Banana Pudding

Banana pudding is a favorite at our house and today I just had to make some! I have used this recipe for a long time but just recently I started using vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract because I love, love vanilla beans! I have a little friendly advice before you start cooking, if you're in a hurry, you should wait until you have some time to stand by the stove, it'll take about 15 minutes of stirring. It'll be worth it, I promise! My taste-testers call this very yummy-licious!
Ingredients:
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup flour or cornstarch (I used flour this time)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 vanilla bean (scraped) or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 bananas, sliced
20-30 vanilla wafers
Before you start cooking your pudding, line the bottom and sides of a medium size bowl or pan with vanilla wafers. Slice your bananas and place over the vanilla wafers. Then repeat, I make 2 layers and end with bananas on the top. Now it's time to make the pudding.
Separate your eggs and place the yolks in a medium pan. Add flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk it around to mix and add the milk. I use my whisk for the entire process. Now turn your stove on to low-to-medium heat. Start to whisk the ingredients and keep whisking throughout the cooking process, or you may get lumps or it may stick to the bottom of the pan, this would not be a good thing! It takes about 15 minutes before it starts to thicken. Once it starts to thicken but does not boil, keep whisking for just a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, and whisk. The consistency will not be really thick - that's fine. Pour the pudding over the vanilla wafers and bananas. Let this set for at least 15 minutes before you serve it, this will give the pudding a chance to soak into the vanilla wafers. I serve mine warm but some people would rather serve it chilled. If that is you, go ahead and refrigerate it in a covered container. You can also add a dollop of whipped cream when serving. Makes 4-6 servings. 

Ready to eat - vanilla bean adds the best flavor!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Updating a Tray

Do you ever have something that you really like but it doesn't quite go with your decor or you can't find the right place for it? I had this tray and turntable tucked in a closet, they were useful but didn't go with my decor. So I got my "go to" contact paper and covered them. Then when my decorating colors change I can just peel it off and do something different! It took less than 10 minutes to update!

~Simply Angie

Wall Decor

After endless shopping trips (ok maybe only 2) I could not find anything to hang on my bathroom wall. All I needed was one picture or a cute little combination of "something" to hang on the wall, I found nothing! My friend and I saw a DIY idea on pinterest, so she tried it. It turned out really cute so I decided that I would try it. She used spray paint for hers, but since I still have spray paint on my deck railing and table from my last spray paint project, I decided to use acrylic paint with a brush! This was a much safer method for me and it worked great!
What You Need:

• 2 artist canvases, I used the 8x10 size but choose the size(s) that works for your space
• acrylic paint or spray paint, color of your choice, I used light pink
• wood letters
• glue, I used E6000 (it's my favorite but a little stinky at first)

I painted my canvases and let them dry. I found some wood words at our local craft store, so I used those instead of separate letters. I painted the words (with acrylic paint and a brush) and let them dry. Then I glued a word on each canvas. That's it! Total cost was $3! Hang on your wall, simply beautiful!

 Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

DIY Toys for Kids

I'm always amazed at kids toys and how expensive they can be, then you buy them and they end up playing with the box it came in-or it ends up in the bottom of a toy box soon after.  I have been making toys out of everyday items for quite a while now and these are a couple that seem to keep getting pulled out of the box and played with over and over. They were easy and cheap to make.  You can use plastic water bottles, soda bottles or something like it.  Then find all the little shiny, fluffy and interesting things you have in the junk drawer and put them in the bottle.  You will want to put some type of strong glue or hot glue around the inside of the cap to make sure it stays on and check it often to make sure it hasn't loosened.  These are good for infants, toddlers and even preschoolers.

The little ones like to look at it, roll it and shake it, and for preschoolers it makes a fun "I Spy" game. I filled that bottle with rice, a rubberband, some little letters from the craft store and other objects they can recognize. You can ask them to find the letter or something else in there, it's like the "I Spy" game.  These are also handy to have on those long trips in the car!

~Simply Angie