Skinny Peanut Butter Pie

Happy weekend, y'all! Hope yours if off to a great start! I have been busy planning a fun Memorial Day cookout menu for the family. Dessert is usually where I start. Because that's my favorite part. There are a few ideas running through my mind right now, but among them is the Skinny Peanut Butter Pie I made a couple of week's ago for Mother's Day.

I found this recipe on Pinterest a few months ago. Anything with the word "skinny" and "pie" in it is sure to get my attention. And Mother's Day was the perfect opportunity to try it out. 'Cause my mom was coming over for lunch and she and I like to have our pie and be skinny too.

Here's the ensemble.

Start with the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl.

Beat those together until smooth.

Then add 1/3 cup Better'n Peanut Butter. I actually didn't have any of this, but I discovered it's pretty much the same thing as reconstituted PB2, and I did have some PB2 on hand. So I reconstituted it myself. 8 Tbsp. PB2 and 4 Tbsp. water worked out to just about 1/3 cup.

Mix in your PB2 or Better'n Peanut Butter and beat until smooth.

Then fold in your whipped topping.

Finally, spoon it into a pre-made graham cracker crust. Don't forget to lick the spoon when you're done.

I stored mine in the freezer. It was great that way, but I wish I'd let it set out on the counter for a few minutes before serving. I did add some chocolate syrup to the pie just before I sliced it.

Pretty, huh?

I figured this is around 275 calories for 1/8 of the pie, and about 225 calories for 1/10. So still a bit of a splurge but certainly lighter than its traditional counterpart. And it was delicious!!! We polished off the whole thing in that one sitting!

Skinny Peanut Butter Pie

• 5 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese (I only had regular cream cheese on hand)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup reconstituted PB2 (8 Tbsp. PB2 mixed with 4 Tbsp. water) OR Better'n Peanut Butter
• 8 oz. whipped topping
• Pre-made reduced fat graham cracker crust
• Chocolate syrup

~Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix in PB2 or Better n Peanut Butter and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into pie shell. Refrigerate or freeze at least 2 - 3 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Try Something New Tuesday: Corn Salsa

Last week I challenged my May Madness group to come up with some healthy recipes. And I even bribed them with bonus points for sharing. I chose a couple of those recipes to feature here on the blog. The first one comes from my dear friend, Whitney.

Whitney is our friend and neighbor. She's a ton of fun, and she is the hostess with the mostess. Girl knows how to throw a party. And she can cook like nobody's business. So when she shared her recipe for corn salsa, I knew it would be perfect for the Mother's Day lunch I was planning.

Here's the ensemble.

You're going to start by grilling the corn. Whitney said you could also wrap it in wax paper and cook it in the microwave if you're pinched for time. You can even use canned corn. But I wasn't going to skimp. I was going to do this recipe right. So I opted to grill my corn.

Confession time: I'd never grilled corn before. So I asked Whitney how she did it. It turns out it's very simple. Just stick the corn right on the grill husks and all.

Rotate the corn every 15 minutes or so. I think I ended up cooking mine for a total of about 45 minutes.

I was afraid I had cooked some of those blackened ears a little too long, but it turns out those were the best ones! After the corn is cooked, you remove the husks and cut the kernels off the cob and into a bowl.

Next add about a cup of black beans.

And about half of a purple onion, chopped.

Finally, you'll need about a cup of packed cilantro, minced. If you have a tip for mincing cilantro, I'd love for you to share it with me. I think that was the most tedious part of preparing the dish.

Next take your olive oil, the juice from half a lime (my lime was pretty small so I used the whole thing),  cumin, and chili powder and mix well in a small bowl.

Pour the oil mixture over the vegetables and stir. Voila! Corn salsa!

I served this with grilled chicken, and it was delicious! The flavor reminds me of the Southwestern Eggrolls at Chili's...but without the deep frying. Even the kids loved it. Whitney also likes to serve it with chips, which I'm sure would be equally wonderful.

I calculated this to be around 165 calories per serving if you get about 10 servings from the dish which I think is very reasonable. It is also packed with a lot of protein and fiber. Thanks, Whit, for the awesome recipe!!!

Corn Salsa

• corn - 5 ears, grilled (can also microwave the corn or use canned)
• 1 cup black beans
• 1/2 purple onion, chopped
• 1 cup firmly packed cilantro, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder

Combine corn, black beans, onion, and cilantro in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice, cumin and chili powder. Pour the oil mixture over the corn mixture and combine well. Serve with chips or as a side with grilled chicken.

Question of the Day:

What's your best tip for mincing cilantro?

Amazing Weekend!

It has been an amazing weekend! It started on Friday with 2 big events: the boy's graduation from preschool and the oldest's big choir concert. Since we couldn't be in two places at once, we were so thankful for Aunt Melissa who offered to go to the concert with our eldest. If we couldn't be there, she was definitely the next best thing! Thank you, Melissa!!!

Meanwhile, we went to watch the little graduate. He was soooo excited! He kept turning around to whisper things to me from his seat.

They performed lots of cute songs. The boy was into it. He kept looking at me to make sure I was clapping. If I didn't start clapping fast enough, he would mouth "CLAP" to me. 

Can you spy the boy???

Here he is during his big moment. This is when his teacher announced he wanted to be Luke Skywalker when he grows up. Proud doesn't begin to describe it.

Afterward, there was a cookie reception. Here's the boy with his BFF's.

Family photo minus our little songbird.

Memaw and Papa were representing too.

Saturday morning, I got up early and went to workout with my mom. She has been doing Chalean Extreme, and I have been wanting to do one of the workouts with her. We did a weight lifting workout, and I am feeling it today! I loved the combination of upper and lower-body exercises. This program is perfect for anyone wanting to incorporate a combination of weight training and cardio into their fitness routine. Here we are after our workout in all our sweaty glory.

The remainder of Saturday included soccer, baseball, and a FUN birthday party for my favorite one-year-old boy that may or may not have included me jumping in a bouncy house while wearing a fake mustache. 

I woke up today to some serious love from the kiddos. Here's the Mother's Day haul.

Please take special note of the card made for me by my oldest.

See me right there in the middle of the world? All those other X's are all the other mothers who are not as good as me. Ha!

We had my mom and dad over for lunch. The menu included:

Grilled Chicken

Corn Salsa 

Peas

Fried Squash

Cinnamon Apples

Fruit Salad

Warm, Homemade Sourdough Bread

Skinny Peanut Butter Pie

Here's my colorful plate.

It was pretty delicious if I do say so myself! And I was thankful to spend some time with my precious mother on this special day. She is an amazing mother to 4 who has served all of her children selflessly since birth. She continues to seek opportunities to take care of us even as adults! I am blessed to have her in my life. Love you, Mom!

And equally thankful to spend time with these sweet babies who are responsible for making me a mother.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Question of the Day:

What did you do to celebrate your momma?