Eat to the Beat–My Very First Blog Event!

This pie is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s. I said this pie is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

I am so excited to present my contribution to my very first blog event–Elly Says Opa’s “Eat to the Beat”.

Some girls started with a song and conjured up a food to go with it. Not me! I had the recipe sitting around (one I’ve been wanting to try for a while) and needed to decide on the song to go with it. I thought about “The Banana Boat Song,” which I love, but the thought of typing out B-A-N-A-N-A-S was too much fun. (See how much fun it is. I just did it again!)

This recipe turned out really well. It’s not gourmet, but it sure tasted good. The salty pretzel crust was a nice contrast to the sweet filling. Banana cream pie isn’t supposed to be fancy shi-shi gourmet, if you ask me. It’s just supposed to be good ol’ fashioned comfort food. You know–the kind you ask your mom to make you when you go home to visit. The kind of food you can imagine eating while you sit around the family table with your mom and sisters laughing and squishing the whipped cream out from in between your teeth. Okay…maybe that’s just my family.

Banana Cream Pie with Pretzel Crust
adapted from The Food Network KitchensCrust:3/4 c. all-purpose flour1 c. finely crushed pretzels, butter flavored pretzels suggested, plus more for garnish3/4 tsp. salt9 tablespoons butter, at room temperature3 TBSP ice cold water
Filling:8 oz. cream cheese, softened (low fat, but NOT fat free, if you prefer)1 c. powdered sugar4 c. whipped topping (low fat, but NOT fat free, if you prefer)4 large bananas, sliced (I used three in the pie, plus more for garnish)1 (3-oz.) package instant vanilla pudding1 1/4 c. milk (I used 2% and the pudding set up perfectly)
Crust: 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, pretzels, salt, and butter until texture is crumbly. Add water, and mix well.

3. Roll with rolling pin until you have a nice thin even crust, large enough for a deep-dish pie plate. Place in pie plate. (The crust is VERY fragile and will fall apart. I managed to get most of the crust into the pie plate by rolling it on to the rolling pin, but I had to press some pieces back into place.) Flute edges, poke with fork, and bake for 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling:1. In medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 cup whipped topping.

2. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled pretzel crust.

3. Slice bananas on top of cheese mixture.

4. Mix pudding and milk, pour immediately over bananas.

5. Top with remaining 3 cups whipped topping.

6. Refrigerate for at least one hour, up to overnight, before serving. Garnish with pretzels and fresh banana slices just before serving.
The pie was so good, my sister did this: