Strawberry Pudding "Pie"

I have never met a strawberry dessert that I didn't like, and this one is ah-mazing! It is low in calories and fat, and it satisfies the sweet teeth in our household without going crazy in the calorie department!

This super fast and simple recipe is a mix between an Angel Lush dessert that my mom makes from time to time and my grandma's banana pudding recipe. No bananas in this one, though.

It starts off with about a half of a box of vanilla wafer cookies. Line them up in an orderly fashion to cover a pie plate. Crumble a few if you'd like to try to cover the whole bottom. This is not going to slice nicely like a pie, so the crust doesn't have to be perfect.

Next, follow the directions on the box to make a large box of instant sugar-free fat-free vanilla pudding.  Make sure it is super smooth.




Next, strain the juice from a can of crushed pineapple, and add it to the pudding. Add a tub of whipped topping. You can use a lite variety of this as well to cut calories and fat again,

Mix well with a low speed on the mixer or with a rubber spatula. The mixture should be pillow-y and pretty when you're all done. I like to use a clear glass bowl for recipes like this so I can check to see if I mixed well enough.

This is where it starts getting really goooood! Spoon the mixture onto the cookies. I can't seem to get the whole amount of the mixture into the pie plate, so I reserve about a cup or more for snacking... for the kids, of course!

Aren't these strawberries pretty? I used seven because they were so big and pretty, but you can add more or use fewer depending on your taste. I cleaned up the stems and began to slice them up.

 Yum!

The last step is to arrange these gems on top of the pudding-y, pineapple-y pillow in the pie plate.

Yum yum yum! My kids love this dessert, and I bet you will too!

Cost breakdown:

1/2 box of vanilla wafer cookies  ($1.99/box)     $1.00

3 cups of milk  ($2.55/gallon = $0.16/cup)          $0.48

vanilla pudding mix                                              $1.99

1 can crushed pineapple (ALDI)                          $0.69

1 carton of frozen whipped topping                     $0.89

1/2 quart strawberries ($1.49/quart ALDI)          $0.75

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Total                                                          $5.80

This pie easily has 8 servings, more if you have self-control! That's less than 75 cents per person for dessert!

Recipe

Ingredients-

1/2 box vanilla wafer cookies

sugar-free, fat-free vanilla pudding mix, large box, prepared

1 can of crushed pineapple, drained

1 carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

1/2 quart of cleaned, sliced strawberries

Instructions-

Line the cookies in a large pie plate (9"-10"). Mix prepared pudding with crushed pineapple and whipped topping until completely incorporated. Spoon mixture on top of cookies in pie plate until heaping and full. (Filling may not all fit in your pie shell. Reserve any remainder for another application.)

Top with sliced berries and refrigerate covered until ready to use.