Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

With a little help from Emeril (ok, fine…more than just a little), I made this delicious key lime pie! It’s great—and soooo easy! I know it sounds a little funny, but the topping is what really makes this dish special. But, you can always omit it if you like.

You need:
1. 9” pre-made pie crust
2. 2-14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 cup lime juice (I used a combination of fresh and bottled)
5. 8 oz plain Greek yogurt
6. 4 tbsp powdered sugar

You will:
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Whisk together milk, eggs, and lime juice.
3. Pour it into the piecrust. Note: I could find the pre-made 9” crust, so I bought the 8”. That’s fine, but just beware the pie crust will be VERY full. You can hold a little back, or just fill it that full—completely up to you. I used all the mix because I really like the thickness of the pie.
4. Place pie crust pan on a cookie sheet. Cook in oven for 20 minutes.
5. Allow pie to cool to room temperature.
6. Mix yogurt and sugar in small bowl. Emeril uses sour cream here instead of yogurt. I prefer the yogurt, and Greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt, so it’s a good substitution.
7. Spread yogurt mixture over the top of cooled pie.
8. Cover with pie pan top (comes with the crust) and chill for at least 1 hour. Or, up to a week—I made this over a week ago and I just had the last piece!

Nom! Nom!

Mixed Berry Cobbler

This is the simplest dessert that I've ever made...and, there are so many more great things about it! It makes my house smell wonderful. The ingredients don't spoil, so you can keep the items in the kitchen for the time you can't figure out what to cook, or for the company that just "drops by".

What you need:

1. 16 oz package frozen mixed berries (usually includes blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
2. 1/2 cup of water
3. 1 box of butter cake mix
4. 1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine
5. chopped pecans (optional)
6. ice cream (optional)

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Empty the berries into a 9x13 dish.
3. Add the water to the dish.
4. Add the cake mix on top of the berries, making sure to get it somewhat even throughout the dish. I use the back of a spoon to even it out.
5. Thinly slice the sticks of butter and place them on top of the cake mix.
6. Place in oven for 60 minutes or until cake mix is brown and fruit is bubbly. If you choose to use the pecans, sprinkle them on the top for the last 10 minutes of cook time.
7. Serve hot with ice cream on top. If I use pecans on the cobbler, I serve it with Vanilla Bean ice cream. If I omit the pecans, I serve it with Buttered Pecan ice cream (this is my favorite).

This is great, even leftover!

Nam! Nam!

S'mores Cups

Alright...I dreamed these up after having a S'mores milkshake and loving it. Knowing that milkshakes are impossible to transport to BCS championship parties (or any other party, for that matter), I came up with a non-frozen variety. And, well...it's darn good! I made these in single serving cups, but this can also be made as one dish in a trifle bowl. This recipe makes 10 servings, but easy to scale up or down as you wish. If you want to make this in a trifle bowl, you will need to double the recipe, to make a total of 20 servings.

You'll need:

1. 5.9 oz box of chocolate instant pudding mix
2. 3 cups milk
3. 10 tbsp graham cracker crumbs, plus some for sprinkling
4. Dark chocolate bar, just regular size
5. miniature marshmallows
6. 2.5 sheets of graham crackers (broken into 10 rectangle pieces)
7. 10 9oz clear cups, or your preference for serving dishes

You'll do:

1. Preheat oven to broil Hi.
2. Make pudding according to package directions (most brands use 3 cups of milk, whisking for 2 minutes) and then refrigerate.
3. Line the bottom of each cup with a tbsp of graham cracker crumbs.
4. With a large knife, cut chocolate bar into very small pieces.
5. Remove pudding from refrigerator. Mix chocolate pieces into pudding.
6. Add about 3 tbsp of pudding to each cup, atop the graham cracker crumbs.
7. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
8. Place marshmallows on wax paper in clusters of 5-6.
9. Put pan in preheated oven for 30 seconds to brown tops of marshmallows.
10. Let marshmallows cool about 10 minutes before trying to remove them.
11. Lightly dust each pudding cup with graham cracker crumbs.
12. Break each graham cracker rectangle into 2 equal pieces and place on opposite sides of the pudding cup so that they are mostly sticking out of the pudding.
13. With a clean, non-stick spatula, remove each cluster of marshmallows from the wax paper and place on the top of pudding.
14. Serve immediately, or chill for up to 4 hours. If you want to make this ahead of time, just wait until the last minute to add the graham cracker pieces to the top--everything else can be done 1-2 days in advance.

Nam! Nam!

White Chocolate Snowballs

I call these snowballs because I made them for the first time during the Christmas season. Really, though, you can make them anytime...but, they do look great in a red bowl! This is a simple, no bake recipe. All you'll dirty up are 2 bowls, spatula and measuring cup!!

You'll need:

1. 1-1/4 cups rice krispies (or any other rice cereal brand)
2. 1-1/4 cups peanut butter captain crunch (don't scrimp here--get the namebrand)
3. 1-1/4 cups marshmallows
4. 1-1/4 cups honey roasted peanuts
5. 24 oz white chocolate almond bark

You'll do:

1. empty white chocolate into a glass mixing bowl and place in a 200 degree oven.
2. meanwhile, mix all dry ingredients in bowl.
3. white chocolate will take about 30-45 minutes to completely melt.
4. once melted, pour white chocolate over dry ingredients and mix well will a spatula.
5. drop spoonfuls of mix onto white chocolate.
6. allow to cool to room temperature in order to harden.
7. place on a pretty tray or in a bowl and serve to guests!

Enjoy!

Banana Butter Trifle

Ok, so this isn't the healthiest recipe, but it's one of the healthiest desserts you can make because there are lots of alternatives to the "fattening" ingredients. It's pretty, and looks like you put a lot of love into it! I think it rivals most banana pudding recipes, but see for yourselves...

What you need:

1. 1 package Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies (peanut shaped)

2. 3 very ripe large bananas

3. 16 oz tub of Cool Whip

4. 1 large package of instant pudding mix (enough to make about 3 cups)

5. Milk (see pudding package for amount)

What to do:

1. Make the pudding according to the package directions, using the milk.

2. Allow pudding to chill in refrigerator for recommended time while carrying out the next couple of steps.

3. Chop the nutter butter cookies into 3 pieces each. You can use however many you wish. I use most of the package (with a few for a little snack while in the kitchen!).

4. Peel the bananas. Split each banana lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4" slices so that you have half-moon slices.

5. Make a solid layer of cookie pieces in the bottom of a trifle bowl. Stand a few up around the outside as well.

6. Remove the pudding from refrigerator and pour half of pudding onto cookies in trifle bowl.

7. Add half of the chopped bananas atop the pudding.

8. Spread approximately 1/3 of the Cool Whip tub on top of the pudding in the bowl.

9. Repeat layers once more--cookies, pudding, bananas, cool whip.

10. Add a few chopped cookies to the top.

11. Cover with clear, plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 1 hour. It's good for at least 4 days--that's as long as it made it at my house!!

**Make sure that you make others aware this dish contains peanuts in case anyone has an allergy!

Lighter/Lower fat substitutions:

1. Use sugar-free instant pudding mix and skim milk. Just be sure that you make about 2.5-3 cups of pudding.

2. Cool Whip brand makes several lighter options, including low sugar, sugar-free, and light.

Happy Eats!