Yummy Monday (Tuesday): Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

I know, I know.  A day late again on the Yummy Monday post again.  If you had any idea of the couple of weeks I've had, you'd buy me a drink, and tell me to throw my feet up.  Speaking of throwing my feet up, I'm on strict orders to lay low for today and tomorrow, so I'm catching up now with the post. 

I love lemon-y things.  I don't know what it is about lemons that makes me go ga-ga, but I love lemon in my water, lemon bars, my aunts AMAZING lemonade cake with raspberries (I'll have to steal the recipe one of these days and post it for you!) pretty much anything you can think of with lemons.  Lemons just taste like summer to me too, so today I've got a simple recipe for a lemon-y cream cheese pie that could not be any easier.  I'll post "healthy" substitutions in italics too, for those of you who are trying to behave yourselves.

1 package of instant lemon pudding mix

1 package of lemon geletin mix

1 lemon

1 3/4 cups of milk (skim)

1 8oz block of cream cheese, softened (lowfat)

1 prepared graham cracker crust (lowfat)

I bought a crust this time (slacker!) but you can make your own homemade graham cracker crust very easily.  All you  need are:

1 1/2 cups of crushed graham crackers

6 tablespoons of melted butter

1/4 cup of white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Mix everything together and press into a 9" pie plate.  Bake at 375 degrees for 6-7 minutes.  Cool thoroughly before adding fillings.

Back to the Lemon Cream Cheese Pie though:

Mix the pudding and milk as per the directions on the package.  Slowly add in the geletin mix, using the electic beaters.  Add in softened cream cheese (I find it's easier to beat in smoothly if you add it in about 1/4 at a time) and finally, beat in the juice from 1/2 the lemon.  Pour the mixture into your crust and let it set for at least 3 hours prior to cutting.

Clearly by the looks of this slice, I didn't let it chill long enough.  I should have waited overnight for it to firm up properly, but I really wanted a slice!  I garnished this one with a little whipped cream and a strawberry, but this pie is also amazing with raspberries on top!  You can also take the lemon rind leftover from juicing the lemon, and gently peel a couple of rind curls off of it to garnish with, although that kind of garnish is best done just prior to serving.

Enjoy!

Oh, and since I'm late in posting this, I'll be back tomorrow with a fantastic layout I created for Apron Strings showcasing some photos from our recent Cape Cod vacation.