Banana (or coconut or chocolate) Cream Pie

I have a few quirky food preferences. (My husband would probably say picky, but I'll go with quirky.) One of these is related to bananas. I like fresh bananas, but I don't like artificial banana flavoring of any kind. Because of this, I don't like pies made with banana pudding. This recipe is for a vanilla cream pie base, that you can actually turn into a banana, coconut, or chocolate cream pie. I'll admit, I've only made banana. I'm not really a coconut fan (another of my food quirks), and if I'm going to have a chocolate pie, I prefer this chocolate silk pie. However, that one is very rich, so if that one is too much for you, it might be worth trying the chocolate version of this one. I can, however, vouch for the banana version of this pie, and it's delicious. And really not hard to make. Try it out!

Banana (or coconut or chocolate) Cream Pie

1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
4 c. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 baked and cooled pie shells

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Add eggs and mix with dry ingredients. Add milk and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. After boiling, remove from heat. The mixture should be thickened. Add vanilla and stir to make a vanilla cream pie, or adjust per one of the variations below. Pour desired cream mixture into cooked and cooled pie crust. Top with whipped cream. Makes 2 pies, 16 servings. (I often cut the recipe in half and make just one pie.)

Variations:
Chocolate Cream Pie: Add 1/2 c. cocoa or 3/4 c. bittersweet chocolate
Banana Cream Pie: Mix 4 sliced bananas with cooled vanilla mixture
Coconut Cream Pie: Add 1/2-1 c. flaked coconut to vanilla mixture