Crave Wednesday: Roasted Banana Pudding

This weekend was a very important weekend for just about everyone on the face of the Earth - Mother's Day.  It's important because even if you're not a mother, presumably you had one.  And whether or not you're close with your mom, whether or not she was there, it is undeniable that you wouldn't be here if not for her.  It's a day to celebrate the women in our lives who made us who we are - not just the one who gave birth to us.  And my friends and I celebrate each other, because it's also a day to celebrate the women who made us the mothers we are to our own children.

My Mother's Day started off on Friday with the Kindergarten Mother's Day presentation.

They've been planning for weeks.  They greeted all of us moms with songs they had been practicing.

And then we were presented with a "forever bouquet."

Next we were sent to a couple stations to do crafts "with" our children.  Which really entailed me watching my child do crafts.

We sat as they read us the books they had written about us.  Apparently I need to work on not forgetting how much I love Thatkid.  I'm not too worried though since I'm as nice as lions.  I also love that Thatbrother made a couple of appearances.

And then we were given a special gift.  If anyone has any ideas on where or how to display my tile, I'm all ears.

That night, Thatboy also brought me home a special treat.

After being awoke at 5:55am, because Mother's Day means very little to my kids, Sunday morning we headed up to have breakfast with Thatmom.

We made a brief stop on our way to our actual destination.  Thatboy saw a winery and figured, why not?  So we stopped and had a glass as the boys ran around, climbing rocks and exploring a meditation garden.

After a glass, we were on our way to our real afternoon plans.

A camel dairy! 

If you know me, you know I love camels.  So when I saw that the camel dairy not too far away was having an open farm day on Mother's Day, I suggested it to Thatboy, who thought it was a great idea.

We started out by watching the "Animal Show" where we got to meet the farm's resident birds, dogs, and the ambassador camel - Jasmine.

After the animal show it was camel feeding time!  Camels apparently LOVE apples.  So we were each given an apple on a stick and these guys came right up to grab it from us. 

There were rumors about cuddling, but really, once your apples were gone, these guys were not interested in you. 

Thatbaby was too little to feed the camels, they have a 4 and up rule.  But he was not too little to feed the sheep in Sheeptown.  He was pretty cute calling them over and giving them their food.

One of the neat things about the Camel Dairy is that they've got some new baby camels.  The little guy on the left was just a month old.  And his best friend there, on the right is 8 months old!

The 8 month old thought Thatbaby was super neat-o.  He felt the same way.

Before we left, we made sure to get in a camel ride.  Thatkid wanted to ride on his own, which was fine with us.

Thatbaby refused to ride alone.  Or with his brother.  He would only go on with me.

My annual picture with the boys.....not cooperating with my annual picture with the boys.

When the Camel dairy closed, we headed into town for dinner at a place Thatboy had found.  It was one of those places where EVERYTHING on the menu looked amazing.  And we ordered too much food, and had to take a bunch home.  Even Thatkid asked if the restaurant was famous, because "the macaroni and cheese is so good."

Thatboy also got dessert to take home.  He prepped me ahead of time that he wanted to get pudding if they had pudding.  The man loves pudding.  So when he heard that they had butterscotch pudding he was all in.  Unfortunately, it was the most disappointing part of the dinner. Probably because he's used to really good pudding.  And I'm not tooting my own horn - we go to restaurants with really good pudding.  Which is not to say I don't try my hand at pudding every now and again.  Like this banana pudding.  I can't even really take credit for this one - roasting the bananas makes for a great caramelization and adds depth to the flavor.  I don't even have to do much of anything to make it taste delicious!

Roasted Banana Pudding (From Cooking Light)

5 ripe unpeeled bananas

2 cups milk

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 container Cool Whip

45 vanilla wafers, divided

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Place banana on a pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove 3 bananas and cool completely.  Peel and cut into 1/2 inch slices, set aside. 
2. Bake remaining 2 bananas an additional 20 minutes.  Carefully peel these bananas and place in a small bowl.  Mash with a fork until smooth.
3. Combine milk and 1/3 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to a simmer.
4. Combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt, and eggs in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk.  
5. Gradually add hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Return milk mixture to pan and cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.
6. Add mashed bananas, butter and vanilla, stirring until butter melts.  Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 15 minutes or until mixture comes to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
7. Fold half of the cool whip into pudding.
8. Spread 1 cup custard evenly over the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch glass or ceramic baking dish.  
9. Top with 20 vanilla wagers and half of reserved banana slices.
10. Spoon half of remaining custard over banana.
11. Repeat procedure with 20 wafers, remaining banana slices, and remaining custard.  
12. Spread remaining half of whipped topping evenly over top. 
13. Crush 5 wafers, sprinkle over top.  Refrigerate 1 hour or until chilled.