Pineapple Cheesecake Apple Salad (Dessert)

I'm not really sure if this delicious dish qualifies as a salad or dessert!  I suppose it might depend on at what point of the meal you enjoy eating it. If you take a few bites of this sweet, tart dish between bites of your savory main dish, I suppose it's a salad. If you save all the bites of crunchy apple wrapped in cheesecake flavored fluff, it's more like a dessert. Any time you decide to dig in, it's delicious.

I first had this dish at a family potluck at the lake several summers ago. I took a bite expecting something like a waldorf salad.  My taste buds detected the crunchy, tart apple pieces and the sweetness of the pineapple, but it took a few more bites to put my tongue on just what made this dish so incredibly dessert-like. The secret ingredient? Cheesecake flavored pudding mix. The best part? This pudding flavor from Jell-o comes only in a sugar free, fat free version. Mixed with fruit and some fat free (or low fat cool whip) and you've got a low calorie dish that can easily replace many of the fat laden dishes that often appear on potluck tables around the country.

I have taken this dish to many gatherings over the years and it always disappears quickly. I decided to make a batch today because I thought the sweet tartness would be a good ending to our pork carnitas dinner. Tonight we'll enjoy it as "dessert".  We're still recovering from the extra calories we consumed while on vacation a week ago so any low calorie treats I can fit on the menu are welcomed.

This dish is one that is relatively inexpensive to put together if you're in need of a dish to bring to a potluck gathering. I picked up cans of pineapple for 50 cents a can using store specials and coupons. The pudding is a little trickier to find. I usually can find it at Walmart for under $1, but I have not had as much luck finding this particular flavor at local Kroger or Meijer. I almost always have a container of $1 Cool Whip on hand in my freezer. I've made it with both fat free and low fat; I can't tell a huge difference in the end result. I picked up a couple of Granny Smith apples on my last grocery trip for around $1.

Here's the recipe:

Pineapple Cheesecake Apple Salad
1 can crushed pineapple
1 pkg cheesecake flavored pudding mix
2 large Granny Smith apples, chopped
1 container Fat Free or Low Fat Whipped Topping














1. Place crushed pineapple (and juice) into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add pudding mix and stir to combine.
3. Add chopped apples and mix.
4. Fold in whipped topping.
5. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. (actually tastes better the next day!)

Pineapple Cheesecake Apple Salad
Tart, crunchy apples, sweet pineapple held together by cheesecake fluff. . .YUMMY!



What's your favorite recipe that can be placed into two categories?

Fresh Blueberry Pie

I know it's been awhile. . . . . . .

The kids are out of school.  Our days are still full, but in a different way.  We're still gathering around the table nightly for dinner, but our summer meals sometimes are much more simple.  My free time for photographing food preps and then documenting them via the blog has been a bit more limited.  I think I should have been saving up blog entries.  As I read other mom bloggers, I think that's what they do.  I want to spend my time with my kiddos, not in front of the computer. 

But I assure you, I've been shopping frugally using coupons and weekly sales items keeping our grocery budget around $100 a week.  I've been keeping up with my favorite food/mom bloggers commenting when I have something to share and filing away recipes I want to try in the future.  I've been doing much more meal planning for our lunches and snacks which has helped greatly this summer.  I've made meals to share with friends, meals to celebrate the good moments in life, and had a few new recipe family favorites (and a few flops!) I've been including my girls in more of the meal preps, and they've had fun creating a lunchtime/bakery cafe in our basement.  It's been heartwarming to watch my babies share in my passion of creating easy to fix and serve food that others love to eat.

Today is Father's Day, and my dear husband has taken his girls to see a movie at the Dollar Theater as it's a rainy afternoon here in OH.  While he is gone, I put together a Strawberry Rhubarb pie, sorted through a few piles of recipes in the kitchen, and made a list of the recipes I hope to get posted in the next few days.

Here's the first one I want to share because it's one of my very favorite summertime recipes - Fresh Blueberry Pie!

I got this recipe from my neighbor, Ingrid, back when we first moved to Perrysburg, OH, in 2000.  Ingrid was one of those women that God knew I needed in my life and sent her just when I needed her most.  We had just moved to town, I was pregnant with my first baby, we had our first house, my husband had his first post-collegiate job as a chemistry professor, and I was trying to find my way into this new role of wife and stay at home mom.  Ingrid welcomed me to the neighborhood with open arms and always had a space around her kitchen table for me.  We shared many good times during our three years in Perrysburg.  We shared a love of frugal living, kids, family, God, hospitality, and most importantly - food!  Ingrid had a small collection of favorite recipes, where my recipe files have always been bursting at the seams, but her favorites were all really good, just like this fresh blueberry pie!

One of my favorite memories of this pie is from when we went blueberry picking in MI near my parents' home when my bigger girls were just 3 years old and 9 months old.  We came home with blueberries as big as nickels and sweet as can be.  I made this pie, and we enjoyed it for dessert that night.  The 9 month old kept signing "more" after each bite and cried and cried and cried when we finally took the pie out of her sight for fear of what might happen if she ate any more blueberries!  She just could not get enough pie! 

The key to this pie is that you have to use FRESH blueberries.  While we can't pick blueberries straight off the bush here in central Ohio, I love when I can find them on sale for just 99 cents at the grocery.  Last week was one of the weeks that Aldi ran their berries for 99 cents.  I picked up 4 pints and put together a fresh blueberry pie on Friday night to serve as dessert following our grilled turkey burgers that we shared with the new pastor from our church.  The other key ingredient to this pie is the addition of FRESH grated lemon zest.  That little zing makes this pie unlike any other blueberry pie that you might have tasted.  (or at least that's what everyone says after they take a bite). 

This pie comes together in less than 30 minutes, but it needs about 2 hours to firm up.  I usually use a pre-made crust for ease, but if you have a favorite crust recipe, go ahead and use that. (and share your recipe with me; I'm no good at pie crusts!) Feel free to top the whole pie with Cool Whip or just add a dollop of Cool Whip as you serve it.  I like to decorate the top with additional blueberries and lemon slices.  The pie will hold up for a couple of days in the frig before it starts to liquify, but it's definitely best the day it is made.

Here's the recipe:

Fresh Blueberry Pie

4 cups fresh blueberries, divided

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp grated fresh lemon peel
3 Tbsp corn starch
Pie crust, baked and cooled
Cool Whip (light, fat free, creamy, or regular)

1. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup blueberries, sugar, water, lemon peel and cornstarch.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
3.  Let cooked fruit mixture cool.
4.  Fold in remaining 3 cups of blueberries.
5.  Pour filling into baked and cooled pie crust.
6.  Cool in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
7.  Top with cool whip and garnish with additional blueberries and/or lemon slices.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

What's your favorite way to enjoy fresh blueberries?

3 Ingredient No Bake Cheesecake

Need a super easy recipe for a delicious dessert that can be made from just 3 ingredients in less than 10 minutes? I love this easy cheesecake recipe. I made it for dinner tonight, and I can't believe it's been so long since I made it because it is super delicious and so easy.


I've had this recipe in my stash of go to favorites for more than 10 years. I think I originally found it in a magazine in an advertisement for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I often make this dish in the summer because it's a no-bake recipe, but it would be tasty any time of the year.


Tonight we enjoyed this cheesecake as individual desserts served in my pink pedestal glasses, but I usually make it in a pie plate. I took dinner to the two priests at our church and brought them each an individual dessert cup. I made my own graham cracker crumb crust and just divided the crumbs among the individual serving glasses instead of using a ready-to-use graham cracker crust. You can also double the recipe and put it in a 9 x 13 pan. It makes a wonderful potluck dessert. We topped our cheesecake tonight with my homemade blueberry topping, but you could top it with any flavor pie filling, fresh fruit, or even a drizzle of chocolate or caramel. It's so light and fluffy, you could just eat it plain! My 11 year old asked if she could have the leftovers for breakfast!


Here's the recipe:


3 Ingredient No Bake Cheesecake
1 pkg low fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tub low fat Cool Whip


1. Mix cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
2. Gently stir in whipped topping.
3. Spoon into prepared graham cracker crust.
4. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
5. Top with fresh fruit or canned pie filling.


You can also use the full fat versions, but I'm all for saving calories when
and where I can! You'll never notice the difference!


If you need an easy graham cracker crust recipe, here's what I use.


Graham Cracker Crust
1 pkg graham crackers, crushed (18 square crackers or 9 rectangle crackers)
1/2 stick melted butter
1/3 cup sugar


1. Mix together melted butter and sugar.
2. Stir in cracker crumbs until mixed.
3. Press in bottom of pie plate or divide between individual serving dishes.
4. Spoon pie filling over crust.


What's your favorite 3 ingredient recipe?

Taco Bar for the Teachers

Once a month, 3 other PTO moms and I prepare lunch for the staff at my girls' school.  Three Fridays ago was Taco Bar Day (I've been meaning to get this posted, just didn't get around to it!).  It was the Friday before Spring Break, and the staff greatly emjoyed being loved by our gift of food and fellowship.  We provided all the fixings for tacos including seasoned ground beef, shredded chicken, seasoned pinto and black beans, homemade salsa and pico de gallo, homemade guacamole, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, soft tortillas, and tortilla chips.  We also had a large tray of fresh fruit and a dessert buffet.

Joanne made all our desserts this time!  They were a hit!  We usually have a little left over at the end of lunch. . . . Not this time.  The serving dishes were scraped clean.  I asked Joanne if I could share the recipes, because they were all easy to fix, relatively inexpensive, and definitely pleased our crowd.  I hope they please yours too! 

It's hard for me to declare which of the following 4 desserts was my favorite, as I liked the taste I had of each one for different reasons.  We didn't get any photos as we were scrambling to just get everything set up in the library after the kids left and before the teachers came up to lunch.  I will try to add photos as I make the desserts in the weeks to come, as I will definitely be making all 4 before too long.

The strawberry margarita pie was actually one of my recipes I shared with Joanne.  It's cool, light, and very refreshing, especially on a hot summer night or after a spicy meal.  I got the recipe on the back of a Strawberry Cool Whip carton several years ago.  The pretzel crust gives it a salty, crunchy twist. 

The sopapilla cheescake squares were addictive.  It was hard to stop at just one little taste of these ones.  The creamy cheesecake filling with the cinnamon sugar topping would pair nicely with a cup of coffee any time of day or night. 

The apple enchiladas will actually be on our family menu next week.  I am perplexed how they can come out with a little crispness to them even though you pour liquid over the top before you bake them.  They will taste even better with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side! 

The dessert nachos were light and just the right amount of dessert if you want a little something sweet without eating too much.  Joanne offered chopped strawberries, melted chocolate, honey, and whipped cream.  I tried one each way; not sure which was the best.

Here are the recipes:

Strawberry Margarita Pie

1 ¼ cup crushed pretzels

¼ cup sugar

10 T. melted butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup strawberries, crushed or pureed

½ cup lime juice (fresh squeezed is best)

1 tub Strawberry Cool Whip (or regular if you can't find flavored)

1. Mix pretzels, sugar and butter in pie plate

2. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of pie plate

3. Refrigerate

4. Mix milk, strawberries, and lime juice until well blended

5. Gently stir in cool whip

6. Pour into crust

7. Freeze overnight

8. Let thaw 15 minutes before serving.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

2 – 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 – 8 ounce cans crescent rolls

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup butter at room temperature

¼ cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Spray 9x13 pan

3. Beat cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and vanilla until smooth

4. Unroll crescents and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into rectangles

5. Press one piece into 9x13 pan

6. Evenly spread cream cheese on top then cover with 2^nd package of crescent rolls (also rolled out into rectangle)

7. Stir together ¾ cup sugar, cinnamon, and butter and dot mixture over cheese cake

8. Bake until crescent dough has puffed and is golden brown (about 30 minutes)

9. Remove and drizzle with honey

10. Cool

11. Cut into squares

Apple Enchiladas

1 can apple pie filling

5 flour tortillas (8 inch)

1/3 cup margarine

½ cup white sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas

3. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon

4. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in lightly greased 8x8 pan

5. Bring margarine, sugars, and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring for 3 minutes

6. Pour over tortillas

7. Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon

8. Bake for about 20 minutes

9. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar

What's your favorite mexican themed dessert?

Fluffy Green Salad

Having red hair, I've always had a fondness for St. Patrick's Day.  We never really celebrated it when I was a kid other than wearing green to school.  But as a mom over the years, we've done some fun St. Patrick's Day activities.  Green food has always been a part of our festvities.  It's amazing what you can do with a bottle of green food coloring and some inspiration from the Internet!

This Fluffy Green Salad was the perfect accompaniment to our Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner this past week.  Because I had worked a full day at the gym meet last Saturday, we did not enjoy our Irish dinner until Monday, our typical Crock Pot Meal Day. Nonetheless, we devoured the tender meat and savory vegetables just as easily on March 19!  This sweet and tart Fluffy Green Salad comlimented the salty dinner very nicely.  The green coloring made it festive!

This Fluffy Green Salad is kind of a cross between a fruit salad and a dessert.  It was a recipe popular in the 1970's.  Maybe you remember eating it as a kid.  Most moms would add chopped nuts as the recipe suggested.  I don't like chopped nuts in my cool whippy type fruit salads, so we eat it without.  The few chopped nuts in the pistachio pudding are so fine that they don't seem to bother me.  We enjoyed bowls of the Fluffy Green Salad accompanied by a green shortbread cookie for our dessert.  It makes a great potluck dish and is loved by adults and kids alike.  When I have brought this dish to a gathering, I have caught guests scraping the bowl clean.  I have made this dish with fat free cool whip and sugar free pudding, and I can't tell a big difference from using the full fat and full sugar versions. 

Here's the recipe:

Fluffy Green Salad
1 lg can of pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple (whatever is your texture preference)
1 sm box of pistachio pudding (sugar free/fat free work fine)
1 cup mini marshmallows (white or the pastel colored ones)
1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip (fat free, low fat, or regular)
a few drops of green food coloring, optional.

1.  In a medium bowl, combine the undrained pineapple and the pistachio pudding.
2.  Mix in the mini marshmallows.
3.  Fold in the Cool Whip.
4.  Add a few drops of green food coloring if you want to accent the green color.
4.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

So what do you think. . .fruit salad or dessert?



I linked up this recipe over at Eat At Home's Spotlight Ingredient: Pineapple.  Check out some of the other great recipes that involve pineapple. 

Happy Pi Day!

My 11 year old informed me afterschool today that tomorrow, March 14, is International Pi Day!  (You know pi. . . . 3.14. . . like you learn about in math class. . . . )  In celebration of this grand event, I announced that we would be eating only round foods for dinner on Wednesday!  The kids decided we should have pizza, salad served in a bowl, and ice cream pie for dessert.  I'm sure we'll tie in a few measurement lessons before we dig in.  The kids are certainly excited about dinner, and I love any kind of dinner celebration!

I tried out the Pioneer Woman's Pizza Crust recipe last week with great success!  I made a few changes to her original recipe, namely I did not let it rest in the refrigerator as she describes.  I just made it a few hours ahead because we had a few last minute changes in our schedule and meal plan.  I let it rest on the counter similar to the artisan bread recipe.  The dough was sticky, but with a little flour on my hands, I was able to turn it into a pizza crust with no problem at all.  The crust was delicious with just the right amount of crunchiness and chewiness to suit our family's tastes.  I love that I did not have to knead the dough as I seem to lack kneading skills. 

Here's the recipe from Pioneer Woman:

Pizza Crust

1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil


1.  Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
2.  In a mixer, combine flour and salt.
3.  With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour.
4.  Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
5.  Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball.

The Pioneer Woman states to put the dough into a greased bowl and cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.  I did not.  I just let mine sit on the counter in a greased bowl covered with a towel.  It still worked.  Not sure if it tasted like Ree Drummond's, but it was still good.

We'll be having our pizzas topped with round pepperonis of course!  I wonder what other round things I can come up with to put on the pizza in honor of International Pi Day!

For dessert, we'll be having one of my easy desserts - ice cream pie.  This is one I have shared with many friends looking for a tasty easy dessert.  The trick to making this one look like something fancy is all in the presentation.  I just drizzle some sort of topping all over the plate artistically like they do at restaurants.  It fools my guests every time.  They think I spent hours and hours making some fancy dessert.  I never tell them this one takes less than 5 minutes to prepare!  

I have made endless variations on this easy ice cream pie.  Some of my favorites are mint chocolate chip in a chocolate crust drizzled with dark chocolate, black raspberry chip in a chocolate crust drizzled with marshmallow, butterfinger in a chocolate crust sprinkles with additional butterfinger candies, prailenes and cream in a graham cracker crust topped with caramel and Heath chips, strawberry cheesecake in a graham cracker crust topped with strawberry syrup. . . the possibilities are endless.

Easy Ice Cream Pie
Graham Cracker Pie Crust (chocolate, regular, low fat, shortbread, store brand, homemade)
1/2 gallon of your favorite ice cream, softened
Ice Cream topping (chocolate, caramel, marshmallow, butterscotch, etc)
whipped cream
cherries or chocolate shavings or sprinkles or something for garnish

1.  Pick your favorite ice cream and topping combination. 
2.  Soften ice cream on the counter for 10 minutes.  (Often I make this right when I come home from the store as the ice cream is just about perfect)
3.  Carefully spoon the softened ice cream into the graham cracker crust.  (Sometimes I add a layer of ice cream topping on the bottom before I put on the ice cream.  Hot fudge works great as a bottom layer)
4.  Cover the pie and freeze for several hours before serving.
5.  Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before you want to serve dessert.
6.  Cut a slice of pie and place on a plate.  Drizzle the top with additional topping and whipped cream and garnish so that it looks like something you'd get from a restaurant.
7.  Serve with a smile.

I'll be sure to post pictures of our Pi Day Celebration!

What round foods will you be serving on your table in celebration of International Pi Day?!

Peach Cobbler

One of the many things I love about my freezer is all the summer fruits I have tucked away on the third shelf.  I love pulling them out in the middle of winter to remind me that summer will soon be back and we can once again enjoy long days of sunshine, fun in the backyard, lazy afternoons at the pool, and numerous fresh fruits and vegetables.

This past summer, we picked up a bushel of fresh peaches out at Yutzy's Farm Market.  I sliced, cut, and froze lots of bags of peaches because the crop was delightfully sweet and plentiful this year.  I first made this particular peach cobbler this summer and decided to try it with my frozen peaches over this past weekend.  The peaches lost their firmness a bit, but the taste was just as yummy as it was this summer.  This recipe is a mix of several I found after doing a Google search for "peach cobbler."   The topping is like a sweet cake and the cinnamon gives it a deep, rich flavor in contrast with the tart peaches.  Add a scoop of french vanilla ice cream and you're all set!

The cobbler tastes best the first day, preferably still warm from the oven.  It does not get all runny, however, by the second day, as many fruit filled desserts can.  I have to exert great self control to keep from snitching bites of it while sitting leftover on the counter.  Maybe the family will never notice that their portions are a bit smaller that second night! 

I thought I took a picture of this on Saturday, but I must not have as I can not find it on the camera.  The oldest daughter and her friend helped me make this dessert on Saturday during their afternoon playdate.  They couldn't believe that when you put it in the oven the fruit is on top, and when it comes out of the oven the fruit is on the bottom!  I tried to refrain from making our baking session into too much of a science lesson.  It's not always cool to have a teacher mom, especially when you're 11 and have a friend over. (Or at least that's what I've been told!)

If you have some peaches in your freezer, give this a try.  If not, file this one away until peach season comes back around.  Just make sure that the peaches you use smell like peaches.  (that means don't go out and buy peaches right now in March to try this recipe; they don't smell or taste the way peaches are designed to smell/taste)  I'm not sure if it would taste the same with canned peaches.  If you try it, let me know.

Here's the recipe:

Peach Cobbler

6 Tbsp butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 Cup milk

4 cups fresh peach slices

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Ground cinnamon

1.  Melt butter in bottom of greased casserole dish. (I used my Corning Ware Large Oval)

2. Mix together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

3. Add milk to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

4. Pour batter over melted butter in casserole dish.

For the filling:

1. In a saucepan, mix together peaches, sugar, and lemon juice.

2. Bring to a boil until thickened.

3. Pour over batter and butter mixture. 

4. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes at 375 until slightly brown and cooked through.

During baking, the batter rises to the top forming a beautiful topping.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

You can use frozen peaches, but the peaches will lose a bit of their texture during baking.

Individual Blueberry Trifles

October is birthday season at our house!  The 3 year old, 8 year old, and I all have our birthdays within 5 days.  We have separate celebrations for each of us, so that can be a lot of cake to consume at one time.  What do I do with all that cake?  You should know the answer by now even though you’ve only been reading the blog for a couple of weeks. . . . I throw some of it in the freezer to be enjoyed later!

So, I came across a small pan of unfrosted white cake in the freezer during the freezer inventory.  I had cut 4 small circles out of the cake to make the 3 year old's pink princess castle cake.  (The cake rounds were the base for the turrets on the castle.)  I figured the remainder of the cake could be used for a trifle or strawberry shortcake or something in the future, so I tossed it in the freezer.

We had a pork roast on Sunday for dinner.  I thought that simple meal needed a little happy ending, so I whipped up a batch of these heavenly individual blueberry cake trifles.  I have several bags of blueberries in the freezer (my parents live in the heart of Michigan blueberry country).  I used two cups to turn into a sweet topping for the cake and added some cool whip.  The only problem. . . . they weren’t big enough!  We all were scraping the dishes trying to get that last bit of sweet blueberry goodness!

Individual Blueberry Trifle

Here’s the recipe for the blueberry topping, the only real cooking I had to do.  It came together in under 5 minutes:

Blueberry Topping

2 cups frozen blueberries

1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Stir and heat over medium heat until the bubbling.  Cook for one minute to thicken.  Cool before putting on top of the trifles.  (This is also delicious over vanilla ice cream!)

Individual Blueberry Trifles

White cake, cut into cubes (I had about a half of a 9x9 pan of cake)

Blueberry topping (you could also use any can of pie filling or thicken any fruit you might have)
½ carton of Light Cool Whip

1.  Put a few cubes of cake in the bottom of a parfait glass.

2.  Spoon a blob of blueberry topping on top.
3.  Add a spoonful of cool whip.
4.  Repeat layers.
5.  Place in the frig until you’re ready to eat. 

What do you do with leftover cake?

Pumpkin Pudding Parfaits

Did you see me do the little happy dance in the aisle of Kroger in the morning on New Year's Eve Day?  Yep, that was me, right there in the aisle by the frozen foods.  I found a clearance table loaded with goodies from the holidays that Kroger was practically giving away so they could fill their shelves with the products that encourage healthier eating habits after a month of holiday gorging.

Now the real bargain hunters were out there in the days following Christmas trying to fill their stockpiles with all kinds of markdowns.  Not me.  I was home hosting a slew of playdates and sleepovers for my girls, getting some things done around the house, and taking stock of what I already have in the pantry and freezer.  We have plenty.  We don't need more.  I just need to use what we have!

But when I made a trip to the store to pick up the items I needed to complete the things I was bringing to the New Year's Eve party, I stumbled about this great bargain for a dime.  Yes, a dime.  10 pennies.

At a dime, I picked up 2 for us to have at home and 4 to give to the local food pantry. 
I left plenty on the table for other bargain hunters to find, and we won't have a closet full of pudding!

For a dime, I'm willing to try anything.  My kids like pudding.  They like pumpkin pie.  So what's not to like about a pumpkin pie pudding?  Especially for 10 cents!

Monday we had a pot of turkey noodle soup that I had pulled from the freezer for dinner.  I had made the soup using the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving and made a big batch so that we could it enjoy it for more than one meal.  I prefer to freeze my second portion and eat it later on rather than eat the same meal twice in one week.  I like variety in my weekly meal plan.

So, I thought that the pumpkin pudding would be a great ending to the turkey soup.  Plus I had two gallons of milk in the frig that were taking up too much space.  I needed to finish up one of the gallons of milk, and pudding seemed like the perfect way to do that.

Now a small box of pudding makes 4 servings.  We have 5 people in our family.  So what's a mom to do? 

Get creative.  Now when I serve pudding, I turn them into pudding parfaits.   I serve them in a fancy dish, a set of footed bowls that we received from my mother in law a few years ago when the girls were in their Fancy Nancy stage.   The girls call the dish a "Bup" or a "Cowl" because it's a combo cup/bowl in their eyes.  I top them with whipped cream from a can.  Sometimes I'll add fruit or sprinkles or a layer of cookie crumbs on the bottom to make it like a pie.  The possibilities are endless.

For the pudding parfaits, I made the pudding according to the pkg directions.  I put some crushed graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of each dish.  (Cinnamon or plain graham crackers would work)  Divide the pudding among the 5 serving dishes.  Top with whipped cream from a can.  Serve with a smile.  No one has to know this beauty costs less than a quarter and took 5 minutes to create.

Pumpkin Pie Pudding Parfait

What's a 5 minute fancy dessert you like to serve your family?