Banana Pudding & Fireworks

So nobody out West quite appreciates banana pudding....can I really call this place my home?  A Mississippi July 4th celebration cannot be complete without banana pudding. And not the cooked custard kind with mile-high meringue. A silky smooth Jello pudding cloud loaded with vanilla wafers and bananas that had black spots on the peels - because everybody knows they have the best flavor.  My grandmother was a banana whisperer....she instinctively knew the exact moment a banana would turn from perfect ripeness to a mushy mess.

The recipe my mom is famous for is easy and takes less than five minutes to make because you just dump all the ingredients in one big bowl. Nobody really remembers where her recipe came from but it was served after nearly every Sunday dinner (a meal the rest of the world calls lunch). Her recipe was probably cut out of the newspaper or came from one of those mini cookbooks that kids make at church for Mother's Day gifts - the ones with construction paper covers decorated with crayon drawings and pipe cleaners.  I miss making those almost as much as Sunday dinner after church.

1 large Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding

3 cups whole milk

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 box vanilla wafers

5 ripe bananas (or however many you like)

8 oz. Cool Whip

Make the pudding according to box directions. Add the sweetened condensed milk. Add the Cool Whip and whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla wafers and fold in bananas. Chill for at least 6 hours.