banana pudding

I've become obsessed with learning more about southern dishes. The food here really is just that delicious...not healthy mind you...but delicious. Banana pudding is everywhere here and I love it. I'm on the hunt for a great banana pudding made-from-scratch recipe...but I have found a good compromise for when you don't want to do all that work but you also want something more then just pudding from the box.

Southern Banana Pudding

1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk
8 ounces sour cream
1 tsp of cinnamon (optional)
8 ounces Cool Whip, thawed
1 box vanilla wafers
3 bananas, super-ripe but not brown, peeled and sliced

In a medium bowl, prepare the pudding as instructed on its box. Beat in the sour cream, making sure to blend well. (Beat in some cinnamon while you're at it, if you'd like. Fold in the Cool Whip just until no white streaks are present.

In the bottom of a trifle bowl or other serving dish, put down a layer of vanilla wafers. Top with about a fourth of the pudding mixture and a layer containing half of the sliced bananas. Top this with another fourth of the pudding. The next additions will be a layer of cookies, a layer of pudding, the rest of the bananas, and the rest of the pudding. For decorative purposes, adorn the pudding with more wafers in an aesthetically-pleasing manner:

Chill for at least 8 hours. Then enjoy!

I got this recipe from a southern cooking blog called A Southern Grace. Check it out.