The Nifty Foodie

With the time change, I was anxiously awaiting Desperate Housewives to come on at 8. However, it was 5:30 and dark! I realized I needed to make the time zoom a little faster, so I decided to make a pumpkin pie.

Not just any pumpkin pie, a Weight Watchers friendly pumpkin pie! I found this great recipe in Cooking Light, believe it or not. I’m being completely serious when I say I cannot tell the difference between normal pumpkin pie and this pumpkin pie!

Pumpkin Pie
Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated low-fat milk
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 large egg
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin

Crust:

• 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury) (I used premade frozen crust)
• Cooking spray

Topping: (I omitted this topping and subbed some Cool Whip Fat Free)

• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)
• 2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Position oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 425°.
2. To prepare filling, combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pumpkin, and stir with a whisk until smooth.
3. To prepare crust, roll dough into an 11-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under and flute.
4. Pour pumpkin mixture into the crust. Place pie plate on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet on lowest oven rack. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven); bake an additional 50 minutes or until almost set. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare topping, beat cream with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the amaretto and powdered sugar, and beat until blended. Serve with pie.

Serves 12.

POINTS*: 4.5/slice (with 1 tbsp. whipped topping included)

Seriously, try this recipe for the holiday season. You will not be disappointed! This is now going to be a favorite I’m bringing to every holiday I’m asked to bring a dish for!

I remember finding a recipe for this in my Weight Watchers magazine last year, and when I made it, it was SO yummy. Unfortunately, in my decluttering, I threw out the magazine, and thus, losing the recipe. I resorted to google to find the pie’s recipe, but there were like 4 versions. I took a chance on this one and made it. I will say, this isn’t the same recipe as the magazine. It was more spicy and much less pumpkin flavor than before. It was still good, but not the same. I will find that original recipe though…my family enjoys the trials!

Pumpkin Mousse Pie
Adapted from On Beyond Running

Ingredients:

• 1 reduced fat graham cracker pie crust
• 1 1/4 cup cold 2% milk
• 1 package SF FF instant cheesecake pudding
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 tub sugar free cool whip, thawed
• 1 tbs. pumpkin pie spice OR 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 3/4 tsp. ground ginger and 1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat milk, pudding mix and spices together with a whisk for 1 1/2 minutes. Whisk in pumpkin. Fold in cool whip. Spread in pie crust.
2. Refridgerate for at least 2 hours for it to set. Keep stored in fridge.

Makes 8 servings
Points*: 4

Who couldn’t start the 4th of July weekend without an All American recipe, such as this one. If you have the book, consider making it for this weekend! You won’t be disappointed hehe!

When the ever so popular book “Baking: From My Home to Yours” went on bargain listings for Amazon (sorry, it’s not on bargain anymore ), I knew I couldn’t pass it up. So many people rave about this book. In fact, there is a group online solely dedicated to making a recipe from this book every Tuesday, but I can’t join that because of my diet, and I really lack the time right now. Plus with a dead camera at home, I can only make desserts on weekends (since my fiance graciously allows me to use his camera), and those will be VERY few and far between!!

My new shiny baking book!!

I chose this recipe as my first recipe out of the book, because my fiance bought a bag of apples a week ago, and so we had to use them all..so this was perfect for that!

This was my first pie that I’ve made from scratch, and PRAISE GOD for a food processor. This crust was light and flaky, and just mmm. I will say the tapioca in the recipe made me a little confused, and I wanted to omit it so bad. The only time I eat tapioca is in my bubble (boba) tea, and in really large pearls. So, imagining this in apple pie was like hmm…

However, I’m glad I didn’t omit it. I really think this made the texture of the filling amazing. I’ve always been known to sub things in baking and cooking, and if I’m lucky, it comes out right…so I went strictly by the recipe! Oh wait, I did forget the graham cracker crumbs…only 2 tbs. so I think I’m ok…**sinks in desk chair** but still, fabulous apple pie!

Peeling, coring and slicing 4 lbs. of apples is HARD WORK!! We used pink lady and granny smith apples (he had 3 lbs of pink lady and I picked up a couple granny smiths)

The dough halved, getting ready to roll down

The pie assembled and ready to chill before going in the oven.

The finished pie..sigghh…sorry, had to have a slice!

The gooey goodness in the middle!