Fruity Yogurt Popsicles

Recipes on blogland, there sure are a plenty
I looked up popsicles and came across twenty
But I decided to come up with a kind of my own
So mine is unique and not just a clone!

Some yogurt, not flavored. Just plain...and some fruit
A knife, spoon, and bowl. Now this is a hoot.
Agave nectar will make it taste sweeter
Use low fat so you won't be a diet cheater!

Some popsicle forms (I got mine at Publix)
Now you're ready to start, some yummies to fix!
Add enough yogurt to fill all your forms
Some agave to taste and the treat then transforms!

(I used about 1.5 cups yogurt and about a teaspoon of agave nectar light)

Then your favorite fruit chopped up into bits
Berries are nice, or peaches (no pits!)

(for strawberries I ran two through the chopper to make a slurry; this added a little flavor to the actual yogurt. 

With blueberries, I just mashed up the blueberries in the yogurt)

Fill up each mold and freeze until done

Eat up and enjoy, having fun in the fun!!!

She's Alive! She's Alive! ...and Making Pie!

Yes, I really am alive and kicking! And sewing too! I just haven't been blogging much this week. We are currently in the throws of the very last year end activity we have to do; my daughter's dance recital.  It's at 6:00 tonight but she has to be there at 5:00 which means I have to have her fed, dressed, and "made up" by no later than 4:40 to get her there on time and ready. We have my parents coming in, my MIL meeting us at the venue, as well as FIL's wife meeting us there as well. He is not going to be able to come because he was on the Power Tour car trip with my hubby. He chose to stay with my BIL, and hubby came back this afternoon for the recital. I decided the quickest way to feed everyone at different intervals was picnic style so I just grabbed one of those fried chicken with sides meal deals at Publix. I also decided to make a pie. A Cool Whip pie. Of course, it's not really Cool Whip, just the store brand so I guess it's Publix pie! These are so fabulous for summer. So light and fresh, and you decide how 'decadent' you want it to be since they have light and fat free versions of whipped cream and yogurt. They even had a reduced fat graham cracker crust!
So what is a Cool Whip Pie, you might ask? Here's my (mom's!) version.

Cool Whip Pie
Ingredients
2-3 individual servings of yogurt (whatever flavor you want...I chose Key Lime Pie)
8 oz. container of cool whip
1 graham cracker pie shell

Put the yogurt and whipped cream into a bowl and mix until well blended. Before emptying the cool whip into the bowl, make sure it is not frozen in the center. I dumped mine in straight from the store and it was still frozen on the inside. This makes it harder to stir and you have to wait until it softens to get it well blended.
Once blended, pour into your pie shell.

Now, take your yummy pie and place it in your already overstuffed freezer until firm.

This really does make a great little desert. And it's so cool that you can take your favorite yogurt flavor and turn it into pie. I haven't tried it with the newer Greek yogurts, but I'm eager to see what changes it makes to the texture. I'll try to remember to post a picture of it all firmed up out of the freezer, but it may get eaten up before that!

GenX Recipe and Quilt Show! Recipe Edition

When I saw GenX was doing this Quilt and Recipe show, I knew exactly what recipe I wanted to enter. My mom used to make these cookies called Ranger Cookies. These are so yummy, and even though I am not a coconut fan, I love these. It really just makes the cookies chewy.
Here goes the recipe:

Ranger Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. Crisco shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2  t. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 c. coconut
2 c. sifted all purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 c. uncooked oats
3/4 c. crisp rice cereal

Preheat oven to 376 degrees. Cream Crisco, sugars, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl (don't forget to add vanilla like I did!).

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add flour mixture gradually to creamed mixture, mixing well until blended.

Stir in oats, coconut, and rice cereal.

Drop batter by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

I like mine to be a little brown on top.
Let them cool and then chow down! Yum!

As a side note, I remember my mom giving me the recipe for these cookies a long time ago. It was before they had those air bake cookie sheets and before I had any better brand sheets. These were very easy to burn back then, but I had no problem whatsoever making these batches on my airbake and my Pampered Chef pans. Well, except for the one pan where I forgot to turn on the timer!