Roxanne Rustand's "No Calories Here!" Banana Cream Pie for a Crowd

Roxanne says: "This recipe is so good that I was at a loss to come up with a funny title. But then, our daughter was unnamed for three days because I couldn't decide on a name for her, either!"

CRUST:
2 C. flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 C. real butter* (not margarine!)

FILLING--layer #1:
1-½ C. fluid whipping cream
4 oz cream cheese (reduced fat is okay, but not fat free)
½ C. powdered sugar

FILLING--layer #2
Two small boxes sugar free instant vanilla pudding (or regular)
2-½ C. skim or 1% milk

TOPPING--layer #3
2 bananas, sliced thin
1 C. fluid whipping cream
1/2 to 3/4 C. pecans chopped, toasted
2/3 C. flaked coconut, toasted

1. Mix crust ingredients, pat into well greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees until browned. Cool completely.

2. Beat the 1-½ C. whipping cream until stiff. Soften the cream cheese, beat with sugar until very light, then fold gently into whipped cream. Spread on the cool crust.

3. Make the vanilla pudding with just 2-½ C. milk (NOT the amount listed on the boxes) and spread over cream cheese layer.

4. Spread thinly sliced bananas over the pudding.

5. Whip the final C. of whipping cream (sometimes I double this!) and fold in the toasted pecans, then spread over the bananas--making sure none of the banana is peeking through, or it will turn dark. Sprinkle the toasted coconut on top. Chill for several hours.

* This recipe needs real butter in the crust, because it then has a "short" type of crumb, like Scottish shortbread, and has that great taste as well. Margarine just doesn't work.

You could, I suppose, substitute thawed, frozen whipped topping in layer #1, if you wanted to save fat and calories, but I'd recommend that you at least use the real whipped cream on layer #3.

Even people who don't care for banana cream pie will probably love this!