I purchased a Heartland brand ready-made granola crust and knew that I must make a banana cream pie with it. I found a recipe in an Eat Smart with Ellie Krieger Magazine that ended up being a keeper. The recipe's length deceptively makes it appear complicated and time-consuming, but it's really very simple and goes together quickly, especially if you use a tasty nutritious ready-made crust. What makes it "cleaner" is using skim or 1% rather than whole milk, reduced eggs, and less sugar. Also, the traditional banana cream pie has a thick layer of filling with a few banana slices. This recipe uses many banana slices with just a thin layer of filling. The granola crust's subtle coconut flavor complements the vanilla pudding, so I say take a shortcut and use this granola crust. After I made Ellie's recipe, I found another on the Cooking Light web site from their June 1995 issue of Cooking Light Magazine that appears to be even "cleaner". Oh darn, we'll have to eat another banana cream pie. :)
Banana Cream Pie from Ellie Krieger
14 graham cracker squares (7 full sheets)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp water
1 ½ tsp unflavored gelatin (I used ¾ tsp *agar agar powder, but I would try ½ tsp for a less firm filling.)
3 tbsp boiling water (Omit if using agar agar.)
1/3 cup plus ½ tsp sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups low-fat milk (I used skim.)
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups ¼-inch-thick banana slices (3 medium bananas)
¼ cup well-chilled heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray or oil. To make the crust, in a food processor, process the graham crackers until finely ground. Add the butter and water and process until the crumbs clump together. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie plate and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes then cool. Meanwhile make the filling. Put the gelatin in a small bowl; add the boiling water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. (If using agar agar, add the powder or flakes directly into the hot milk mixture.) In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup of the sugar and the flour. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the milk and egg yolks together. Add the egg-and-milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk so the flour and sugar dissolve. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. Stir in the vanilla and the gelatin slurry. Set aside to cool slightly. Arrange the sliced bananas in the crust and pour the pudding on top. Place in the refrigerator until the pudding has set, about 3 hours. Whip the cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. When it is about halfway to soft peaks, add the remaining ½ tsp sugar, then continue whipping until it barely holds a soft peak. Put a dollop of whipped cream on each pie slice and garnish with banana slices. The pie will keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.*Agar agar, which is a.k.a. kanten, is a derived from seaweed. It dissolves in hot liquids and thickens as it cools to room temperature or below.
April 3, 2009
Today's mileage: 2-mile walk
Total mileage for April: 6 miles
Bible reading? Yes.
Whiteley Creek Homestead 
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