Lemon Berry Pie

I saw this dessert made on "Good Things Utah", but to be honest they made a complete mess of the pie. The flavors sounded so good, I decided to just try it (modified a little), and it turned out so YUMMY!

I am not a big pie maker, and I only own a small 8 inch pie plate, which is completely worthless (never buy one). So, since I was making this for a big group, I decided to just make it in a 9x13 pan. I think that it would fit well into 2 small pre-packaged pie crusts, or you could just half it and make it in an 8x8 square pan. Either way, this was super easy and great for summer!

Lemon Berry Pie

6 ounces cream cheese, softened (lite worked great)
1 Tablespoon milk
2 Tablespoon sugar
2 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest (about the peel of one lemon)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 tub (8 ounces) whipped topping (or more for serving)
1 pound (16 oz) strawberries, hulled and halved or sliced (I like things less chunky, so I sliced them)
2 cups cold milk (I used 1%)
2 packages (4-serving size) lemon flavor instant pudding and pie filling
2 (6 oz) prepared graham cracker crusts

OR make your own:

1 pkg graham crackers, crushed (crush them in a food processor...really easy!)
4 Tbs. Butter, melted
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
Mix all crust ingredients together, and press mixture (Hint: use the bottom of a flat cup or measuring cup to press a crust into a pan, it makes it nice and compact!) into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool completely before adding other layers.

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk and sugar in medium bowl for 1-2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Stir in lemon peel and juice, then gently stir in half of the whipped topping. Spread evenly over the crust. Layer half of the sliced strawberry on top of the cream cheese layer.

Pour 2 cups milk into large bowl, and add pudding mixes. Beat mixture with a wire whisk about 1 minute, or until the pudding is completely dissolved. The pudding will thicken quickly. Once the pudding is thick, gently stir in the remainder of the whipped topping. At this point, you can add another layer of strawberries, or reserve the strawberries to spoon over the pie as you serve it.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Serve with additional whipped topping or whipped cream if desired. Makes 12-15 servings.