A Rockwall Lesson in Recycling, Family, and Banana Pudding

ROCKWALL, TX (Jan. 14, 2026) My journey to homemade banana pudding started in an unexpected place. Well, it started with bananas obviously, and the recycling program from The City of Rockwall.

In our house, we’re slowly adjusting to the City’s new recycling program. While I genuinely appreciate the effort (yay, Earth), the transition has required a full kitchen rearrangement. With a multi-generational household, this kind of change doesn’t happen quietly. It takes conversations, trial and error, and more than a little patience.

After two full days of reorganizing cabinets, relocating trash cans, and decluttering as part of a New Year’s goal, I finally finished the fruit display portion of our kitchen. It was perfect. The glassware was in its new home. Everything had a place.

And then my mother-in-law came home from the grocery store with bananas.

She placed them directly on the counter.

We already had bananas hanging neatly on the hook I had just rehung. The ones she bought were meant to replace those that were starting to turn, but in my freshly reorganized mind, it felt like an offense against the system.

I was far more annoyed than the situation warranted.

Still, instead of trashing the bananas or giving them to the chickens (which is partly why we got chickens in the first place), I decided to use them. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about food waste and how often we throw things out simply because they’re not perfect anymore.

So, in a moment of determined productivity (and perhaps a little spite) I decided to make banana pudding, from scratch.

That’ll show everyone, I thought. I’ll use the bananas. I’ll make something homemade. I’ll be efficient and righteous about it.

I pulled out my recipe books and family note cards, fully expecting to find a from-scratch pudding recipe. No luck. So, I looked one up and got to work.

Everything was going smoothly until I reached the vanilla wafers.

We didn’t have enough.

At this point, I was irritated again; this time about a shortage instead of an overage. Somehow, I was mad about too many bananas and not enough cookies, all in my own house, using my own pantry.

I improvised and grabbed graham crackers instead. “Banana lasagna,” I told myself. It would work.

I finished the pudding, layered it with bananas and graham crackers, and quietly placed it in the fridge until after dinner. When it was time for dessert, I served everyone a bowl of creamy, smooth banana pudding. The graham crackers had softened perfectly, and I used what little remained of the vanilla wafers (two per bowl) as a garnish, topped with canned whipped cream.

Y’all. It was delicious.

The best “spite banana pudding” I’ve ever made.

I fed my family something sweet and homemade. I used ingredients that might have gone to waste. I learned, again, that perfectionism often creates more stress than solutions. And I moved one step closer to having a recycling-friendly kitchen.

So, thank you to the City of Rockwall for encouraging us to recycle, and thank you to my mother-in-law for buying bananas.

I promise to recycle where appropriate.

Banana Pudding Lasagna

Ingredients

⅔ cup white sugar

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, beaten (thank you, chickens)

2 cups milk (I used half and half)

2 tablespoons butter, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Bananas, between halfway ripe and almost overripe

Graham crackers (because you don’t have enough vanilla wafers)

Optional garnish: vanilla wafers and whipped topping

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt.

Whisk in eggs and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and patiently, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (up to 15 minutes).

Remove from heat and continue stirring as it cools slightly. Whisk in butter and vanilla until smooth.

Layer graham crackers, bananas, and pudding until ingredients are used, finishing with pudding on top.

Submitted story by Niki Trentacosta, a Rockwall resident, business owner, wife, and mom who enjoys sharing stories about family life, food, and the humor found in everyday moments. Visit her blog at thetannagroup.com/blog.

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