This past weekend, Kevin and I thought it would be nice to invite some of his work friends over for a “little” BBQ. Now, I don’t know about you, but in my house a “little” barbeque is the equivalent to a “little” Thanksgiving—it ain’t happening. Up at 7am and 36 trips to the grocery store later, I am ready to clean the casa and try out some new recipes.

I had it all plotted out. Stuffed jalapenos. Seven-Layer dip. Brown sugar baked beans. Pasta salad with cherry tomatoes. Tossed greens. My cornbread—extra unhealthy. And the Pièce de résistance, a slow cooked bourbon pork loin (the biggest you’d ever seen, direct from Iowa) complements of my father. It was perfect.

With pride, I announcement my anticipated and generous meal plan to Kevin, expecting a gracious nod of approval. He stood there, staring at me. Instead of an assumed “Wow!” or “Great babe!” I received the sad, puppy dog, “You’re not making anything for dessert?” whimper.

With contempt, I looked that spoiled-rotten, no-good, adorable, impossible-to-say-no-to, sweetest-boy-you’d-ever-seen right in the face, shook my finger at him and said!…

“What do you want, honey?” (What can I say—I’m a sap)

So here we are. Banana Cream Trifle. It’s beautiful and one of the easiest dessert recipes you can make. The hardest part about it is finding the actual dish to make it in…and even that has a work around (cough, candle holder from Michaels for $9.99!)

Banana Cream Trifle

Layers:
Graham Cracker (1 box mixed with about 1 cup of butter—mix together)
Bananas (you’ll need about three total, sliced as pictured)
Banana or Vanilla Instant Pudding (make as directed and fill in around banana layer)
Yellow Cake (From scratch or from box. Bake per instructions, let cool, and cut up into bite sized chunks)
Whipped Cream (I am a Cool Whip kinda girl)

Each layer of the trifle should be roughly one inch tall. When you have a good amount (1 inch) switch to the next layer and repeat until your trifle dish is full. For the topping of the trifle, I used the remaining banana slices, macadamia nuts and a caramel drizzle. Feel free to get creative! You’ll love your end result and the simplicity of this recipe. Good Luck!