Summertime Dessert.....Lemonade Pie

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer!! I know it's not "officially" summer yet, but the weather here in Missouri has definitely been summer with temps in the 90's and humidity that makes you melt the moment you step outside!!

The other day my 13 year old was going thru my recipe box, picking out recipes she wants us to make (all desserts of course! lol). One of the first recipes she spied was something I scribbled down years ago on a piece of scratch paper, and it didn't even have a name on it.....so we named it......Lemonade Pie!

I'm telling you, if you want a quick and easy dessert that tastes like summer..... this is it!!

I think this took me less than 5 mins, and it was in the refrigerator.
The hardest part was waiting 4 hours to chill. *hint: licking the bowl is a good way to hold you over until the pie sets! lol

Stars of the show:

Lemonade Pie
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cup milk
2 boxes (4-serving size) Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 (6 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 (8 oz) Cool Whip
1 Graham cracker crust

Directions:

Pour milk into large bowl, add pudding mix and beat with wire whisk. Add thawed lemonade. Beat with whisk. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour into crust. Refrigerate 4 hours before serving.

My notes:

• I used Fat Free Sugar Free pudding, 1% milk and lite Cool Whip - made it a little easier on the hips and still tasted fantastic!
• I only had pink lemonade, and it worked just fine, my pie even remained yellow.
• My lemonade was a 12oz can, that's what I had on hand - the recipe calls for 6oz, so I only used 1/2 the can.
• I put the pie in the freezer for a few hours before serving - we liked it both frozen and refrigerated - both were good. Of course the refrigerated was more creamy, the frozen was....harder.
  

I'm sharing this recipe at Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Mouth Watering Mondays and Tuesdays at the Table, Tuesday Tastes, Tasty Tuesday, Delicious Dishes

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No Guilt Strawberry Pie

I love strawberries!

So, today, I'm sharing another one of my favorite "guilt free" desserts!

If you follow Weight Watchers points system, this whole pie is only 6 points!

This recipe is easy. Easy, easy, easy. But, it also means that the strawberries get to take center stage - where they belong.

Guilt Free Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 small package sugar-free Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding

2 cups water

1 small package sugar-free Strawberry Jell-O

4 cups sliced strawberries

-----------------------

In a medium saucepan, stir together water and pudding mix. Heat to a boil.

Remove from heat and immediately ad the Jell-O.

Stir until dissolved. Set the pan aside and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Place sliced strawberries in the bottom of a deep dish pie plate.

Pour cooled pudding mixture over the strawberries.

Refrigerate until chilled. Let it set well before slicing.

*I top with a little fat free Cool Whip.

Pure freshness, goodness, strawberry-ness. And, nothin' else in the pie tryin' to steal the show.

Check out these great links for other wonderful recipes!

Momtrends Friday Feasts
The Grocery Cart Challenge Recip Swap

Pumpkin Fluff

I got this recipe a few years ago when I was doing Weight Watchers. It was a big hit in my house with everyone, it quickly became a requested snack, and no longer "diet food".

I made some the other day and thought I'd share the recipe. You can tweek it to your liking.
It's pretty low cal (and high fiber) the way I make it - but if you're really trying to keep it low, just change the milk to skim and use the Fat Free Cool Whip.

(My picture has a large can of pumpkin, because I bought that buy mistake, I just put 1/2 in a container in the fridge, and I'll make another batch in a few days)

Ingredients:

1-16 oz can pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1- 1.5oz sugar free fat free vanilla or butterscotch Instant Pudding (I prefer butterscotch)

1- 8oz container of CoolWhip Lite (or Fat Free)

1/2 cup 1% milk

1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice


Directions:
Mix milk and pudding, add pumpkin and spice. Blend until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and chill (will stay good for several days).

Serves 5.
Or spread over graham crackers and you get a lot more servings.

If you're counting points on Weight Watchers, this only has a 1-2 points per serving (depending on how you make it) if you just eat a small bowl of fluff. I always ate 1-2 on a Low Fat Graham Cracker and counted it as 2 points. - but plug it into a points calculator to be sure.

check out these great links for other wonderful recipes!

Diet Friendly Vegetable Ranch Dip

When I was growing up everyone went crazy over my mom's ranch vegetable dip.

Little did most of us know, it was actually her low cal dip to eat with vegetables while she was dieting. We just simply called it "vegetable dip".

I've always loved the flavor of this diet friendly dip. If you're seriously dieting and need something to snack on or need something to take to a party, this dip with an assortment of crisp veggies could help you stay on track.

Vegetable Ranch Dip

1- 6oz plain yogurt

6 oz light mayonnaise

8 oz low fat cottage cheese

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk dressing mix

Empty yogurt into bowl. Use empty yogurt container to measure out 6 oz of light mayonnaise. Add cottage cheese and dry dressing mix. Stir until well blended.

Enjoy with your favorite vegetables!

check out these great links for other wonderful recipes!

Magical Pudding Pie

I used to make desserts and goodies all the time! I enjoyed making them and my Dad enjoyed devouring them! Since Dad passed away and I have put on a few pounds over the years, I don't make as many desserts as I used to.

A while back I was really craving some pie (so NOT on my diet!) when I ran across this recipe for a low cal pie and thought I would give it a try. So I decided to make The Magical Pudding "Pie" Dessert. What makes this dessert "magical" is after sitting the required amount of time, the saltine crackers taste just like a phyllo dough! It's an amazing dessert, and good for the dieter or non-dieter (my daughters gobbled it up!)- THIS WORKS FOR ME!!!

Works for Me Wednesday is now being hosted at We Are THAT Family!! ....be sure to get over there are see what works for others!!!

So here's the recipe...............I hope you enjoy it as much as we did (we've also made butterscotch, that was always one of Dad's favorites!)

Ingredients

1 (1.4 oz.) Package Sugar Free Chocolate Instant Pudding (or your favorite flavor)
2 Cups Skim Milk
32 Salted-Top Saltine Crackers
1 (8 oz.) Container Fat Free Cool Whip

Directions
Mix the instant pudding and milk together and place into the refrigerator 10 minutes.
Place 16 crackers in the bottom of an 8X8 pan.
Spoon half of the pudding mixture on top of the crackers, spreading evenly.
Place the other 16 crackers on top of the pudding, and then spoon the other half of the pudding mixture on top of the last set of crackers.
Top with the whole container of cool whip.
Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

Number of Servings: 6

(calories per serving=151, Total fat=1.7 g, Carbs = 21.4g)

I'm adding this recipe to the Flavor-of-the-Month Carnival over at
Bake at 350! {click the button below}

The theme for July is PIE!

I didn't have time to make a pie this month, so I'm linking up this older post, but this is a GREAT recipe that my family requests all of the time!

Low Fat high fiber Pancakes

I wanted to share a GREAT recipe
I found about 2 years ago when I was trying to lose weight.

These pancakes are
Higher in Protein & Fiber and lower in Fat and Carbs than regular pancakes!
15 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

2 pouches - Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Weight Control, Banana Bread (or any type/flavor you like)
1/2 cup - Egg Beaters (or 2 eggs)
2/3 cup - Fat Free Cottage Cheese

If not using flavored oatmeal you may wish to add a little cinnamon, sweetener and vanilla extract or other flavorings to taste.

Directions

Blend in blender (I use my Magic Bullet)
* NOTE - this "batter" is VERY thick

Preheat a non-stick skillet sprayed with Pam over medium-medium high heat.
*NOTE - these cook better at a lower temp, you may want to use medium heat only

Makes 8 medium pancakes (about 6")
*NOTE - I make 1/2 the recipe and only get 2 pancakes

Turn carefully because these pancakes are very tender.
May need to cook longer than 'regular' pancakes.
NOTE - these burn easy, be sure to cook slower
at a lower temp than 'regular pancakes'.

I spray mine with a little spray butter and pour Sugar Free syrup over them

You can find this recipe with all the nutrition information on Sparks People.
Be sure to read all of the comments, lots of good tips and suggestions as well.

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

  Tilapia is one of our family favorite meals.  It's SO delicious!  Even if you're not a fan of fish, I promise you will like this!  Even Sunshine loves this dish, she often eats more than her Dad and I when I make it for dinner.

 

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup Progresso bread crumbs

2 tsp paprika

1Tbl chopped parlsey

Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Zesty Lemon Seasoning

6-8 Tilapia Fillets

Lemon Juice

 

Preheat your oven to 400.  In a shallow dish, combine cheese, bread crumbs, paprika and parsley.

Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. 

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Season with Zesty Lemon Seasoning and sprinkle with a little Lemon Juice.

Bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10-12 minutes.  Serve with a little more Lemon Juice and your favorite sides. (We had it with sweet potatoes and corn)

ENJOY!