Banana Cream Pie

Every year, Louise hosts a Picnic Game. Sadly, it's not a real picnic, since her participants hail from all over the world, but everyone who plays posts a recipe for something they enjoy on a picnic, in alphabetic order. This year, I drew the letter B.

So....

I'm going on a picnic, and I'm bringing...

A - Apricot Cobbler from Mae

B - Banana Cream Pie!

I just adore cream pies, and banana cream pie is my favorite. Of course, that's doubtless because I really love bananas. When I order them (by the case, of course), I'll eat almost nothing but bananas for the 4 or 5 days they last. Yep, about 8 bananas a day. And I lose weight doing so. (That, my friends, is a big bonus in my book.) So, here's my recipe (and a simple way out at the end).

BANANA CREAM PIE!

1 9" Pie crust, baked (I used my Best Ever Crust)
2/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tbsp butter
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 bananas, sliced
whipped cream

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk the milk in and turn the heat to medium (to speed the process, microwave the milk for 2 minutes before adding it to the pan). Cook until the mixture thickens. Pour a little of the hot mixture in with the egg yolks, then add the egg yolks to the pan and cook for one minute longer. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Slice the bananas into the pie crust, and pour the custard mixture over them. Chill for at least 3 hours. Top with whipped cream (1 cup cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract beaten until thick and luscious) and serve to your hungry hordes.

Of course, if it just happens to be nearly July and very hot, you can shortcut it this way: Use a graham cracker crust from the store. Slice the bananas into it. Whip up a box of vanilla instant pudding and pour it over the bananas. Top with whipped cream. Go ahead and take 2 minutes to make the real stuff...you'll enjoy it ever so much more than store-bought. Let it set for about 30 minutes, and enjoy. Don't confess that you took the easy way out, and no one will know.

Hop over to Louise's blog to see all of the Picnic Game entries, including one for our special 4-legged companions - that's right, Diva Doggy Treats!

See you on Thorsday!