Yummy homemade Banana Pudding

In Southern Living's June 2010 issue they had a recipe for Banana Pudding where you made the pudding from scratch and then topped it with homemade meringue instead of whipped cream.  You have to try this!  Ella loved being in charge of whisking "constantly" the pudding until it thickened.  She seems to do well in the kitchen when she has to use her energy in a constant motion.  It seems preschoolers are lacking in the patience category and Ella is no substitute.  She was impressed when it did finally appear to thicken.  Matt was a bit skeptical of this recipe because of the meringue topping.  The way to this guy's heart in the realm of desserts, I think, is to just add whipped topping and then more whipped topping.  This was a cheap treat and was very fun to make.  We made ours in an 8x8 dish instead of individual ramekins.  Oh and Stone also really liked this dessert.  He learned to crawl around the time of us making this in June.  We baiting him to crawl by holding a vanilla waffer out of reach.  I guess after tasting banana pudding he decided it was serious business to get to that waffer.  Scroll to the bottom to see Stone's reaction to getting a taste of this yummy dessert. 

 
Southern Living's Banana Pudding with Meringue topping
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Other: 50 minutes
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3  cup  all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• 2 1/2  cups  1% low-fat milk
• 1  (14-oz.) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 2  egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 3  cups  sliced ripe bananas
• 48  reduced-fat vanilla wafers
• 4  egg whites
• 1/4  cup  sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Combine flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually stir in 1% milk, sweetened condensed milk, and yolks, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
2. Layer 3 banana slices, 3 1/2 Tbsp. pudding, and 3 vanilla wafers in each of 8 (1-cup) ramekins or ovenproof glass dishes. Top each with 6 banana slices, 3 1/2 Tbsp. pudding, and 3 vanilla wafers.
3. Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes). Spread about 1/2 cup meringue over each pudding.
4. Bake at 325° for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool 30 minutes.
Note: An 8-inch square baking dish may be substituted for glass dishes. Arrange 1 cup bananas on bottom of dish. Top with one-third pudding mixture and 16 vanilla wafers. Repeat layers twice, ending with pudding. Arrange remaining 16 wafers around inside edge of dish, gently pressing wafers into pudding. Spread meringue over pudding, sealing edges; bake 20 to 25 minutes; cool as directed.

Nutritional Information

Calories:359, Fat:3.6g (sat 1g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.3g, Protein:11g, Carbohydrate:70.7g, Fiber:1.3g, Cholesterol: 58mg, Iron:1.1mg, Sodium: 234mg, Calcium:242mg