Recently I was tagged in a Facebook post from a precious young woman who has attended several of my Tasting Grace sessions. Her message about a recipe I had taught the women to make blessed my heart so much. Here it is:
So I made the banana pudding for Thanksgiving lunch at work today. One person told me it was the best he ever had. And another said that it was the star of the meal…the best thing there. Thanks for teaching me!! I plan on making it again next week for family Thanksgiving!
She came to my fall Tasting Grace session where I taught the ladies to make two desserts: banana pudding and pumpkin bread. I can’t help it, y’all. I love to bake, but I also just love to cook. Equally important is that I love to eat. You too? Which one or all three…bake, cook, eat?
Do you know about my Tasting Grace events? Oooooo, let me tell you about them, then I am going to share the recipe for the Banana Pudding.
A few years ago the Lord turned on a lightbulb in my brain after seeing my friend and co-author, Jan, post on Facebook about something she was doing in her home church. Once a quarter she brought women, old and young, into their church kitchen and taught them how to make homemade dishes from tried and true recipes. In the post that brought about my epiphany the group had made homemade biscuits.
I thought, well shoot, I can make homemade biscuits and I bet there are a few women in my area who might like to learn how to make them. So, I tossed out an invite on Facebook and lo, and behold, I had a handful of women who wanted to learn how to make biscuits. It was a tasty success and the rest is history. I try to host Tasting Grace once a month, but it doesn’t always happen.
I charge a small fee for each class…just enough to cover the costs of ingredients. I begin each session with a short devotion time, then we wash our hands, don our aprons, and begin cooking. We laugh and share life while we cook, then we taste our creations. Each woman goes home with a copy of the recipe we made so she can reproduce it in her own kitchen.
I really believe this is what Paul had in mind when he instructed Titus to have the older women teach the younger women. So many young women (and some older ones) did not have stay-at-home moms. Consequently, they never had the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with their mom while she cooked. They likely never learned how to make many of the homemade dishes that are staples in the southern diet.
The Tasting Grace sessions have been such a blessing to me as I share my knowledge of cooking and baking, as well as a bit of Jesus and general life knowledge.
Even though my Tasting Grace Bible study published two years ago, I have not said much about it recently. So, I thought now might be a good time. The Tasting Grace Bible study is a 4 week study focusing on mentoring. It also tells how you can start your own Tasting Grace ministry in your church or home. We included lots of devotions, recipes, and instructions for starting Tasting Grace. Try pouring into the lives of the women in your circle by teaching them something you know….it might be cooking or it might be a craft. See if you don’t find so much satisfaction in touching those lives.
So, now for the Banana Pudding Recipe. This is made from scratch…no boxed pudding in this recipe. I must preface this by saying my family does not like meringue, or as my Daddy called it, “calf-slobber”. Because of that I make a homemade whipped cream for the topping on the pudding. The recipe for this is included below. There is also a download that will let you print the recipe. Mmmmm, mmmmm. This dessert is so good you will make it over and over.
Leah’s Banana Pudding Recipe
Pudding:
1 ½ cups sugar
⅓ cup cornstarch
4 cups half and half
8 egg yolks
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
4-6 bananas, sliced
1 box vanilla wafers
Whipped Cream Topping:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring
To make pudding: In medium saucepan mix sugar and cornstarch. Add half and half and egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 30 seconds and remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.
Place ½ of pudding in bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with layers of vanilla wafers and bananas. Repeat using remainder of pudding, bananas and wafers.
Topping: In a mixing bowl beat whipping cream at high speed. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over pudding. Serve warm or chilled.
SDG/FCA!!
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