{tasty tuesdays} Mmm, Pie!

I am proud of this yummy little pie. Proud because I decided on the spur of the moment at the grocery store to throw this and that together, and it actually came out tasting really good! (It doesn't always work out that way-- just ask my husband.) I made it for a family dinner we had at our house on Saturday. Did anyone else happen to notice how very WARM it was that day? This fact is where the idea for the pie came from-- I wanted something cool, refreshing, and light. Anything that would cool me down and help me forget the fact that it felt like summer already. I'm not ready for our Bakersfield heat yet, thankyouverymuch. Another bonus-- no oven required!

Has anyone seen the movie Waitress? You know how she names all the many different pies things like "I Hate My Husband Pie", or "I Can't Have No Affair Because It's Wrong and I Don't Want Earl to Kill Me Pie"? Well, after the same fashion, I have decided to name my creation:

Why Is It So Dang Hot Already in April Pie

1 graham cracker crust

1 small box instant white chocolate pudding

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

2 3/4 cup milk

1 small can mandarin oranges, thoroughly drained

5-6 fudge-covered vanilla sugar wafers, crushed

1 tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 teaspoons orange juice

freshly grated orange zest

In medium bowl, whisk together milk and the two different kinds of pudding for one minute, until slightly thickened and smooth. Pour immediately into graham cracker crust and make sure it is spread evenly. Arrange mandarin oranges on top of pudding mixture in pie crust. Top evenly with crushed cookies. It will look like this:

Next, gently stir orange juice into whipped topping. (Note: I don't know exactly how much I used, so if 2 tsp seems like too much, use less. just enough to give the topping slight orange flavor. You do not want to make your topping too thin! A bit of orange extract would also work very well instead.) Add orange zest (chop it as fine as you wish, or leave it coarse) and gently mix. Using a small spatula, place all of whipped topping on top of pie. Spread evenly and make some pretty spatula swirlies. Refrigerate for at least a couple hours before serving.

To serve-- there should be some fudge-covered sugar wafers left in the package (unless you ate the rest, in which case you might not have room for pie, tsk tsk.) I sliced a few in half lengthwise and used them as a garnish for the sliced and plated pie. An orange peel curl would be beautiful too, only I didn't happen to think of that until after the fact.
This particular piece did not hold it's shape coming out, but doesn't it look tasty?



Note: I actually used fat-free/ sugar-free puddings as well as fat-free whipped topping. I'm sure fat-free milk would be fine too. The end result might not be as creamy as it would have been if I had used regular ingredients, but it did not harm the taste at all!

If any of you try this and find the ingredients are off, or I forgot some important step, please let me know. And please.... ENJOY!