Going Bananas

Quite awhile ago, I saw a really fabulous idea online for a snack using bananas.  They seemed healthy and yummy and I knew I would love them.  I have been waiting and waiting for bananas to get really cheap so I could go buy a "bunch" (haha) and try it.  So when Winco put them on sale for 18 cents a pound I knew my time had come!  I headed to Walmart and price matched them...and I ended up with 27 pounds of bananas.  Here's the picture to prove it:

Now it's time to use these bananas up before they all go yucky.  One important thing to know about bananas (and the reason I will probably go get more before the sale ends) is that you can mash them and freeze them and they are GREAT for adding to recipes like banana bread and muffins.  Yes, they turn dark brown...but if you're putting them in something you will never even know.  I will be mashing these in batches of 3 and 6 (based on the recipes I will use them in) and freezing them.  But, before I do that I'm going to enjoy as many as I can right now!
As for the great idea I wanted to try... they turned out great and I highly recommend them.  While they would have been fun to have during the summer, when you're waiting for bananas to go on sale, you take them when you can get them...


BANANA PUDDING POPS

While I love bananas dipped in chocolate, these seemed like a more healthy alternative.  There is no real recipe, so just have fun and experiment!

First, you want to use bananas that aren't overripe at all.  The ones I peeled were almost a titch green.  Peel them, cut them in half and stick a craft stick into each half.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the bananas out so they aren't touching each other and place the pan in the freezer for a few hours (until they're completely frozen.)

While the bananas are freezing, decide on some toppings you would like.  I crushed up a bunch of different things including peanuts, graham crackers, white chocolate chips, and toffee bar.  You could use just about anything.  Crush or chop the toppings as fine as you can and put them in pie plates or shallow bowls.  (You may be tempted to not use toppings, but the toppings help hold the pudding in place so they are a good idea.) You will need more toppings than you think--they went fast and so did the pudding!  Some other toppings I thought about using were Oreo cookies, mini Reese's pieces, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or vanilla wafers.  Some crunched up cereal might be good, too.

Make your pudding according to directions on the package less 1/4 cup of milk (for the pudding directions).  I used devil's food for one batch, chocolate fudge for one batch, and chocolate mint chip for the last batch.  One of my boxes of pudding was not Jell-o brand, and it didn't work out as well (the pudding went lumpy and it wasn't sweet enough) so I would probably stick with Jell-o brand next time. Beat the pudding with a whisk until it starts to set up, then you need to start dipping bananas before it completely thickens up.

Put the banana down in the pudding and spoon pudding until the banana is covered.  Then dip the banana in your topping.  DO NOT ROLL THE BANANA or you will just scrape all the pudding off into your topping.  Dip it, then turn it and dip it again and so on until the banana is covered.  The bananas I dipped in the chocolate mint chip didn't get a topping because I had run out (and there were chunks of mint chips in the pudding anyway). I let that pudding set up a little more before dipping them and they seemed to cover and freeze well.

Place the dipped bananas back on the baking sheet and when the pan is full put it back in the freezer.  When the bananas are completely frozen, cover them in plastic wrap (or plain sandwich baggies would work good too) and they can all be tossed in a freezer bag.
For the record, the white chocolate ones are my favorite, but the graham cracker ones run a close second.  The salt of the peanuts was a little much so I will probably use unsalted nuts next time. These were really yummy and make GOOD after school treats!  I still have bananas AND more pudding so I think I'm going to go make some using Cookies & Creme pudding...YUM!