All of that talk about favorite Thanksgiving dishes and desserts got me thinking about other sweets that I enjoy. My favs never have to come after a meal. Sometimes, they are the meal. Here is one that has many renditions, and whose standard recipe hugs and kisses my soul each time I have a bowl. Good old Banana Pudding. I made some last week and indulged until there was none left. This is one of the simplest desserts to throw together and has just a few basic ingredients.

1. Bananas
2. Jello Vanilla Pudding
3. Nilla Wafers
4. Milk

That's it! This dish is a layered concoction of yummy greatness. Here's what you do...

Place a layer of cookies on the bottom of the container of your choice. Then slice bananas and layer over the cookies. Repeat these steps until your container is full. As you can see, I ran out of cookies at the last minute, but that's ok. You can end with cookies on top or bananas, whatever you'd like. It starts out kind of like a banana cookie parfait. Then you will take your Vanilla Pudding and just follow the package directions, which call for about 1/2 cup of milk. This will be poured over the layers to finish the dish. There are two types of Vanilla Pudding that you can buy, Cook n Serve or Instant. If you are going to go with Instant you will have to have a keen eye, as it will thicken quickly. You DO NOT want the pudding to be too thick because if so, you'll end up with pudding on top and dry krispy cookies on the bottom. With either, you will have to stir stir stir until the pudding starts to coat the spoon and then pour.

Refrigerate, then enjoy!