Pudding without the /g/…

I’ve always been a chef – it’s something that simply comes naturally to me. My mom raised me with many skills – like how to sew on a button, how to use the words “who” and “whom” properly in conversation, how to think for myself, but she also taught me an important skill – how to cook and bake. A lot of my time spent growing up was spent in the kitchen – whether that involved making my great-grandmother’s lemon chess pie recipe or something as simply and easy as chicken divan. Christmas cookies, strawberry pie, London broil, shiskebobs, you name it – I’ve probably made it. When the Food Network became something that I was interested in – I became hooked, watching it as often as possible. I’ll always be fans of Ina Garten and Giada DeLaurentis, but my favorite (particularly before she became realllly famous) has always been, and always will be Paula Deen. From her Gooey Butter Cake recipe to her Stewed Tomato Casserole – I can’t get enough of her.

Our intern class got together on Monday with William & Mary Government Professor Clay Clemens, who I had never met before. He hosted us at his house and not only fed us, but talked to us for what felt like 30 minutes (and was actually 3 hours…) about everything from student life to our upcoming trip to the Cave (read Billy Rison’s blog for reference on that) to the cost of tuition, room, & board at William & Mary when he graduated. But this is all the long-winded way of me saying that for this cook-out (which ended up being sandwiches inside – not hating on that at all), I decided to embrace the Southern Hospitality and manners that my mom taught me (thanks, Ruthie) and make something. I decided on something that would be easily liked by everyone – so I went to my go-to recipe for that – Paula Deen’s “Not Yo Mama’s Banana Puddin'” and figured I’d post a picture and the recipe.

Ingredients

2 bags of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies, 6 to 8 bananas (sliced), 2 cups of milk (I used 1%), 1 (5.1-oz.) box of French Vanilla Instant Pudding, 1 (8-oz.) package of cream cheese – softened (I used light), 1 (14-oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk, and 1 (12-oz) container of Cool Whip (I used light)

Instructions

Line the bottom of a 9×13 Pyrex baking dish with 1 package of the Chessmen cookies. Layer bananas on top of this. Setting this aside, in a large bowl, combine the milk and the pudding mix with a handheld electric mixer until it is smooth. In a separate large bowl, combine the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together until they are smooth. Fold the Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture slowly, being careful not to simply stir it around. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well-blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining package of Chessmen cookies. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to be served. Then, enjoy!

It was thoroughly enjoyed by interns and Clay alike and was even further enjoyed this morning by some little birdies in Admission. By taking approximately 30 minutes to make this, I received the following – many emphatic “THANKYOU”s, two hugs (one from Emily and one from Tish), and a “I’m proud of you” (thanks, Liz Kelly). The power of food, right?

Enjoy the recipe and pass it on to friends – I promise it’s a staple. Stay posted and you never know – I might post some additional recipes throughout the year!

xoxo.

Kylee