Nanner Pudding Pie!

Who doesn't love banana pudding!?!?  My dad and I have always been the biggest fan of banana pudding. I can remember going to this local BBQ restaurant here in town and always having to finish our meal off with some homemade banana pudding, cold of course.

This pie has it all..... a nilla waffer crust, a homemade vanilla pudding, bananas, and homemade whipped cream! Need I say more? Lets get onto the good stuff. ( the recipe and pictures that is)

The start of the homemade pudding. In the end I would have preferred a Boxed pudding. Easier to make and would have tasted the same if not better. 

I made mine the night before. Make sure to lay the plastic wrap directly on the pudding so you don't get a skin on top. gross 

The easiest way to crush the waffers for the crust is to add them to a zip lock bag and have at it. 

The result of beating this bag. haha 

Add the melted butter and stir it all together. Don't leave any dry pieces.

Don't forget to mash up the sides of the pie pan. Mine didn't get a crushed as I would have liked but it's ok.

My Crust came out kind of tall but it was still good. 

Beat the heavy cream and sugar together. 

Until it looks like this and try your hardest not to lick the beaters. : ) 

Here is what my pudding looked like after it had sat over night. It was really thick. This is why I would just prefer a boxed pudding. 

Layer the first 2 nanners onto the cooled crust

Then the pudding, then the waffers.

Next.... you guessed it more pudding. 

More nanners.......

More pudding! 

Then the good stuff. The whipped cream. Yummy! 

The end result. 

Ingredients:

• • Vanilla Wafer Crust (recipe below)
  • Vanilla Pudding (recipe below)
  • Whipped Cream (recipe below)
  • 3-4 medium bananas, cut into slices
  • 20 vanilla wafers plus more for decoration (see note)
  
  
  Vanilla Wafer Crust:
  • 2 1/2 cups (about 30) crushed vanilla wafers
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  
  
  Vanilla Pudding:
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
  
  Whipped Cream:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  
  
  
  
  For the crust:
  In a medium bowl, stir together crushed vanilla wafers and butter until blended. Firmly press on bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
  Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.
  
  
  For the pudding: Whisk together sugar, flour, eggs, yolks and milk in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 10-12 minutes or until it reaches the thickness of chilled pudding. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted. It must be thick and slightly bubbly to set up properly!) Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
  Transfer to a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure to press the plastic directly on top of the custard so it doesn't get a "skin" on it. Refrigerate till completely cool. (Can be made up to a day in advance.)
  
  
  Whipped Cream: In a medium bowl, whip cream on medium high speed til soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat til thick and stiff. Don't overbeat or you'll have butter!
  
  
  Assembly: Arrange half of the banana slices evenly over bottom of cooled crust. Spread 1/3 of cooled pudding over bananas, then layer with 20 vanilla wafers. Spread 1/3 more pudding over vanilla wafers, then add the remainder of the banana slices and cover them with the last of the pudding. Spread the whipped cream over the entire pie and decorate with more vanilla wafers if desired.
  
  
  The layers from the bottom up should be: vanilla wafer crust, bananas, pudding, vanilla wafers, pudding, bananas, pudding, whipped cream
  
  
  Refrigerate at least for 4 hours. Overnight is best. Consume within 2 days.

Easy Spinach Pasta

I always have the hardest time trying to decide what to fix for dinner. My husband can be very picky, no tomatoes, no onions, no cucumbers, and no casseroles. Really!?!?! His favorite food is pasta but none of that sauce that comes out of a jar. This is what happens when you have grow up eating homemade italian sauce or gravy as they like to call it. Lucky for him I hate spaghetti so I won't even be trying to please him with my "homemade sauce."

 This leads us into this pasta creation that I came up with. It is garlicy ( I don't believe that is a word but it suits this sauce just fine.) It is lemony, easy, and it is soooo good! 

Melt the butter and brown the garlic. I can just smell it now! 

Add the heavy cream to the sauce and let simmer. 

Stirring occasionally. 

Add the baby spinach. Don't worry it will shrink down ALOT.

Squeezing the lemon juice in... my hand looks fat. : (

The finished sauce with the spinach and artichoke hearts added. 

Serve with some nice crusty bread to soak up all the yummy sauce. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 Box of bowtie pasta 
• 2 Tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic ( add more or less to your liking)
• 1 16 oz heavy whipping cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 bag baby spinach
• 1 cup artichoke hearts
• juice of 2 medium sized lemons
• shaved parmesan cheese for serving

The Prep:

 Add butter to a large pot on medium heat until butter has melted. Add the garlic and let sautee for a couple minutes.

Add the heavy whipping cream and salt and pepper to your liking. Keep on medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Being sure not to let the sauce boil too much. (This is not a thick sauce at all)

Cook pasta in pot according to directions on the package.

When pasta is half way cooked add your spinach to the sauce and let it cook down. Add your artichoke hearts and whatever else you would like to add. ( Mushrooms, capers, tomatoes, and maybe some chicken would nice addition.) 

Drain pasta once nice and tender and add to the sauce. Squeeze the lemon juice all over the sauce and pasta. ( save extra if you like yours to be extra lemony, which my husband did.) 

Sprinkle with shaved parmesan cheese and enjoy.

 

Southern Lightly Fried Squash

This is my grandmother's recipe for fried squash. The batter is light and has a slightly sweet taste. This is one of my favorite yet simple recipes that my grandmother makes and has passed down to me to make for my husband. It can't get anymore southern then fried squash.

Rinse and slice the squash.......I forgot to take a picture of the sliced squash so as you can see these are from the already seasoned bowl. : )

Mix the onion, squash, sugar, and salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Add the corn meal . As you can tell Im not much of a measurer.

Toss the squash and onion in the corn meal till perfectly coated.

Add to the heated pan and prepare to enjoy some amazing fried squash.

Getting Closer......

The finished product. See all the brown bits of goodness! That sweet, salty, golden batter.

Fried Squash

• 4-5 medium sized squash
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 5-6 large spoonfuls of corn meal (enough to lightly coat the squash)
• 1 medium yellow onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• veg. oil (enough to cover skillet)

Serves about 4

Preparation:

Rinse and slice the squash and place in a large bowl. Do not dry the squash off, the water from rinsing is needed to help the corn meal stick. Sometimes I add a couple splashes of water if my squash doesn't seem wet enough.

 Slice one medium yellow onion and add to the cut squash.

Heat up a large skillet on medium heat with vegtable oil coating the pan unill nice and hot.

 Mix the squash, onions, sugar, corn meal, salt and pepper in large bowl.

Pour Squash mixture into hot skillet and let cook for 10 mins. on medium heat or until onions are translucent and squash is soft.

Hot Dog Chili

It's that time of year again.... Football season. This is a perfect recipe for homemade hot dog chili. Hope everyone enjoys my first post to start off my new cooking blog. Stick around to see more recipes.

First I chopped the onion and added most to the pot but reserved some to top off the hot dogs.

Add the onion and Garlic to the pot and let cook till golden in color.

Add spices and brown the ground beef.

This is the end result. Let simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

Top with cheese and reserved onions and enjoy.

Ultimate Hot Dog Chili

2 pounds Ground Chuck

1 whole Finely Chopped Onion

2 cloves Garlic, Minced

¼ cups Tomato Paste

5 Tablespoons Chili Powder

2 teaspoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Cumin

2 cups Beef Broth

6 Tablespoons Corn Meal

2 teaspoons Salt

3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Saute onion and garlic in oil until golden. Add chili powder, sugar, and cumin. Stir for 1 minute, then add in beef. Brown the beef.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Makes about 20 servings.

*This is not my recipe