Recipe: Low-Sugar Pumpkin Mousse Pie

Okay...  Turkey is in the bag o' brine...

...And OMG it smelled *just* as delicious as I remembered it!

I have reserved half-a-cup of the concentrated brine to incorporate into my injection marinade and stuffing tomorrow!

PSA: 12# bird + brine just BARELY fit into a 2-1/2 gallon Ziplock Baggie - Anything larger would be impossible!  It DID fit into my steam-canner pot and everything is just kickin' back and chillin' in the fridge tonight...

I also decided to tackle my Faux-Pumpkin Wannabee Pie.  I did buy a regular pumpkin pie for hubs, from the Snob Hill Bakery.  But I wanted something lower in sugar for me.

Google wasn't forthcoming when I keyed in my main ingredients (Sugar-Free Cheesecake-Flavored Jello Pudding and Canned Pumpkin), so I was on my own!  Here is what I came up with, and I'll report back later on the Final-Final Taste Test...

QT's Low-Sugar No-Cook Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding Pie (Boy, that's a mouthful, eh?!)

Edit: QT's Low-Sugar No-Cook Pumpkin Mousse Pie (more accurate!)

Yield one 9" pie (with about a bowlful of Jello leftover)

Ingredients 

• 1 pre-made 9" graham cracker crust (Okay, not exactly low-carb - but I wasn't in the mood to crush almonds/pecans to make a truly low-sugar crust)
• 1 small box (1 oz / serves 4) Sugar-Free Jello Cheesecake-flavored pudding
• 15-16 oz of canned pumpkin (NOT pre-sweetened pie-filling - just plain cooked pumpkin)
• 8 oz of softened cream cheese (I used Neufchatel "1/3 less fat" cream cheese)
• 1-1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 heaping TBS Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• Several shakes of Pumpkin Pie Spice (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)

Instructions

1. If desired, you can "toast" your graham cracker crust in a preheated 375* oven for appx 5 mins (I toasted mine).
2. In a large bowl, mix the cheesecake pudding mix with your cream and water. Whisk until well-blended.
3. Fold in your softened cream cheese and canned pumpkin.  You'll need a bona-fide hand mixer for this (my immersion blender squealed in protest!).  
4. Add in the brown sugar blend and start adding spices.  You'll want to taste-test it as you go along.  I think I ended up using 3-4 TBS of the Pumpkin Pie Spice blend.
5. Mix thoroughly (I'd say appx 5 minutes worth at medium speed).
6. Once your crust has cooled, spoon the pudding mixture into the pie-crust.  Smooth the top an sprinkle with more pumpkin-pie spice.
7. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving...

Crappy Droid Pic!  Again! :-)

I just nibbled a spoonful from the "extra" bowl of pumpkin pie guts.  It's "interesting!"  It's got a pudding consistency and a pumpkin-spicy flavor.  It's not exactly pudding, nor is it cheesecake, nor is it pumpkin pie (which is more custardy, I know).  But it is an interesting mash-up of flavors... (Edit: It's more "mousse-y than cheese-cakey or custard-y!) (It's good, k?!)

To be honest, I am probably gonna be so stuffed with turkey that the dessert isn't gonna matter anyway.  But at least I can  get a smidge of pumpkin in a somewhat-guilt-free way, right?!

Anyhoooo...  My Turkey Day Prep is complete - for today.  Tomorrow is when the REAL madness begins!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :-)

-QT

P.S. Unrelated to anything - but I saw it posted on Facebook (Raw Food Rehab's page) and thought it looked like something cool to try someday...

Vegan Turkey Platter!

(Gotta love it)