No Bake Banana Pudding Cheesecake

I took two of the hubby's favorite desserts and combined them into one! 

Banana Pudding Cheesecake!

Graham Cracker Pie Crust*

Base:

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Sugar

1 ripe Banana, mashed
Banana Pudding mix, (prepared with 1 1/2cups milk) 

Combine cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Mix until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Add 1 cup of pudding to the cream cheese mixture. Pour into pie crust and chill.

Topping:

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

4oz whipped topping (such as Cool Whip)

1/2 cup Banana Pudding 

Combine cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Mix until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Add 1/2 cup of pudding to the cream cheese mixture. Stir in the whipped topping. Pour on top of base. Refrigerate for several hours or do a quick set in the freezer.

Garnish with graham cracker crumbs and a mini vanilla wafer if desired. 

* For homemade pie crust...

1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/4 cup Sugar
4 T melted Butter

Combine and press into the bottom of a pie pan/plate. 

Moon Pie Banana Pudding

Banana Pudding is about as southern as it gets, but I did my twist on it with a favorite southern snack, Moon Pies! It's really simple to make, and the kids love it! 

Moon Pie Banana Pudding

8 ounces sour cream

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping

1 (5 ounce) package instant banana pudding mix

2 cups whole milk

6 Chocolate Moon Pies cut into bite size pieces 

4 bananas, peeled and sliced

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, whipped topping, pudding mix and milk. Mix well.

In the bottom of a 9x13 glass serving dish, (or trifle bowl) put a layer of Moon pie pieces, a layer of sliced bananas and then a layer of pudding mixture. Refrigerate until serving. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream and top with a moon pie piece for garnish, if desired.

Moon Pie Banana Pudding

Banana Cream Chocolate Eclair Pie

Crust:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

Filling:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 box banana cream instant pudding
1 1/2 cups milk

chocolate syrup, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9"X13" glass baking pan. (I used a large torte dish.)
In a medium saucepan, melt butter in water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Mix in one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding another egg. Spread mixture into pan, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

 I ran out of all-purpose, so I used self-rising.
What could it hurt? LOL

The filling would come to the top in a regular crust! LOL

Whip cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. In separate bowl, beat the pudding mix and the milk for 3 minutes and put in the fridge until set. Slowly add pudding to cream cheese, beating until there are no lumps. When the crust is completely cooled, pour in filling. Refrigerate the pie until set well. Serve with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

I didn't have any whipped cream, but I don't think it needs it!

Stuffed Oranges

I found another recipe scribbled out on a small scrap of paper. I remember Mama doing these pretty little salads in the early seventies...

Cut tops of 6 medium oranges.
Remove fruit.
Combine orange pulp with 1/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup grated coconut and cherries.*
Fill oranges with fruit mixture.
Chill before serving.
Garnish with stemmed cherry. 


*You can also add banana, marshmallows and nuts if desired. 

Dirty Bananas and Waikiki Muffins

I'm helping my friend Michele at La Belle Cuisine celebrate a milestone on her website and Facebook page breaking 2000+ fans! We foodies are whipping up some treats and taking them over for the all day party bash! Come visit Michele on her website or 'like' La Belle Cuisine on Facebook and...

"Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez"!!!

Dirty Banana

1 cup chocolate ice cream

2 small, ripe bananas, peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup crushed ice

2 oz vodka or rum

1 oz kahlua

Combine ice cream, bananas, ice, vodka and liqueur in blender or food processor.

Cover; blend until smooth. Pour into glasses. Garnish with banana slice and a pinch of nutmeg.

Waikiki Muffins

1 cup crushed Pineapple
1 (14oz) Orange Muffin Mix
2/3 cup milk
1 beaten egg
~ ~ ~
4 T butter, melted
1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup coconut, toasted
1 (3oz) cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain pineapple, thoroughly and reserve liquid. Combine muffin mix, drained pineapple milk and egg. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Combine pecans and coconut in a small dish. Dip tops of warm  muffins in melted butter and then in pecan and coconut mixture. Beat cream cheese with 1 T of reserve pineapple juice until fluffy. Serve with warm muffins.

MoonPie Banana Pudding

Yesterday, I made Dixie Caviar's Moonpie Banana Pudding for my church's Wednesday Night Supper Crowd. I believe that it went over quite well... I didn't have any left and I didn't get any either! LOL I had several people tell me that it was good, but I would have to say that the jewel in my crown was little 6 month old Owen. He was grinning from ear to ear eating his Mama's banana pudding! Now that is a ringing endorsement if I've ever seen one. A child can't lie about food... you can see it in their facial expressions and their eyes! You could see it in his entire little body... Mmmmmm!!!

Well, I had Elliott with me (my 14 yr old). A storm was on the way and I would not let him stay at the house alone in severe weather... which he scoffed at several times! He helped me cook, which he hasn't done in quite a long time. He always complains, but he ends up having fun anyway! He decided to come up with a seasoning mixture that he could season some hamburger with and cook when he got home. He rooted through the herbs, spices and seasoning blends, asking me occasionally, "What's this stuff?" I told him, "Smell it! If it smells good, use it! If it doesn't, leave it alone." Well, he finished his seasoning... I was making chicken pot pie, so I gave him a piece of chicken to try it out. (I tasted it too and it was pretty darn good!) He also tried it on a cucumber slice I was cutting up for the salad. He remarked, "Wow! That's a little spicy, but that's ok! The cucumber has a cooling effect! See Mama, I've learned something cooking with you!" LOLOLOL He's a TRIP!!! At that point he made me take a picture with him. He calls this our Steven Tyler pose... 

Wow! The stuff this kid gets me to do!!! LOL

ANYWAY... back to the dessert! It uses a pudding mix, but it's mixed with heavy cream that's whipped to stiff peaks...

Ingredients... I made the pudding mixture

the day before and let it sit overnight.

Heavy Cream and Vanilla...

The pudding looks like mustard... LOL

It's just made with less liquid than usual.

and now the star of the show... 

MOONPIES!!!

... and bananas!

...and finally, the pudding mixture! :-)

Click on the link at the top of the page for a printable copy of the recipe!

Southern Banana Pudding Shots

These are soooo cool!!! And the perfect size for a one-bite finger food party, shower or reception. You can also make an adult version using a banana rum or liqueur. You can take some shortcuts with pudding instead of custard if you like, but the custard is worth the work!

VANILLA CUSTARD:

2 cups half-and-half
3 tablespoons corn starch
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 vanilla beans, split
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

WHIPPED CREAM:

3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

SHOOTERS:

1 package vanilla wafer cookies (about 30), crushed
1 banana, chopped

For the vanilla custard: 

Whisk 1/2 cup half-and-half with the corn starch in a heat proof medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in the eggs and set aside.

In a heavy, medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups half-and-half, the granulated sugar and vanilla beans over medium-low heat until a thin skin forms on the top, about 8 minutes.

Slowly whisk the hot half-and-half mixture into the egg mixture to temper it. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly until it is just thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the custard into a clean bowl and press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

For the whipped cream: 

Beat the heavy cream and the confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.

For the shooters: 

Put 1 teaspoon wafer cookies in the bottom of each shot glass. Top with  a few pieces of chopped banana. Top with 1 teaspoon custard. Add a dollop of whipped cream and garnish with crushed cookies or chopped banana. Serve cold.

For an extra treat and a fancier presentation, serve shots in milk chocolate cups... No glasses to wash!

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

Mama always said that you could make shortcuts all you want (as mentioned in her note below), but you have to know the right way to prepare a dish! So here's the real deal... Southern Old Fashion Banana Pudding recipe.

¾ cup Sugar

2 T Flour

¼ t Salt

2 cups Milk

3 Eggs, separated

1 t Vanilla

6 medium bananas, sliced

Vanilla Wafers


Combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Stir in milk. Cook over boiling water until thick. Stir constantly. Cook, uncovered 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Beat egg yolks. **Gradually stir into hot mixture. Return to boiler and cook 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Line bottom of baking dish with wafers. Top with a layer of bananas, and then pour custard to top of bananas. Continue to layer cookies, bananas and then custard. Beat egg whites stiff, gradually add remaining sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Pile on top of custard. Bake in preheated oven 5 minutes at 425 or until lightly browned.

Note: “You can use instant pudding as a short-cut, but that’s not as good as the old fashion kind…”

**I will add that if you are a beginner, I'd temper the eggs before adding to the milk mixture. If not, you might risk scrambling them and having to start over.

Banana Bread

‎1 1/4 c A/P Flour
1 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t soda
1/2 c butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 c banana puree

Combine dry ingredients. Add butter, mix with fingers until crumbly. Add eggs and banana puree, mixing well. Spoon into a greased and floured 8x8x2" pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
I serve mine with cream cheese icing :-)