Chunky Monkey Yogurt Pie

#MadeWithChobani

the Official Yogurt of College Football

When I heard Chobani was looking for bloggers who would be interested in featuring their products in one of their posts I was thrilled. After all I already buy and use Chobani. I thought of all the many uses I have for their yogurt. I use it as a replacement for sour cream and as a topping. I use it in dips and dressings. I eat it for breakfast and as a sweet treat in the evenings. Then finally I use it to make all kinds of Yogurt Pies. My family has been making yogurt pie for years. It is often dessert at celebration dinners, get-togethers and holidays. So it just seemed natural that I would create a new one for Chobani's campaign.

Go check out their website for even more recipes using Chobani.

So let me tell you a bit about Chobani's ad campaign. With football season upon us, Chobani has been named the Official Yogurt of College Football! They want to remind us not to drop the ball when it comes to staying healthy at the tailgate. So they are asking bloggers, well everyone to share healthy recipes for tailgating with the #MadeWithChobani.

Most of my tailgating is done at home these days; getting together with family and friends to watch and cheer on our favorite teams. So I decided to use Chobani Flip Nutty for 'Nana Greek Yogurt to create a new Yogurt Pie. Nutty for 'Nana is a delicious Banana Low-Fat Yogurt with Honey Roasted Salted Almonds and Dark Chocolate on the side. You can flip the specially design cup to add the crunchy toppings to the creamy yogurt. Trust me it makes a delicious healthy dessert all by it's self. But I thought I would make it into a dessert for a group of college football fans. As a Louisiana Tech Alumni this house cheers for the Bulldogs. So this frozen treat will be decked out in red and blue. GO DAWGS! Now back to the pie... 

You can make all kinds of Yogurt Pies using #Chobani. Fresh fruit flavors or decadent ice cream flavors. With Chobani Flips you get the yogurt and a mix-in or garnish in one. Nutty for 'Nana is the perfect base for re-creating the ice flavor Chunky Monkey. You get the banana yogurt, nuts and chocolate in one carton. It made a delicious low-fat frozen dessert with all the flavor of a decadent ice cream. I decided to use the topping as a mix it; after all that is what makes the ice cream so good, all the chunky treats. I also decided to leave some of the bananas in slices too. This pie really lives up to the title of chunky.

For the garnish I had to go with something with team spirit. A bag of almond M & Ms re-enforces the almond and chocolate flavors and makes it so easy to decorate this pie for your favorite team. Beside that, the brown almond M & Ms look a lot like little footballs. So print out your team pennant or mascot and garnish this Chunky Monkey Yogurt Pie for your favorite team.

Chunky Monkey Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of Chobani Flip Nutty for 'Nana Greek Yogurt

1 cup sliced banana, divided

12 oz. light whipped topping, thawed

1 prepared Oreo pie crust

Hot fudge topping

Almond M & Ms, chopped and whole for garnish

Directions

Select your team colors (I used red and blue) from the bag of M & Ms. Roughly chop and set aside. Also set aside 7 brown M & Ms for garnish.

Place 1/2 cup banana slices in a mixing bowl, mash with the tines of a fork. Add remaining banana slices and yogurt; fold together. Fill yogurt portion of cups with whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Sprinkle in the nut and chocolate topping and gently fold together. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with a thin layer of hot fudge, the remaining whipped topping, chopped M & Ms in team colors and whole brown M & Ms for garnish.

Note: Remove the pie from the freezer and decorate 20  to 30 minutes before you are ready to serve. That way it is thawed just a bit when it is time to serve dessert. If you forget no worries serve with forks instead of spoons.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any monetary or product compensation for this post. I purchased the products myself and all opinions are my own.

Linking to:
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

Peanut Butter Brownie Yogurt Pie

This is so funny but the inspiration for this Yogurt Pie came from a girls trip to a burger restaurant. Mom, dear sister and I went to Twisted Root for burgers. The burgers were good, the toppings amazing, but the most memorable thing was the dessert we tried to share. We ordered one piece of Peanut Butter Brownie Pie. It came to the table frozen solid. All we had was plastic utensils to try to eat this thing. We struggled, bending most of the utensils just to saw and chip at the delicious peanut butter ice cream and brownie filling. Then there was the crust, it was a really thick homemade Oreo crust and it was rock hard. I was laughing as I watch my Mom and sister saw and stab at it trying to get a bite. Then it happened! One of them who will remain nameless to protect their reputation, picked it up with their hands and gnawed on it just to get a bite. I really started laughing then. Eventually after lots of laughing, no manners, sawing, bent plastic tools, the pie was gone. It was so good! The pie was really rich and decadent. I bet thawed a little bit, it would have been much easier to eat. 

On the way out of the restaurant Mom and I discussed how to recreate this pie at home. I was sure it would be pretty easy; peanut butter ice cream, oreo pie crust, brownies, I mean that sounds simple enough. Then I had the idea to try to make it a yogurt pie. I don't think we would save any calories, but maybe a little fat? It would definitely be packed with protein from the Greek yogurt and peanut butter. Well this weekend we gave it a try. It was really easy, more assemble than cooking. It was also just as decadent. The only trick is to mix the peanut butter with one carton of yogurt at a time. You want it to be thoroughly combined and a little fluffy before you fold in the whipped topping. We used store bought brownies cut into bite size pieces and folded them in as well. We were both pleased with the results. I will definitely make it again next time I have a peanut butter and chocolate craving.

P.S. My apologizes for the photography. 

I was at Mom and Dad's and did not have my camera with me.

Peanut Butter Brownie Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of light vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup smooth peanut butter
12 oz. carton of light whipped topping (Cool Whip)
4 store bought brownies, cut into pieces
1 prepared Oreo cookie crust

Directions

Place one carton yogurt in a mixing bowl. Fill carton with peanut butter and add to bowl, combine yogurt and peanut butter really well. Add second carton of yogurt mixing well. Add an equal amount of whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt. Cut 3 brownies into 9 squares each, fold into yogurt mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with the remaining whipped topping, and garnish with additional brownie pieces.

Note: Remove the pie from the freezer when you sit down to dinner. That way it is thawed just a bit and you will not bend any utensils or lose your manners when it is time to serve dessert. LOL!

No plastic utensils were harmed in eating this pie.

Linking to:

Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Mexican Coffee Mug Cake

Here is another Fun with Coffee idea. This is a great way to use coffee to make an individual low fat dessert for one. I learned about using the microwave to bake angel food cake mix in a mug from one of those recipe books you see in the grocery store line. I tried their recipe for a chocolate mug cake. It was fine but it gave me the idea to experiment and boost the flavor. I have try many combinations, mixing different ingredients into the basic recipe. It was this experiment that tastes like a Mexican Coffee or Mexican Hot Cocoa that got me to post about it. It is delicious! It has a light texture but a rich deep flavor. I love the coffee, it makes the chocolate flavor darker. The cinnamon is great with the chocolate too. It adds spice and just warms everything up. I will keep experimenting but I see myself making this version time and time again. Such a quick little dessert and you don't have to heat the house up using the oven.

Mexican Coffee Mug Cake
Serves 1

Ingredients

1/4 cup angel food cake mix
2 tsp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. cool coffee

Directions

Combine cake mix, cocoa and cinnamon in a two cup coffee mug. Stir well until combined. Add coffee and stir well. Microwave on high for one and a half minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie

This year in a quest to make Easter dinner a little healthier we opted for a Yogurt Pie for dessert instead of the Coconut Baba I made last year. I still wanted to do something special or different. But I could not get the families' cherry version of the pie out of my head. Of course cherries are not in season, so I could not find them in the produce department. It was Mom that suggested using frozen cherries. Then it occurred to me, what about adding chocolate to the cherry yogurt pie? Do you like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt? I DO! So I went to search the baking and candy aisles for chocolate covered cherries to add to the mix. I found a bag made by Dove. It turned out really good! Everyone enjoyed it. Dear sister liked it a lot but suggested we try using one cherry and one vanilla yogurt next time. Then she recanted saying she did not want to lose any of the cherry flavor. I think I might add a little pure vanilla next time just to see if it adds anything. I am on the fence about whether or not to chop up the chocolate covered cherries next time. They freeze a little on the hard side, so if you encounter one when you are cutting the pie it is difficult to get through. I think with a few tweaks this pie might just keep me out of the ice cream case in the future.

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of light cherry Greek yogurt
1 cup frozen cherries, thawed
6 oz. bag chocolate covered cherries
8 oz. light whipped topping, thawed
1 prepared Oreo cookie pie crust

Directions

Place yogurt in a mixing bowl, fold cherries and chocolate covered cherries (reserve 7 for garnish) into yogurt. Add an equal amount of whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with the remaining whipped topping, and garnish with reserved chocolate covered cherries.

Note: I usually remove the pie from the freezer when we sit down to dinner. That way it is thawed just a bit when it is time to serve dessert.

Want more ice cream inspired treats?

Check out this Banana Split Yogurt Pie

Linking to:

Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday

Kneaded Creations: Tuesdays With a Twist
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Love Bake Good Cakes: The Ultimate List of Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Milkshakes

Banana Split Yogurt Pie

Our family has been making frozen yogurt pies for years. I will share the basic recipe and variations in a future post. But for Mother's Day I decided to get creative. I made a Banana Split Yogurt Pie. I faintly remember trips to a Diary Queen or a similar place in the neighborhood to bring back Banana Splits for the family. I remember holding the splits and trying not to let the melting ice cream run all over the place. This pie has all that flavor but is so much neater. The fruit is suspended, frozen in a mix of vanilla Greek yogurt and cool whip. Using fresh strawberries and can pineapple is much healthier than all the sugary preserves and syrups. It still tastes decadent with a layer of chocolate fudge hiding under the cool whip topping. I didn't forget the nuts and cherries. There is a stemmed cherry for each piece. This pie is refreshing, light and delicious. The family was impressed with how much it tastes like a banana split. This experiment is a keeper.

Banana Split Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of light vanilla Greek yogurt

1/3 cup sliced banana

1/3 cup sliced Strawberries

1/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained well

8 oz. light whipped topping, thawed

1 prepared graham cracker pie crust

Hot fudge topping

Chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans

6 Maraschino cherries on the stem

Directions

Place yogurt in a mixing bowl, fold fruit into yogurt. Add an equal amount of whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with a thin layer of hot fudge, the remaining whipped topping, chopped nuts and garnish with cherries.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
Mary's Kitchen: Tuesdays with a Twist
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday
Bun In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Horrific Knits: Inspired Weekends
My Turn For Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Creative K Kids: Tasty Tuesdays
Love Bake Good Cakes: The Ultimate List of Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Milkshakes
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Pineapple

Birthday Beach Cupcakes

I have been kind of busy this past week or more. So happy for the increase in work. It is a great thing but has put the brakes on creative cooking and blogging. I have made more quick, easy or set it and forget it type of meals this week. I did another Roasted Chicken in a Bundt Pan. This was mainly for the pug, she LOVES chicken.

This past week was definitely all about work and celebrations. I did make some cupcakes for dear sister's birthday. Not homemade, all from box or package ingredients but they did turn out super cute. Sister had mentioned wanting to try to make a Black Forest Cake so I decided to use that for the cupcake flavor and embellish them with a sunny beach theme. Sunny and happy fits sister's personality to a tee. Also for her birthday Mom, Dad and I made a few family recipes. We made Seafood Gumbo with lump crab and okra. We could not find gumbo crabs so we had to improvise. Mom also made a Potato Salad with Olives earlier in the day.

Sister kept the celebrations going through the weekend. She had to bring something to a St. Patricks Day party. So she made a double recipe of Baked Beef Dip and I styled it for the holiday. I made three four leaf clovers out of bell pepper rings for the top.

Here is a bit more about the cupcakes:

Birthday Beach Cupcakes
Makes 20

Ingredients

Box of Triple Chocolate Cake Mix (eggs and oil)
1 can of light cherry pie filling
1 can of whipped Vanilla Frosting
Crushed Vanilla wafers
Maraschino cherries, drained and dried on paper towel
Rippin berry flavored licorice candies
Paper umbrellas
Decorative paper cupcake liners

Directions

Preheat oven to cake mix directions. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Prepare the cake mix according to directions for cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 the way full. I was able to make 20 cupcakes. Bake according to directions. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.

When cupcakes are cool, cut a piece out of the center and fill with a little of the cherry pie filling. Top with the piece of cake that you had removed. Trim it a bit if necessary. Frost with vanilla frosting and sprinkle with vanilla wafer crumbs for the sand. Decorate with licorice candy as a beach blanket, a cherry for a beach ball and a paper umbrella. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
It's Your Life: Tuesdays with a Twist
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesday
Easy Life Meal and Party Planning: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

Horrific Knits: Inspired Weekends

Tales of a Pee Dee Mama: Food on Friday
Adventures with Jude: Sunday Sharing Pinterest Party

Christmas Goodies

I have been doing some baking for our Christmas treat table. This is the first year I have done this. Usually in our small family we make one dessert for Christmas. But that table is one of the things I miss about the big family Christmas in south Louisiana. There was always a spread of sweet Christmas goodies. It might be on the cabinet counter in the breakfast nook or on a folding table or even on a dryer in the laundry room covered in a Christmas tablecloth. But you could always count on being able to pick out a little bit of your favorites for dessert. So this few days before Christmas, I made Candy Cane Blossom Sugar Cookies, Rudolph Peanut Butter Cookies and Barefeet in the Kitchen's Easy Dark Chocolate Almond Fudge. I just can't wait to see them all gathered in the designated goodie spot this Christmas. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and that you find something sweet at your Christmas gathering.

Salted English Toffee Coffee

One night dear sister brought over a Salted Hot Cocoa Mix from Starbucks. It was delicious. The next morning still savoring the salted chocolate goodness, I set out to make a hot beverage of my own. I came up with Salted English Toffee Coffee. It has a nice ring to it doesn't it? It is so delicious. It reminds me of English Toffee candy. If you decide to use real brown sugar you may need to use a little more than 2 teaspoons. When I tried it, it was not toffee tasting or sweet enough. The brown sugar splenda was so much better. I hope you will enjoy this drink all holiday long.

Salted English Toffee Coffee
Serves 1

Ingredients

2 tsp brown sugar splenda*
1 tsp hot cocoa mix*
non-dairy creamer, to taste
pinch of sea salt
1 mug freshly brewed coffee

Directions

Combine dry ingredients in a coffee mug. Pour hot coffee over ingredients stirring to combine.

*Note: I used the teaspoon I use to stir my coffee to measure these ingredients. I used a level or softly rounded spoon.

Linking to:
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Horrific Knits: Fall Into the Holidays
My Personal Accent: Blog Strut Owl Style
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Turtle Cheesecake Muffins

I have been making Cheesecake Muffins in some way, shape or form since I was a freshman in college. Last night I made Turtle Cheesecake Muffins for my sister to take to a work Christmas food day. They have all the flavor of Turtle Cheesecake packed in a small disposable wrapper. Perfect for any buffet or food swap. Don’t be alarmed, they will fall as they cool. But it is okay, it is ideal in fact. It makes the perfect little well to fill with toppings.

You can top these muffins with any of the usually cheesecake toppings. Try using cherry or blueberry pie filling or fresh strawberries and a strawberry glaze. All three have been a hit with many of my family and friends. I have also made Mardi Gras themed cheesecake muffins (click here). You just top each muffin with a spoonful of crushed pineapple, a red grape or 2 and a kiwi slice. They are all decked out in purple, green and gold. They look like they have been decorated with beads and coins. The possibilities are endless.

My sister made snicker bar cheesecake muffins at Thanksgiving for work. She placed half of a mini snickers on top of the wafer before filling and baking; then garnished with more chopped snickers after they cooled. Delicious! Let me know if you have tried any other toppings. I am always looking for new ideas.

Turtle Cheesecake Muffins

Makes: 2 dozen

1 pkg. Chocolate Wafers(or Vanilla Wafers)

3 (8oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese

3 eggs

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

Toppings:

Caramel sauce

Chopped pecans

Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and beat until well mixed. Place 1 chocolate wafer in paper lined cupcake pan. Spoon mix on cookie until cup is 2/3 full.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Top each muffin with caramel sauce, pecans and chocolate chips. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Linking to:
See Ya in the Gumbo
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays