Recipe: Banana Pudding

As much as I love traveling up to Virginia and spending Easter at my Grandfather's house, it was admittedly very nice to stay in town this year - especially since we got to attend our new church's Easter service! Did I mention yet that Ben & I recently became members of FUMC-Cary? Because WE DID, and it is such a welcome relief to finally end the great Eckerson Church Search, and to do it before our little one arrives.

Anyway, we were spoiled with two Easter meals this year; one at Ben's parents in the early afternoon, and one with friends in Raleigh. I decided an appropriate impromptu contribution would be banana pudding, mostly because I've been craving pudding lately and banana pudding seemed appropriate for spring time. I found the skeleton of the recipe on Pinterest but now I can't find the reference page, so I'm sorry for not giving credit. Lucky for y'all, the recipe is simple enough that I could remember it - and I had almost all the ingredients already in my kitchen!

Ingredients

• 5 bananas, sliced
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tub fat-free cool whip (you know, to counteract the condensed milk)
• 1 box nilla wafers
• 2 boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3.5 cups milk

Directions

1. Pour cold milk into large mixing bowl
2. Add pudding mix to bowl, beat or whisk until mixed thoroughly
   
3. Combine pudding with condensed milk and cool whip, try not to eat this deliciousness by the spoonful
4. In a large class bowl, layer nilla wafers, bananas, pudding mixture, and repeat until pudding is gone - I did a layer laying down, then did an extra layer standing up around the edge of the bowl for a pretty effect
    
5. Top with a pretty design of cookies and bananas if you're fancy like I am
6. Chill until ready to be eaten (but it can be eaten right away!)

 So easy and delicious! It's such a nice spring / summer treat and it only gets better as it sits in your fridge. Personally, I hate artificial banana flavored foods, so I use vanilla pudding instead of banana pudding and it's still enough flavor from the fruit itself, but you could definitely use whichever you prefer.