6 Banana Pudding Pie

How about those Baylor Bears??? We watched a pretty amazing game last night that only solidified that RGIII was the correct pick for the Heisman trophy this year!

I have another pie to share with you today!

Family and friends loved this Banana Pudding Pie and the presentation looks almost as good as it tastes!

I hope you have a fabulous New Years Eve!

Banana Pudding Pie

• 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 (I used mini vanilla wafers)

Vanilla Wafer Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups (about 30) crushed vanilla wafers (I used two boxes of vanilla wafers for the whole pie)
• 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 til 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.
NOTE: It's best to prepare the pudding in advance to allow it to chill properly.
Lick the Bowl Clean

3 Turtle Pumpkin Pie

Christmas at our house was wonderful! :-) 

From the candle light service at church to having our family all together (including the (almost) newest member, Rebecca and my 90 year old Gigi), I would say the theme of my Christmas was thankfulness. HE has truly blessed us this year!  

Our menu included:

Sugared Pecans

Cranberry Nut Bread

Assortment of cheese and crackers

*

Candied Walnut Salad with spinach, romaine, craisins, apples, and blue cheese

*

Honey Bourbon Glazed Ham

Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust

Grandpa's dressing

Cranberry Sauce

Houston's Junior League Green Bean Casserole

*

Turtle Pumpkin Pie,

Banana Pudding Pie

Double Apple Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Brandy Caramel Sauce

Today, I am going to share the Turtle Pumpkin Pie with you!

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping, divided

1   HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. chopped PLANTERS Pecans, divided

2 pkg.  (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup cold milk

1 cup  canned pumpkin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp.  ground nutmeg

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

POUR 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts.
BEAT next 5 ingredients in large bowl with whisk until well blended. Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP; spoon into crust.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Top with remaining COOL WHIP, caramel topping and nuts just before serving. 

Kraft

5 Tomato Basil Short Ribs

While shopping yesterday afternoon, I ran into La Madeline thinking I would just grab some soup for dinner and move on. . .and then I found this recipe, so of course, I went straight to the grocery store, and consequently, my meat and potatoes man was in heaven last night when he walked in the door! :-)

Tomato Basil Short Ribs
Servings: 4
1 jar (16 oz) reduced-fat tomato basil soup
6 beef short ribs, trimmed of fat
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
4 cups celery, largely diced
2 carrots, peeled and largely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle dry red wine (750 ml)
2 springs fresh rosemary
4 cups beef broth
1 leek, cleaned and largely diced, white part only
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place short ribs on a pan; sprinkle all sides with sea salt and pepper
Bake ribs in oven for 10-15 minutes to sear, ribs should be browned on all sides
Remove ribs from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees
Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a LARGE (seriously, the biggest pot you have. . .think Le Crueset dutch oven) covered pot, once the oil is hot add the leeks, onions, celery and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes
Add wine, bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat until the wine is reduced by half
Add rosemary to the pot, place the seared ribs on top of the vegetables and add beef stock and reduced fat tomato basil soup, bring liquid to a simmer.
Place in oven and bake for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender
Discard the herbs, skim the fat from the top of the sauce and heat ribs over medium heat for 10 minutes or until hot enough to serve (I skipped this step)
La Madeline

5 Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

I literally made this Blueberry Breakfast Cake three times last week! 

 And men, women, and children all raved about! :-) 

My kitchen has been busy! From holiday parties and cookie exchanges to dessert 'bake off's' and gifts for friends, it the time of year when I need 4 ovens and 3 dishwashers! :-) 

I hope you have a very merry weekend before Christmas! :-) 

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Serves 6-8
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
3. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour in a second bowl.
4. Whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt in third bowl. 
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Alexandra's Kitchen

5 Ranger Cookies

Nate's favorite cookies are Ranger cookies.
So a couple weeks ago, he came home from work to "just out of the oven," warm Ranger cookies.
I love making him smile! :-)

Ranger Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup coconut
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together shortening, sugars, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and blend until smooth.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, and salt the add to creamed mixture.
Stir in rolled oats, Rice Krispies, and  coconut until well blended. Dough will be crumbly.
Shape into walnut sized balls or use a cookie scoop and bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 350 degrees
Real Mom Kitchen

3 Family

A couple weekends ago, spontaneously, my dad, Gus, and I went fishing near Galveston 

(which really means my dad went fishing and Gus and I played and took pictures)

Memories like these last a lifetime

Thanksgiving was special. My Gigi is 90 so I don't know how many more holidays we have with her (she is so spunky, we could have 15 more) but I am cherishing each one that we spend together.

We lounged 

I baked 

and, of course, there was football and hunting involved! 

This time of year can be stressful, crazy, and busy. . . but to me, it is perfect. 

My parents live a couple blocks from us, Clark and Rebecca are moving in next door, and Parker and Emily live a short 5 minute drive away.

And what is so incredible, is that I think Nate loves being so close to my family more than I do! 

He is such a blessing to me!

Today, I am just marveling how God has chosen such perfect spouses for each of us.

 HE is good, all the time! :-)

2 Pumpkin Pecan Pie

In case you missed my guest post at Just lovely Things, 

I wanted to share a pie that you probably haven't had before! 

This Pumpkin Pecan Pie combines two amazing desserts into one delicious piece! :-) 

Not only is this pie wonderful, this is an easy dessert that you can make 

the day before Christmas and serve cold! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 15 ounce can pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark-colored corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 unbaked 9-inch piecrust

1 cup chopped pecans 

Whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a medium mixing bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the piecrust. Sprinkle with the pecans. 

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted off center comes out clean. 

Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate within 2 hours; cover for longer storage. 

If desired, serve with whipped cream. Makes 8 servings

 Better Home and Gardens