roselvr, do you make the Company Cheesecake from the BH&G cookbook? That's our "old reliable"... back when my dad was teaching he and I would bake twenty or so of them every Christmas for the other teachers and a very few other very lucky people. I much prefer their shortbready crust to the more common crumb crusts. I need a new copy of the OLD big book - the red plaid binder - mine's gone walkabout and they messed around with the recipes in the new version. (Did the same thing to Joy of Cooking. Irritating.) I broke the spine on the paperback in about six places ages back, it's held together with packing tape! Pie for breakfast was a staple at Grammie's when I was a little kid. No half and half though. Slab of apple pie with a hunk of "rat cheese" (very sharp cheddar) on the side - Gramp liked apple best for breakfast, other kinds were for dessert - with "Navy coffee" you could just about stand your spoon up in. (I once had a version where they tried to bake the cheese into the pie. It was vile.) She made terrible crust though. You could hurt someone with the "bone", the bit around the rim. Then she decided to go all "healthy" and the delicious breakfast pie disappeared in favor of a bowl of Wheaties. *mourn* golddust, I do so hate to disagree with you, but I've had enough people insist "oh, I just can't stand that store-bought pie crust", mumbling it around a mouthful of pie... made with that very product. *chuckle* About the third time it happened I decided not to waste precious energy on making piecrust anymore (when you have 4-6 usable hours in a day, you take your shortcuts as you can)... My mom makes kick-@$$ pie crust - perfect texture etc. - but she also smokes heavily so all her baked goods have a strong overtone of "ashtray" to the flavor. We usually give them away to friends who smoke who won't notice it. Oh! I forgot Oatmeal Pie. It's an old Amish/Mennonite recipe, IIRC. It makes a chewy-crisp top sort of like an oatmeal cookie and underneath that is a layer like the gooey part of a pecan pie. As I said above, many of our friends are allergic to nuts, so this is what I bring to a lot of wintertime potlucks as a "replacement" for pecan pie. 25 or so people will wipe out 2 or 3 10" pies and leave other desserts untouched. LOL I used to love making fancy desserts, but they are usually too time consuming for my limited time budget and our friends don't really appreciate them anyway. They'd rather have the simpler, homier stuff.

here is the recipe I use at work. 2 cups milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 4 egg yolks sprinkle of salt Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. I use a 2 quart pyrex glass bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes and stir. Repeat this 2 or 3 more times. It depends upon your microwave as how long it will take. We only have a small one at work. I dont know the wattage. Peel and slice your bananas into 7up or orange juice to prevent them from turning black to fast. Let set for a couple of minutes and drain real well and add to pudding mixture. Put into a baked pie shell or a graham cracker crust. Top with meringue made with the remaining 4 egg whites and bake at 400 degrees for 13 minutes or until desired color. Or you can skip the meringue and use whip cream on top. The salt may be omitted, all it is for is that it takes the really sweet taste out of it and makes it taste much better. THIS SAME RECIPE MAY BE USED FOR COCONUT CREAM PIE.THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT YOU OMIT THE BANANAS AND ADD A 1/3 CUP OR MORE OF TOASTED COCONUT. IF YOU TOAST THE COCONUT IT GIVES IT A STRONGER FLAVOR. I USE THE MICROWAVE TO TOAST IT. PUT IT ON A PLATE AND MICROWAVE IT UNTIL IT IS CRISP AND BROWNED. BE SURE TO CHECK IT EVERY FEW SECONDS AND STIR IT WHEN YOU CHECK IT OR IT WILL BURN IN ONE SPOT AND NOT BROWN IN THE OTHER SPOTS. THIS IS REALLY EASY. If anyone has any questions or would like a similar recipe for butterscotch pudding please let me know. In fact I was thinking with Marilyn Sues recipe which sounds really good I think my butterscotch recipe might work.

AND Has anyone tried this: 1 (15 ounce) box Hostess Twinkies 1 (5 ounce) package banana instant pudding 1 1/2 cups milk 2 -3 bananas (sliced) 1 (2 5/8 ounce) box dream whip whipped dessert topping mix (has 2 envelopes of topping 1.3 ounce each) Change Measurements: US : Metric Directions: Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 15 mins 1 Split Twinkies lengthwise and lay in 9x13 pan (should use whole box). 2 Prepare instant pudding with 1 1/2 cups milk. 3 Lay sliced bananas over Twinkies in pan and pour pudding over bananas. 4 Prepare 2 envelopes of Dream Whip as per package directions and spread this over the top of pudding. 5 Chill in refrigerator until set (about an hour or longer).

Here is the "Original Nilla Wafers Banana Pudding." I still have this recipe that I cut from the back of the box of wafers many years ago. NILLA WAFERS ORIGINAL BANANA PUDDING 3/4 c. granulated sugar 1/3 c. all-purpose flour Dash of salt 4 eggs, separated, at room temperature 2 c. milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 35 to 45 Nilla Wafers 5 to 6 med. size fully ripe bananas, sliced (reserve 1 banana and 10-12 wafers for garnish*.) Combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Stir in 4 egg yolks and milk; blend well. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Spread small amount on bottom of 1 1/2 quart casserole; cover with layer of Nilla Wafers. Top with layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of the custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make 3 layers each, ending with custard. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes or until delicately browned. Cool slightly or chill. If you have some kind of new sauce pan you can probably cook the pudding okay, but it will scorch easily. Better to use a double boiler. *I don't do the garnish, and I think the pudding is not complete without the meringue. Instant pudding ... no way! This is a classic dessert and should not be tampered with. Sue