Classic Banana Bread

Several years ago I found a really easy looking banana bread recipe in a magazine. Eventually I ended up making changes to the recipe usually due to not having enough of an ingredient or figuring more can't hurt.

Here's what it's become today.

It's also a great recipe for splitting into smaller loaves, I either break it into half or quarters, these are really perfect for giving to teachers as gifts. You just need to drop the cooking time down to between 35 and 45 minutes.

This is a really adaptable recipe, you can add just about anything you like to the batter and it'll come out great each time. Chocolate chips and many varieties of nuts would be good.

3 bananas
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tea baking soda
dash of salt
1/4 cup butter melted, I put it in a bowl and set it on the stove as it's preheating

Preheat oven to 325.

In a large bowl smash bananas (as much or as little as you like), add sugar and egg.

Combine dry ingredients then add to wet.

Add melted butter until just combined.

Pour into greased loaf pan and bake 70 minutes. Or for individual loaves, pour into greased mini pans and bake 35 to 45 minutes.

Banana Pudding Parfait

This is the most often served dessert around my family. So easy to make, really just read the box. But I've taken to making individual servings, mostly so I don't have to find a big bowl to put the whole mess into, just 5 glasses since there are 5 of us.

Stuff: Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding mix, very important it won't taste right if you use instant and the banana flavored pudding is just wrong, fresh bananas, milk anything over skim, skim milk does not work for puddings, and I used the new mini Nilla wafers but if you can't find them the regular sized ones will work. The glasses I use are I believe 8 oz old fashioned size.

First put a layer of wafers into the bottom of the glasses.

Next go ahead and get your bananas sliced up, I used 3 medium bananas for one box of pudding.

Follow the directions for cooking the vanilla pudding, it's easier to whisk the mix into the milk than the other way around, bring to just a boil. Let the pudding cool down so it's not bubbling anymore.

Then throw in the banana slices. Get those stirred in.


I can't pour and take a picture so pour the pudding into the glasses just a couple spoonfuls each, then top with more wafers.


Add the last of the pudding to each glass and that's it. If you want to cool them down in the fridge take a piece of plastic wrap and cover each glass. These can be eaten still warm or completely chilled.