Easy Cream Pie!

This is the hit for summer around my house! As soon as I start getting strawberries in May, this pie gets made about once a week. sometimes I just make the cream filling and put it into little cups and dump berries on top.

Pet peeve of the week:  Alright, I know it's only Monday, I'll probably have five more before the week is out! But my recent pet peeve is people who go and pick or buy fresh berries and then go home and cook them!  Are you crazy! Eat those things just like God created them.  don't coat them in sugar or bake the soup out of them.  Eat them on cereal, in cream pies, by the hand fulls....they won't be around forever and then you can get the frozen ones out to bake with! Ok, I'm better now....back to the cream pie recipe.

Easy Cream Pie

1 graham cracker pie shell - I buy mine but you can make your own if you are so inclined.  I also sometimes make little ones by putting a nilla wafer in the bottom of a small bowl. 
1 large box jello cook pudding - Do not use instant, YUCK! This takes eight minutes to make in the microwave!
3 cups milk
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, I use the low/no fat kinds

Make pudding like the box says.  I use the microwave so I don't have to stand over it.  When the pudding is cooked, cut the cream cheese into 12-16 pieces and place in the hot pudding and stir like crazy until it has melted into the pudding.
Pour the mixture into a pie shell. 
You can let the mixture cool and fold the berries into it before adding it to the pie shell but since we don't eat an entire pie at one sitting, although I'd like to! The berries will get soggy and so will the crust.  I put the mixture in the pie shell and serve the berries on top.  This way, everybody can create their own berry pie by using various berries, mango, peaches, etc.  Top it if you want with whipped cream. 

This is also really good for breakfast if you can eat it before the kids wake up!

Blueberries

It's blueberry season in Oklahoma!  I love blueberries and used to pick gallons to put away for winter.  Then, my kids were born and spending hours out in the sun picking gallons of blueberries just didn't seem to work for me.  That's when I discovered that for just a few dollars more, the farm will pick for you! 

I've located a few reliable farms within an hours drive that I can call ahead and pick them up.  I have several friends that I also pick up gallons and gallons for freezing and just eating now.  I individually freeze the washed and drained berries on waxed paper on cookie sheets.  Once they are frozen, just a hour or two will freeze them, I put them into gallon bags.  They can be scooped out and used in various things over the winter.

It's so nice to have pancake night in December with a big bowl of blueberries to put all over the top!  We also use them in smoothies, muffins and to top off oatmeal.  I used to cool the oatmeal down when the kids were little by just throwing in a handful of frozen berries.  Now, the kids can handle the oatmeal a little warmer so I thaw them before adding but they taste like fresh and add so many nutrients to a bowl of homemade oatmeal. 

We also eat about a gallon a week while they are in season.  Cheerios and blueberries are so good during the months of june and july!  My daughter will mix up a bowl dry and eat them all day long!  I've also got a great cream pie recipe I'll share next week!

Special Weeknight Cake

Since I started January with my rant about fudge, I'm thinking February ought to start on the same sweet note! Not everybody likes chocolate, although I seriously doubt someone's sanity when they say that, so I thought I'd give you a favorite cake recipe we have often at my house.

I know reading this blog, you think all we do is sit around and eat, especially sweets! That's not really true. I just don't keep a lot of sweet store-bought foods around so I have an arsenal of recipes to create treats for my family. Some are healthier than others. I don't want my family to think any food or category is 'off-limits's. After working with kids for most of my adult life, I realize telling someone it is 'off-limits' harkens back to the Eve effect and then guilt and then out-of-control, I-give-up kind of eating! I want my kids to understand control and serving size.

I serve this cake with fresh, frozen fruit that I picked last summer. Usually, it's blackberries. This year, I had a bumper crop so I have bags and bags to use up and my family is more than happy to help!

Jello Cake
1 pkg. lemon cake mix - or from scratch
1 small package jello, can be lemon or something else tart
1/4 Cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup water
4 eggs or egg substitute

Mix all but eggs together. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes until done. While baking, mix 2 cups powdered sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice. When cake is done, punch holes in top using a toothpick or spoon. Pour lemon juice and sugar mixture over while cake is still hot.

Today, I'm making a lemon cake with rasperry jello and serving it with blackberries! This is equally good with strawberry cake and strawberry jello(serve with strawberries) or a lemon cake and orange jello(serve with mandarin oranges). You can also change up the juice that you mix with the powdered sugar. I have used lime, pineapple and blackberry juice. It's all good!

I got this recipe from an old cookbook I bought at a church sale. Some recipes never get old!

Have a blessed day!