Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes, Part 1

I told you I was tasked to bring a chocolate pie and "something healthy." I actually ended up making two pies, both with modifications that made them healthier, but clearly still pie. And then I tried a new recipe for a salad and for a pre-dinner snack.

Here's the pie how-tos first.

Base "Fixins"
Brownie mix, prepared according to package instructions. Can substitute applesauce for veg oil and Egg Beaters for whole eggs if you desire.
2 8-oz bricks of light cream cheese (1/3 fat Neu;fgh7ight#jgal or however you spell that.)
Approx 1C powdered sugar
1 big and 1 little box of sugar-free chocolate instant pudding, prepared according to package directions with skim milk
1/2C or so reduced fat peanut butter
Optional: Chocolate chips or shaved chocolate; Reese's peanut butter cups

Prepare brownie mix and split batter between two pie plates. Bake according to package directions. Let cool completely.

Let cream cheese come to room temp or nuke it for a couple of minutes. Mix powdered sugar in, tasting as you go. I didn't measure ... you want it sweet, but not too sweet. Mix one half of that mixture with peanut butter until fully incorporated. If it's too thick, stir in a few scoops of Cool Whip. Reserve other half for the next step.

Make pudding according to package instructions. Stick it in the fridge and let it set up for 15 minutes. Put 2 or 3 cups of pudding in with reserved cream cheese mixture and beat until fully incorporated

OK, so now you're ready to assemble. The idea is to make layers and make it pretty. You might have too much pudding. There's no law for how to mix and layer this. Mix and match anything from above and it will taste good. Or you could get all crazy and add nuts or crumbled up cookies or whatever.

Chocolate Pie
On top of brownies, spread pudding/cream cheese layer first. Then add a layer of pudding only. Then top with Cool Whip. You can sprinkle choc chips on top ... or if you're feeling crazy, mix them in with any layer you want. Or in the brownies themselves, I guess. It's your pie. Do it how you want.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
On top of brownies, spread peanut butter/cream cheese layer first. Then add the pudding layer. (Or pudding mixed with cool whip ... or pudding mixed with cream cheese if you have any left over.) Then spread Cool Whip on top. Sprinkle chopped up Reese's if you have them. I didn't have any, so I cut up a  chocolate/peanut butter Fiber One bar! It was pretty.