Day 21, Recipe 20: Whipped Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

I know, I know. Doesn't make much sense to have this healthy dinner prepared and then counter it with a luscious dessert, but hey- that's just the way I roll. As I said, I'm not a baker and when it comes to desserts, I like 'em to be relatively low fuss. This recipe is just that- even baking the crust is totally optional!

The only thing I would suggest, is serving this for a weeknight dessert. It doesn't come out of the pan intact so it doesn't make for a great presentation. But it's yummy...so SO yummy!

1 C                  graham cracker crumbs
1                     container Light Cool-Whip, thawed
1 pkg               instant chocolate pudding
2 C                  cold milk
1 pkg               cream cheese
1/3 C                butter
1/4 C                granulated sugar
1/4 C                icing sugar

*The walnuts are for the salad I also made, so disregard them in this picture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Baking the crust is optional, but I chose to do it. Mainly to give me some time to whip together everything else.
Melt butter in the microwave. Combine granulated sugar, butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press down into a pie dish evenly at the bottom to make the crust. Bake for 15 minutes and then allow to cool.

Meanwhile, make your pudding according to package directions. I used No Name instead of Jell-o brand, and it called for only 2 cups of cold milk. Use your hand mixer and mix it on up for 2 minutes. Set aside.
Next, add package on cream cheese, 1/2 of the thawed cool whip and icing sugar to a bowl. Mix together on a medium setting until it is smooth. Then use a spatula to fold in the remaining cool whip.

Spoon the whipped mix on top of the graham cracker crust and smooth out lightly so that it is all even. Next, spoon the pudding on top of the whipped layer. Chill for 4-5 hours and serve. Betcha can't have just one piece.