My "Make-Believe" LEMON PIE!!!

My "lemon fix"... 
without a crust--

It WORKED!!!

I put this in small, middle-sized, or larger dessert holders...

It's what's INSIDE that counts...

 This could be all prettier, IF a curl of lemon peel was added as garnish, but....

since I don't EAT the peel,....  you don't SEE a peel!   : )

While evaporated milk, in its undiluted state, is somewhat comparable in calories to cream, it 'delivers'  about half the fat stuff, etc., and stays readily available in its can on the shelf.  (In my cupboard, the evaporated milk 'lives' cheek-to-cheek with the cans of canned pumpkin-- no big wonder about why that is!)

This 'Cloud' part of this dessert is somewhere between a mousse and cheesecake. This recipe also has low-fat* and diabetic variations* that "are said to be" as good as the original.

INGREDIENTS:

• I of a 6 oz. box Jell-O gelatin ...OR two of the small 3 oz. boxes for a possible combination of flavors. (This time around, I used two small boxes-- both lemon flavored.  Some like this in orange, strawberry, etc.-- I think it's great in 'lemon/lime' combination, also!)
• 2 cups boiling water
• 15 oz. can evaporated milk (chilled to 'cold')
• 8 oz. package of cream cheese -- softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla  

-----
The dessert, as above, can be considered complete, as is.   IF you want something like my 'make-believe' pie taste, you can add a layer of the following:

• 1 large box of Jell-O pudding, made according to directions on the box.  For my 'lemon pie fix', I used a large box of lemon flavored "Cook & Serve Pudding"--the size that needed me to add 3 egg yolks.  (I skipped the meringue part of the instructions on the box.)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Place in refrigerator until it starts to thicken (I pour into 9x9" glass baking dish to speed up the 'chilling').
2. Pour the can of evaporated milk into a medium/large mixing bowl, along with the beaters, and place in freezer to chill.
3. When Jell-O begins to thicken (about the consistency of egg whites) and milk is chilled, proceed with recipe.
4. In a small/medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until the sugar loses it's 'grain'iness.  (With a food processor, you can start out with cold cream cheese and add the sugar; then the Jell-O, as stated in Step 5.  It works SO WELL for this).
5. Add the thickened Jell-O to the cheese mixture and blend until well mixed, scraping down the sides often.
6. In the chilled large mixing bowl, beat the well-chilled evaporated milk and vanilla and continue until stiff peaks form.
7. Fold the Jell-O/cream cheese/sugar mixture into the beaten milk and beat at low speed until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Since the added ingredients might be light colored (depending on flavor of Jell-O you use), it can be hard to tell if the Jell-O is well distributed, so blend thoroughly.
8. Spoon the 'Cloud' into footed (or any) dessert dishes and chill for several hours. (May also be poured into a chilled pie crust.)
9. IF you want to stop at this point, it's all good!  IF you want to add a layer of  pudding on top (as in the photo below), do it when the "fluff" layer is firmed up a bit.

If you plan to save some of this for another day, you can cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper. My smallest dish which is shown front right, above, can be perfectly covered with a wide-mouth Ball canning lid.)

*Diabetic variation: Use sugar-free Jell-O products and substitute 12 packets of Equal for the sugar.  Plus, you can use low-fat versions of cream cheese AND evaporated milk.   

Quite a few years ago, I adapted this recipe from the Natural Health Doc website where it was included in the list of Low Glycemic Recipes.