A couple of dessert recipes for Easter Sunday

I don’t like bananas, and neither does Mom, of course. However, I will eat them in banana pudding. But when I make it I have to leave a banana-less corner for Mom.

Most Paula Deen recipes are too much for me, but I’ve never had better banana pudding than her recipe. If you haven’t tried it you definitely should.

And what better Easter dessert than banana pudding? I have also made it with both bananas and berries and that was really good too. Just call it banana berry pudding.

Here’s Paula’s recipe. She uses chessmen cookies but I always use vanilla wafers as God intended.

Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding

12-oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

2 cups milk

5-oz. box instant French vanilla pudding mix

6 to 8 bananas, sliced

2 bags chessmen cookies

Line the bottom of a 9x13 dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth.

Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. 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 cookies.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

—kwc—

We usually have either Mom’s strawberry pie or her lemon meringue pie at Easter. I’m not sure which one she’s making this year but I’ll be happy with either.

Here’s her strawberry pie.

Mom’s Strawberry Pie

1 baked pie shell 1 pint fresh strawberries,

1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and cut into halves or quarters

1 cup sugar 3 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp cornstarch 3 tbsp (half of a 3-oz. pkg)

3 tbsp (half of a 3-oz. pkg) strawberry Jell-O

1 cup boiling water

Mix sugar, cornstarch and Jell-O. Add boiling water and bring to a full rolling boil in a saucepan. Let cool slightly and mix with strawberries. Chill to set and top with whipped cream before serving.