During those days that my children and their families lived nearby, our home was always bustling with activity. Among others, there were holidays, cow-working days (such as brandings and moving cows from one place to another), harvesting produce from the garden, just “hanging out,” and much more. Grandkids often stayed overnight at all ages, but when they were teens, friends often joined them, spending the night so they could go hunting or snowmobiling early the next morning.

This is just to say that I did quite a of cooking — not just main meals but also making sure that the refrigerator was stocked with sandwich fixings, leftovers and desserts, items that could be grabbed up and microwaved for a late night supper.

However, now that Lyle is no longer with us and the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids have moved out of state, I’ve gotten lazy about cooking. As a matter of fact, I can’t even remember some of my “head recipes” anymore since it’s been so long since I’ve made them. I work some late hours and tend to “take the easy route” when fixing my own meals.

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So the other day I had a talk with myself about cooking more nutritious meals and set out on a search of my recipes to find a healthy casserole recipe, loaded with vegetables that would last me for three or four meals.

Right away I was reminded of the careless way I store my recipes. I found them stuffed into cookbooks, in a drawer — anyplace other than a recipe file.

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Since I once wrote a recipe column, I often copied down recipes contributed by readers at a moment’s notice, usually by phone. I wrote them on napkins, tiny sticky notes, the backs of greeting cards, scrap paper — anything I could find in a hurry.

During my casserole search I found one recipe, given to me by my sister Darlene, on the back of a larger-than-usual brown envelope that once held some kind of an offer.

Anyway, while searching for my casserole recipe, I came upon a favorite recipe of mine — banana pudding cake.

It is printed on a half-sheet of white paper which is covered with stains, probably oil or bananas, a testament for using the recipe so often. The cake is easy to make and delicious. So, as I do every now and then, for a change of pace and for my readers who enjoy recipes, here is banana pudding cake.

Banana Pudding Cake

• 2 small bananas, crushed

• 1 box yellow cake mix

• 1 (3-oz) box banana cream pudding, instant

• 4 eggs

• 1 cup water

• ¼ cup oil

• ½ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until the cake tests done. No frosting is needed, though you might choose to use your favorite. Easy!