MMmmmmmmm!

Ya know they liked it when ya bring home an empty bowl.

At our office, we have a "treat day" for almost everything. Each month, we have a big birthday party for everyone who's birthday falls in that month. We have wedding showers and baby showers and treat days for those that leave us and for the newbies. And then there's the holidays.

"It's always something" - Roseanne Rosannadanna

The "treats" run the gamut from fresh veggies or fruit salad to chips and salsa to homemade cupcakes to Krispy Kreme donuts. I usually try to bring something homemade and/or reasonably healthy. Just to offset the Krispy Kremes, ya know? And, because we have so damn many treat days, I try to make something different each time. Which is always...challenging.

Today, we celebrated the single November birthday. I know the gal loves anything lemony, so I dug around and found an old recipe for a lemon jello salad...except I changed it around so much, it didn't really even resemble the original. So I renamed it and claimed it as my own. heh The neat thing about the recipe is that if you don't care to use the sugar free or low fat stuff, you can substitute the real deal...and it'll taste just the same. Same with the jello...if ya don't like lemon, then use whatever damn flavor ya want.

Almost Guilt-Free Lemon Yummy

2 packages (or 1 large) sugar-free lemon jello
2 cups hot water
2 8 oz. blocks low-fat or fat-free cream cheese (I used low-fat) - softened
2 cups Sprite Zero or other diet lemon-lime flavored soda
1 20 oz. can no-sugar-added crushed pineapple - drained
3 teaspoons Splenda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Getcha a big bowl and dissolve the jello in the hot water. I softened up the cream cheese in the micro for a couple minutes, then chopped it up into small chunks and added it to the jello. Use a whisk to blend the cream cheese and jello liquid until it's all incorporated well. Add the Splenda, vanilla, pineapple, pecans and Sprite and mix together well. Pour into whatever serving dish you like and chill overnight.

When it was set, I garnished it with some thinly sliced fresh lemon.

I swear ta gawd...it tasted like lemon cheesecake. I bet if you'd use lime jello and add a squirt or two of lime juice, it'd taste like Key Lime cheesecake. Yum!

The rest of the girls musta thought it was pretty tasty, too...they scarfed every bit.