK:

 Micah made this one! She gave us all one for Christmas this past year. I love it because the bottom is a towel, so I don't feel as bad about wiping my dirty hands all over it. So fun!

Also, start slicing up some bananas.

The pudding mixture will look like this when removed it from the microwave, sort of solid and thick across the top. Bubbly, boily, whatever you want to call it. Pudding-y?

Throw in some vanilla - I never measure, just eyeball. I don't think vanilla is something that needs to be exact, a little bit too much just makes it even better!

If you're wondering why my vanilla is in a creepy brown water bottle, that's because it's the good stuff from Mexico!

 And to give it a rich flavor, of course add butter! Then whisk it all in.

Then, take a cookie, stack a banana on it, and dip it into the warm pudding. 

And pop it into your mouth. Repeat as necessary.

Place the pudding in the fridge to start cooling down.

Start layering cookies on the bottom of a *cute* bowl.

Then add bananas. Make sure there is the exact same pattern taking place and the same exact distance and proportion of cookies:wafers:pudding space.

Or just dump 'em in!!! 

Pile on some pudding.

And another layer of cookies/bananas. 

 More pudding.

I made my first layer of pudding too thick, so I only got two layers. I wanted to have several, but once I served it up and ate it, I didn't care!!

And, top with another layer of cookies. If you are serving it immediately, you can put bananas on top, but if you are waiting even a few minutes to serve it, leave the bananas off the top because they will brown and be U-G-L-Y. 

Serve it with a dollop of cool whip and enjoy!!

Take this to your next pot luck and see if people don't notice a difference! I promise, it is better than any other banana pudding you've ever tasted and totally homemade. Who knew it was that easy???

Nana Pudding

In a 2 QT microwaveable bowl mix:

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 Tbsp. flour

Stir in:

3 1/2 cups milk

3 beaten eggs

Cook on high about 10-12 minutes or until it boils and thickens, stirring 2 or 3 times.

Add:

1 1/2 Tbsp. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

Cool to lukewarm and alternate layers of pudding with sliced bananas and vanilla wafers.