Red, White and Blue Desserts!

Remember this pie??  We enjoyed every last bite over Memorial Day.  I thought I would include a recipe from Cook's Country.  If you haven't checked them out yet you really should.  I luv reading about the hows and whys of a recipe.  Ever wonder why something flopped?  This magazine will help you figure it out.  The author says this is a close as she can get to the famous Shoney's Pie.  It's a restaurant chain based in Nashville, TN.  She also recommends using the Cascadian Farm frozen brand strawberries.  They won the taste testers best flavor for frozen.

Diner Style Strawberry Pie

Filling
2 lbs. frozen strawberries
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1 Cup sugar
pinch salt

1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
1 9 inch pie shell, baked and cooled

Topping
4 ounces cream cheese
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes.  Increase to medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until jam-like about 25 minutes.  *Make sure you measure the mixture at this point to be 2 cups.

Add gelatin: combine lemon juice, water and gelatin in small bowl.  Let mixture stand for about 5 min. until it has thickened. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to simmer, about 2 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temp about 30 minutes. 

Add fresh berries:  Fold fresh berries into filling.  Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.  *While I refrigerated my mixture I didn't put it in pie shell and my pie fell apart on cutting it the author notes this can be made ahead and refrigerated but I was afraid of a soggy crust.  Go ahead and follow the directions here.  Her picture shows a cleanly sliced filling. 

Make topping:  With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth about 30 sec.  With mixer running add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.  Serve pie with whipped cream topping. 

Looking for a lo cal dessert?? Yep, me too!  I loved serving this as a snack today for my kiddos.  If you're counting points it's 4 points.  It came in one of those free flyers in the mail for a Weight Watchers Quick and Easy book.  I love blueberries and right now you can find them at the store for not too much money.  I also love lemon anything.  These reminded me of a cheesecake because I used the graham crackers.  It was yummy!  My kids gave it two thumbs up as well!

Blueberry-Lemon Cream Parfaits

1/4 cup 2 ounces block style cream cheese 1/3 less fat
2 Tbsp.  lemon curd
3/4 vanilla light icecream slightly softened
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 cup coarsley chopped sugar-free shortbread cookies (I substituted graham crackers)
1 cup blueberries

Place cream cheese and lemon curd in a small bowl and mix at medium speed until smooth speed.  Add icecream and lemon rind; beat well.

Spoon 1 tbsp.  cookie mixture into 4 glasses.  Top with 2 tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture and 2 tbsp. blueberries.  Repeat procedure for the rest of the glasses and serve immediately. 
 183 calories per serving 7.1 grams of fat

  If you are looking for more recipes check out Colleen's blog too!

Have a great weekend!

Carey