Not Yo' Momma's Banana Pudding

First of all, this recipe is one for the books.  So go ahead, get your recipe card.....I'll wait here. 

 

Ok, did you get it? Good.  You won't be disappointed. 

 

I have been hoarding this little recipe for years.  I love it when I make something and people ask for the recipe (and that happens EVERY time I make this!)!!  

 

It is a Paula Deen original. (Let me just state for the record that I am not a fan of what she did. I do not endorse that type of behavior or language and I do not think it is ok. However, she can cook. So, I continue making the banana pudding.).

 

With all of that out of the way, I bring you........

 

NOT YO' MOMMA'S BANANA PUDDING!!

 

(and I promise that it's not like your mom's, it is way better!!) 

 

 

 

 

Gather your ingredients.  You will need:

 

~ 2 packages of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen Cookies

~ 1 Block of Cream Cheese (at room temp)

~ 1 (5oz.) box of instant French Vanilla Pudding (I can't ever find that size so I just get two small boxes and use 1 1/2 of those)

~ 2 cups milk

~ 1 (14 oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

~ 1 (12 oz) container Whipped Topping

~ 4-5 bananas, sliced

 

 

 

1. Line your 9x13 pan with one layer of cookies.

 

Feel free to eat the broken ones (there is always at least one)!

 

 

 

2. In a bowl, combine the milk (not the condensed milk) and pudding mix. Blend well.

 

***I like to use less milk. I normally only use about 1 1/2 cups, it makes it a little thicker***

 

3. In a separate bowl, combine the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.  Fold (GENTLY) the whipped topping into this bowl.

 

4. Add cream cheese mixture to pudding mixture and blend well. Be careful not to take too much air out of the whipped topping.

 

 

 

 

5. Now, this is where my recipe differs from the original a bit. Paula tells us to layer bananas on the cookies and pour pudding over. That is not what I do. 

 

I sandwich the bananas in the pudding. So the layers will look like this:

Bottom: Cookies

1st: Pudding

2nd: Bananas

3rd: Pudding

Top: Cookies

 

I do this so that the bananas don't brown as quickly, but you can do the layers however you want.

 

So, add the pudding, put the banana layer on, cover completely with the rest of the pudding and then, last but not least, add the final layer of cookies on the top.

 

 

 

You really need to refrigerate for at least 2 hours before eating.  I like to make mine the night before I need it, that way the cookies have softened up a bit.

 

I am not going to say, "I hope you enjoy this recipe" like I normally do, because I already know you are going to LOVE it!! 

Chocolate Pudding Frosting

Oh-my-goodness, y'all! This frosting is RIDICULOUS!

(And by ridiculous, I mean good!)

It's so simple, and so yummy! 

Ingredients needed:

- 1 (5.9oz) box of Instant Chocolate Pudding

- 1 (16oz) container of whipped topping

- milk

1.) In a large bowl, mix pudding packet with HALF of the milk called for on the package directions. Whisk until pudding mixture is thick (about 2 minutes).

2.) Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

I ended up using about 3/4 of the whipped topping. Just eyeball it....tasting it works well too!

3. Refrigerate your frosting for at least an hour. This should give you time to bake and cool your cake or cupcakes.

I whipped up my favorite chocolate cake (I'll share this recipe on a different post!) and slathered a good amount between my cake layers, then frosted the entire cake!

I must say this is, by far, not one of my prettiest cakes! It is great for a quick and yummy weeknight dessert though!

I had NO complaints on the appearance, only compliments of how absolutely wonderful it tasted!

Please make sure you keep it in the refrigerator when not serving it. With the milk and the whipped topping, this is important!

You can use any flavor pudding and I'm sure it will turn out just as amazing!

I will definitely be making this with vanilla and banana pudding! The possibilities are endless! 

Enjoy!

Chicken and Gravy

Well....what a whirlwind the past couple weeks have  been!  I super love the holidays and look forward to it all year long, however, I'm kinda glad it's over! I've spent weeks getting everything together for all of the goodies that I make for friends and family.  Sadly, I didn't take that many pictures of it. (This whole blogging thing is a lot of fun, but I must admit, I dont always think of taking pics when I'm busy in the kitchen.....oops! I will have to work on that!)

On to the recipe!

This is chicken and gravy. Yum. 

Very easy....even the worst cooks can do this! The recipe comes from good ol Pinterest.

 Enjoy!

What you'll need:

2 lbs chicken breast (this was 5 breasts for me)

2 packages of chicken gravy mix

1 (10oz) can cream of chicken soup

2 cups water

 Fresh cracked Pepper to taste

Mix the soup, water, pepper and gravy pouches together. (Try to get this mixture as smooth as possible. Use a whisk.)

Clean chicken and put in the bottom of the crock pot.

Pour the gravy/soup mixture over the chicken.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

I used 2 forks and shredded my chicken a bit when it was finished cooking.

We had ours over rice (yes, on a paper plate....I despise doing dishes) with a little hot sauce and some green beans! 

So easy, but very yummy! With all of this cold weather, a little comfort food is so nice!

Chicken Braid

In our house, we don't eat beef or pork. It's not a religous thing, we just don't. So, we have chicken....a LOT! I try to switch it up so we aren't repeating the same chicken dinners over and over. 

I found this little gem of a recipe a couple weeks ago and have been waiting for the right time to try it out! It's AH-MAZING!!

Please try it and let me know what you think! It kind of reminds me of a mix between an awesome chicken salad and chicken pot pie (maybe that's not the best description, but believe me, it's good)!

This looks complicated, but it's not and SO worth the effort! 

IINGREDIENTS NEEDED:

1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls

2 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

1 bag of steam in-bag broccoli, cooked & chopped (About 1 1/2 Cups)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1tsp olive oil

1/3 cup mayo

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Add olive oil, bell pepper, onion and garlic to pan and saute until tender.

3. In another bowl, add chicken, broccoli, mayo and cheese together. When veggies are finished in pan, add them to this mixture also. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

4. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with Pam, lay out the crescent rolls (seperated in to 8 rolls)....big sides overlapping and small end of triangle pointing outward.

5. Pinch the middle of the crescent rolls all the way down the center to make one solid piece to spoon your mixture onto.

6. Fold cresent rolls over the filling, alternating from side to side. It's supposed to look like a braid. I found out this part is not important. Just overlap them as you wish! 

7. Bake until golden brown (about 25 mins). Let it stand for 5 mins and it will cut beautifully into pieces!

ENJOY!

Also, on a side note, I'd like to say THANK YOU! I've reached over 10,000 views! This blog is so much fun! I never imagined that I would meet (and genuinely like!) so many people! You guys are wonderful!!

Green Smoothies

Let's talk about green smoothies....SO GOOD! Around here, we both have one for breakfast every single day. If you've never had one, you're probably asking why....right?

Well, I'll tell you.
#1: They taste great!
#2: They're extremely good for you!
#3: They are ridiculously easy to make!

I like to make things easy. So, once a week we head out to the local farmer's market and pick up what we need. You can put anything in yours, but this is what I put in mine:
Bananas
Strawberries
Raspberries
Flax seeds
Spinach
Kale
Greek yogurt

I clean everything when I get home. Slice the bananas and strawberries and put on a cookie sheet along with the raspberries. Put them in the freezer until frozen. (I do this so that they don't freeze together in the sandwich bags.)

Then to a small freezer bag, I add: a handful of spinach and kale and some fruit. The amount you add depends on how big you want your smoothie.

In the morning I take the contents out of a bag, and put it in my nutribullet (if you don't have one, you are REALLY missing out!!!), add one small container of Greek yogurt, a little water and DONE! So good!

If you're not a spinach or kale person, don't worry. If you add strawberries to anything with spinach, you don't end up with a spinach taste!

If you are already drinking green smoothies, good for you! If you're not,  you should try it! You'll be so glad you did!

Cheap DIY Present

I LOVE homemade gifts! They're my favorite! When someone gives me something homemade, it makes my heart smile!

 

So, when our friends told us about their upcoming wedding anniversary, I knew exactly what I was going to give them! I actually made this the weekend we were invited (which was more than a month before the party)! 

 

I went to the local thrift store for most of my supplies:

~ Ugly frame/picture ($0.95)
~ 2 used spoons of different sizes ($0.10)

 

I really wish I would have found older, more vintage looking spoons, but for $0.05 each, I'm not complaining.

I already had some paint, stickers and a piece of scrapbook paper at home.

 

1.) After taking the glass and picture out of the frame, I gave it a light sanding. Then, painted it. It took about 3 coats before it was the way I wanted.

 

2.) Then I cut the paper to fit inside, put my stickers on and closed it up!

 

3.) Now, the spoon part was a bit tricky. I tried 2 different kinds of glue before one worked. I tried Super Glue and Gorilla Epoxy glue and neither of them worked....the spoons fell right off! I ended up using Liquid Nails.

 

And...the finished product! I love it (and so did they!)!! I have some younger friends that are going to be celebrating a wedding anniversary soon and I thought about making one with forks! You know, "Forking since...."!  Haha...I didn't think that would be appropriate for this couple though!

Cracker Bark

Woo hoo!  This is my first post on the new blog and I'm so excited about it!  I previously had a great little blog that started out strong, but then I neglected it...sad, sad, sad!

This one, however, will be filled with posts about all of the fun things I have found on Pinterest and have tried to recreate! This wonderful little recipe is not from Pinterest, but came from a wonderful friend.  She gave it to me and I have been whipping it up for years now!

THIS....is the best Christmas/holiday/anytime creation in the world! I have requests for it ALL year long!  I make it for birthday presents for a few people because they just can't wait until Christmas to get some!  It sounds a little weird, but let me tell you....its AMAZING!!  I'm not sure of the "proper" name, but around here, we simply call it Cracker Bark!

Most of the ingredients needed are probably in your pantry right now:

*1.5 sleeves of saltine crackers
*1 stick of butter (the real stuff!)
*1 cup Brown sugar (I use dark, but have used light and it tastes the same)
*Chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup)
*Peanut Butter chips (about 1/2 cup)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1.) Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and give it a good spray with your favorite non-stick spray.  Then place your crackers in a single layer, making sure there are no empty spaces. 

 

 

 

2.) Place butter and brown sugar in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Stir while the butter melts and bring to a rolling boil. 

 

 

 

3.) Once the mixture starts to boil, pour over your crackers, being careful to cover each one.  The crackers will spread out a little and that's OK.  I always push mine back together a little with a knife.  Put the pan in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.  The toffee will be very bubbly so be extremely careful when taking it out of the oven.

 

 

 

4.)Let the cracker/toffee sit for one minute and then sprinkle the chocolate and peanut butter chips on top.  Once they start to melt, spread with an offset spatula. (**While the chocolate is still "sticky" you can put crushed crackers, crushed candy or sprinkle of any kind on top.  I usually sprinkle some crackers crumbs, but didn't in this picture.)

 

5.) Cover and put in the refrigerator for about an hour (mine NEVER last that long!).  Then, break, yes...break, into pieces of your choosing and enjoy!  I always keep this in the fridge and its good for at least 5 days (that's what I've been told, but I wouldn't know!).

 

 

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!  If you try it, please let me know how it turned out!