Banana Pudding and The Gazebo

With summer months approaching, I go into Southern cooking mode. Here is the best recipe for banana pudding that I have ever had. Start with a box of Nilla wafers.


And a box of instant vanilla pudding (5 oz). I usually make everything from scratch but there are some recipes with shortcuts that are just too good to exclude from my recipe box and this is one of them.


Mix the vanilla pudding with 2 cups of whole milk. If it makes you feel better, you could use skim but really....this is banana pudding! Go for it and use whole milk! Set this mixture aside.


Put an 8 oz. package of cream cheese in the bowl of your mixer.


Add one can of sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth. Add the pudding mixture and beat until blended.


Line a casserole with half of the Nilla wafers.


Peel about 6 or 7 very ripe bananas.



Slice the bananas over top of the first layer of Nilla wafers.


Take your bowl of pudding/cream cheese/condensed milk mixture....


and a can of whipped cream( I would normally whip my own cream but not for this recipe)...


Empty contents of the entire can of whipped cream into the pudding mixture.


Blend and fold to combine.


Pour this mixture over the sliced bananas.


Cover with the rest of the Nilla wafers.


Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Mmmmmmm..Southern comfort food!!! This is right up there with the super yums!!! And it can't get much simpler.


The gazebo is almost finished.


It is cleaned up, repaired and the furniture is back in place. Click for a better look.


There are a few decorations that I need to add.


And the Weeping Beech needs to be trimmed back from the entrance. I want to open the space up and let as much light in as possible. My forest has rooms scattered along the path and they have been neglected. Now is the time for me to take them back and clean them up. Today I started on another room and will show it to you as I do the big cleanup. This is sort of like cleaning out your closets. Another item on my agenda but I think I will save that for a rainy day.


***Remember to enter the giveaway by clicking on the Teddy's Treats button on my sidebar.

Comments

brandi said…
~your gazebo is GORGEOUS...i l♥ve the natural beauty of it...may you have many enjoyable moments sitting beneath it...and that banana pudding sounds heavenly...warm wishes and brightest blessings~
brokenteepee said…
Oh! You can serve your banana pudding in your gazebo.

My problem is the box of vanilla wafers wouldn't last long enough to get into a recipe
heh
I think I am going to love that banana pudding! ~bangchik
WOW Banana Pudding recipe. Will try this next week when my monthly ship comes in. TeeHee.

The wonder garden rooms are so enchanting. Begging for us "hoomans" to come, sit, breathe deep and rest our body and mind.

Today was a wonderful visit.

xoxo to Teddy Love.

Happy Happy Day to you & your family!
The gazebo looks so nice now! I would love to have a place like that here too!

But to be honest, I don´t think it will do much difference with skinned milk instead of whole milk :-) :-) :-) But that looks delicious. Bananas are my favourite fruits and this one is something I would like to try. But I´m not sure I can get the exact ingredients.

Does Nilla wafers have a special taste? or is it the texture of the wafer that is more important? Could Digestives be used instead? I don´t think I can get condensed milk either. Perhaps one of the bigger supermarkets can have it but I´m not sure. Could I just skip that or can I replace it with something else?

It would be great to be able to take it with me when my friends invite me to a barbeque now in the summer!
Have a great day now!
Christer.
Guillaume said…
Why do I always feel that I am getting weight just looking at the pics of your desserts?
Sharon Day said…
Banana pudding eaten in the gazebo--now that's the perfect combo.
Tristan Robin said…
OMG - whipped cream, cream cheese, condensed milk - could this GET any richer? LOL Just my kind of comfort food.

And Nilla Wafers - haven't had those for YEARS.

Your gazebo is just delightful ... I want to spend a day out there reading one of my favorite summer reads and eating your banana cream pie!
Terri Smith said…
Goodness Gracious Alive! This looks like the best banana pudding recipe I've ever seen! Also, I peeked at the Barbeque recipe below this newest post, and when I finish saying hello to you and Teddy..I plan to copy and paste BOTH! Loved how you described your rub as MAGIC DUST!!!! My husband is gonna love that!

He's the only one allowed near the grill, but I can assure you, once I show him this recipe he'll be itchin' to try this sauce and technique.

Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful delights!

Blessings, Joy & Tuesday Sunshine, Terri
Mmm @ banana pudding.

The gazebo's looking great!
My waistline just expanded an inch from reading that banana pudding recipe. Yum!
Bridgett said…
I really wish I liked bananas because that recipe looks yummy!

The gazebo looks lovely. What a special little niche for you and your husband!
Being from the South I thought I had had every recipe for Banana Pudding in the world. This sounds beyond fabulous. If I can keep my face out of it until tomorrow I'm taking this for Bible study and if any is left I'm bringing it home. There are some thing I just don't share well. Thanks so much.
Wizardess said…
Mmmmm...so cool & green. You did a fab job!
Mozart's Girl said…
Dearest Jaz, I actually smuggled a box of Nilla wafers back in my luggage last time I was in the US in order to make Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding recipe...looks like I will have to do it all over again to try yours!! Lovely gazebo too...Happy May, xoxox Rachel
Laura said…
I love banana pudding, but I've never heard of putting cream cheese and condensed milk in it. I may have to give this a try!
blessings
~*~
TMCPhoto said…
Magic: both the pudding and the gazebo. I can see wedding pictures being taken in your gazebo, well in your whole forest actually. Can't wait to see more.
Suzie said…
The gazebo is restored, looking so lovely and peaceful! VERY well done! You deserve some nice banana pudding about now!

Smooth, cool, creamy with enough texture to satisfy the tongue and tummy, that you are indeed eating something. The perfect comfort food! I can almost taste it, and believe me, this time "almost" just doesn't do the trick. I'm going to have to make this one, pronto!
nostalgia*gal said…
OH my! Just found your blog Thu sweet Terri and I am so glad I did!
I cannot wait to try your recipes! Love the name of Magic Dust!

Looks like you are a fellow dog lover also. I just trained mine to run into the safe room (closet) for tornado touch downs.

Look forward to following you and going to place you as a fav on my side bar.
Best Regards,
cindykay
dolphyngyrl said…
Ooh, that pudding is a big potluck favorite here. "Our" version is made with Chessman cookies instead of 'Nilla wafers.

So yummy!
Cindi Myers said…
OMG! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your gazebo!

I'm not a huge banana fan but it still looks very good. I LOVE Nilla wafers!
Unless you come up with something to top this, this is my new favorite Banana Pudding. I took this to Bible study this morning and one "gentlemen" (our minister) actually took his finger and got the last smidge out of the empty bowl. I did change one thing, the name, it is now referred to as Teddy's Banana Pudding. Thank you so much.