Brittany's PantryThe Best Banana Pudding-Really!!
Brittany wrote this on 13 July 2012
bananas, cream cheese
What you see before you is the best banana pudding in the world. Seriously. No seriously. I could really end this post with that simple statement and just hope you would trust me enough to make this. Because honestly, it is one of those things you have to eat to believe. This is that good and I am having trouble coming up with the words to convince you that it is the best I have ever had. Remember when I mentioned that I started this blog to share all of my tried and true recipes with all of you? I told you I wouldn’t post anything here that wasn’t exceptionally great. Some bloggers try a recipe, blog about it, and them move on to something different, possibly never making that dish again. Not me. If you see it here, you can count on that recipe being something that I have made before and will make again. Or in the case of this banana pudding, something I have made a lot before and will make again very soon. Preferably this week. Or tomorrow…
Let me tell you a little story. It is a story about a young woman eating banana pudding in the middle of the desert surrounded by sailors. Intrigued?
Years ago, literally days before my husband got out of the Navy and was released from duty, we were at an unofficial ceremony which served to honor my husbands time in the military and simultaneously celebrate the fact that he was rejoining the real world. A passing of the baton, if you will, to the next sub-mariner who would be getting out of the Navy. It is a very long explanation that I am not at all sure I am even allowed to share with you. But just know that when I mean unofficial, I mean no uniforms, no officers, and a large amount of beer. So we were celebrating at a friends house who happened to live in the middle of nowhere, somewhere near the Mexican border and everyone had brought a dish to pass. One of the things that I had decided not to try was an actual vat of what looked like vanilla pudding. And when I say vat, I mean a huge aluminum roasting pan of it. Toward the end of the evening, my friend Doug walks over and sits down with a whole plate of what I learned was actually banana pudding. I think it was his second helping. I snitched a bite and wordlessly stood up to go and fill myself a whole plate of it too. And I ate the entire plate. It is so addictive, so creamy, so simply good, that it makes you wish it were calorie free so you could eat it for every meal of the day.
That is when I had it first and I have been making it ever since. The recipe is actually quite common and I have seen it many different places: the Internet, food network, church cookbooks. There is a good chance that you have seen it before or even have it tucked in the back of a recipe box somewhere. Well, now I am telling you that while the ingredients may be simple, the flavor is not. Make it. Make it now. And it tastes that much better if eaten surrounded by friends and family. Cute sailors are encouraged, but not required.
One Year Ago: Pasta Scuie Scuie & Sweet & Spicy Salmon
Banana Pudding
2 bags Peppridge Farm Chessman Cookies
3-4 bananas
1 small box instant vanilla pudding, made according to package directions
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping
Line a large 9X13 glass baking dish with 1 bag of the cookies. I use all the broken ones from both bags for the bottom and save the perfect whole cookies for the top. Slice up the bananas to form one layer on top of the cookies. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and the sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Fold in the vanilla pudding. Fold in the whipped topping. Pour the whole mixture over the bananas and spread it nice and smooth. Top with the last bag of cookies. Chill until ready to eat. Enjoy!!
Maple Glazed Ribs
Brittany wrote this on 9 July 2012 dijon mustard, gluten-free, maple syrup, pork
I barely had time to snap a picture of these beautifully sticky, sweet, smokey ribs before they were devoured. My guests tucked into them like a pride of lions on a gazelle. Like bears in a river of salmon. Like kindergartners with popsicles on a 90 degree day. You get the picture.
Please do not hesitate when it comes to making this sauce for ribs this summer. It is so wonderfully good you will be kicking yourself if you wait! There is no chopping or complicated ingredients involved so you can make it in a matter of minutes! Just dump all the ingredients together, simmer till thick and voila! Rib sauce!
The maple flavor in here is noticeable but not so prominent that it overpowers the flavor of the pork. I am a huge fan of St. Louis style ribs and implore you to choose them over baby back. They have much more meat and over all flavor to them, perfect when you are trying to feed a crowd. Or hungry lions.
One Year Ago: Plum Crunch
Maple Rib Sauce
This would be stellar on grilled chicken.
2-3 racks cooked, St.Louis style pork ribs-see note below
3/4 c pure maple syrup
1/4 c chili sauce
1 T vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves minced garlic
black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until reduced and slightly thicker-about 15 minutes. Brush over cooked ribs. Mmmmm.
Note: I use this basic cooking method and rub recipe as the base for all my ribs. Just use this sauce instead of the bbq sauce!
Sour Cream Cherry Bars
Brittany wrote this on 5 July 2012 cherries, oatmeal, sour cream
At the risk of stating the obvious, I just have to mention that it is hot. Really hot. Pleeeeeease tell me you are all staying cool out there. Pools, lakes, oceans, garden hose: whatever it takes to beat the heat! Here in the middle of Midwestern farmland we are not only feeling the heat, but the beginnings of a drought as well. Uhg. The heat was the reason our family decided to forgo our holiday plans this week. No parades, no festivals, no BBQ’s, and no celebrations. 104 degree heat index and an infant don’t mix.
These bars were one of the things that I had already made to bring to a pot luck that we never attended so we have been sharing them with our neighbors and eating them ourselves. Just think of them as a kind of easy cherry pie that feeds way more than six to eight! I have had this recipe for forever, randomly ripped out of a magazine years and years ago. I made it for Easter not long after we moved to IL and have been thinking about it ever since. Like…dreaming about it.
Because it makes a big pan, I usually only make it when I am having company. It goes together pretty fast and it is great warm with ice cream or even cold for breakfast. There are still a lot of weekends left in the summer to grill out and enjoy your friends and family! This dessert will feed them all and is just different enough to be interesting. And since it uses frozen cherries, you don’t have to limit yourself to when they are in season. So you-and I for that matter-can make it anytime. Heat wave or no.
One Year Ago: Cobb Potato Salad
Sour Cream Cherry Bars
Adapted from Pillsbury
This recipe can be halved and baked in an oval casserole dish. You can cut it into squares or just dish it up with a spoon. I highly recommend vanilla ice cream to go with it!! Feel free to use tart, sweet, or a mixture of both kinds of cherries.
Crust and topping:
1 c (2 sticks) butter, room temp
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c flour
2 c rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
Filling:
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1 egg
1 c sour cream
2-12 oz bags frozen cherries, thawed and drained of liquid
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together for the crust. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix just until combined. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of a large, ungreased, 11×14 glass baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together all filling ingredients until smooth. Carefully stir in cherries. Pour filling over crust and crumble remaining third of oatmeal mixture evenly over top. Bake for an additional 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and center is set. Cool to room temp and serve. Store in the refrigerator.
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
