Boy did I drop the ball on this one! I set out to do something and I guess I lost my way for a bit. Well, here I am again, renewed, (hopefully) and refreshed to pick up my mission. My whole point of writing a blog was to show (myself) that I didn't need approval of others on what I do. Baking, from my point of view, is MY passion... not someone else's. I believe, in my first blog, I said not to let someone else dictate how or how well you do something & I didn't take my own advice. I let outside influences affect me and, maybe, I lost my way a little. I let negative remarks steal my confidence in my ability & dumbly enough, it had nothing to do with the actual outcome of my product. In the last couple of months, many people have asked me when I was going to post another story. LoL... I always get a kick out of that ... I'm actually posting recipes and their process .... but, Hey! If I get people to read and they think it's entertaining... that's Wonderful! thank you for listening. I have always said that when I write, I am talking to myself (and I really am!) but, if it sounds like I am speaking directly to you, then I am flattered. Even more so if you enjoy it. Thank you, again.
In my absence from blogging, I may have lost a little inspiration in expressing my thoughts aloud.... I have not, however stopped baking. In fact, I have a whole mess of recipes and pictures waiting to be written about. There have been successes and failures and, in time, I will catch up... in between new things I will experiment with. In fact, I have a cookie that keeps dancing in my head that I am going to have to get out. It sounds good in theory, at least. I will work on that.... just keep your pants on! ; p
So.... a couple of weeks ago... I wanted some pie! Pie has never been my strong suit and by that I mean, sure it tastes good but, my pies don't come out in a nice little triangle shape. It comes out in a blobby mess and by Perfect Pie standards..... that just won't do! Anyway, my hankering for this pie wouldn't let up so I went to the store, of course with no concrete idea in my head. Just Pie! Ok, we all know what happens to me when I get to the store.... all Heck Breaks loose in my peabrain and all these flavors and colors and textures scream at me until something finally leads me in a single direction. Once I have the first ingredient picked out... the rest is cake... lol... I mean, Pie! I am a woman on a mission. So, my first stop was the puddings. Did I mention this was a no-bake pie? I wanted my pie... NOW! I didn't want to have to wait until the whole baking process was complete AND THEN have to wait until the next day for it to set up! Good Grief! Who has that kind of time??
Ok, Pudding... there are many amazing flavors of pudding in this day and age. Including sugar-free. I went for full sugar. The hard part was choosing between Cheesecake or White Chocolate flavor. I chose Cheesecake (and of course, I bought the White Chocolate, too) for a later date. With that decided ... 5 ingredients is all it takes. 1 graham cracker or shortbread crust ( I don't always have to bake from scratch, you know!) 1 - 4oz. box of pudding (again, generic will do just fine ... and any flavor that sounds good.) 1 - 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese (this is one of the only times I will allow you to skimp on name brands. Generic is ok ... most other things call for Philadelphia Cream Cheese ONLY!) 1 - 16 oz tub of whipped cream (guess what?? You can use generic here, too!) ... and don't forget 1 cup of milk.
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| Just5! That's All!! |
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| Lickety-Split!! |
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| Nice & Thick! |
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| GLOP!! |
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| Nice..... ; ) |
Make the pudding first, following the directions on the end of the box for the pie filling. It says to use more milk, but sometimes it's too watery. It should be the consistency of gloppy.... you know, when you lift the whisk above the bowl and the pudding just GLOPS back into the bowl! You can add more milk if it's too thick for you. Put the pudding into the fridge to set up a bit... maybe 15 minutes. In the meantime, whip the cream cheese till he ... lol... never mind ... Another blog. Whip the cream cheese till it's lite and creamy ... about 2 minutes. ( Disclosure: Times may vary, since I have Sweetie and she whips things up lickety split .... so a handheld may take a little longer. Not bragging, I just forgot what it's like to hold a handheld. ; } ) (...is it just me... or has this blog taken a different turn?) Hmmm. With a scraper or spoon, stir the cream cheese and pudding together until nicely blended. Let sit in the fridge to set up a bit again. Now that the mix is cool & firm, fold in the cream cheese until well blended. It's okay if it's a little streaky ... you don't want to over mix because the whipped cream will deflate! Scoop it all into the pie crust and either smooth or not. Your choice. Again, let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. That should give it time to firm up enough to hold it's shape. Ok, so ... I got so excited that I forgot to take pics of the actual slice, but you can see from the whole pie that it did indeed hold it's shape! YAY!! And, Boy, was it De-Yish-Ush (as Jayden would say)! Simple, Easy & Scrumptious! Yes, even YOU can make it! (you know who YOU are!) It's been a while inbetween making this pie & blogging about it, so .... I'm gonna go make the White Chocolate flavor now. Happy Baking & ...... Don't forget your apron!-
