Mandarin Cream Delight

Crust:
9 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
Filling:
2 (11-ounce) cans mandarin oranges in light syrup undrained
1/4 cup sugar
1 (16-ounce) carton fat-free sour cream *
1 (8-ounce) carton low-fat sour cream *
2 (3.4-ounce) packages vanilla instant pudding mix
1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add flour and salt to butter mixture, beating at low speed until well blended.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Pat dough into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; piece bottom of dough with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
4. To prepare filling, drain mandarin oranges over a large bowl, reserving 1/2 cup juice (I used it all without measuring it and it turned out ok). Combine juice, 1/4 cup sugar, sour creams, and pudding mix in a large bowl. Stir in orange segments. Spoon orange mixture over crust, spreading evenly. Top with whipped topping. Chill 1 hour. Yield: 16 servings

* I just used 1 big 24-ounce thing of sour cream and it works fine.
When I didn’t have whipped topping on hand I used stabilized whipped cream. It turned out ok except all the gelatin didn’t dissolve. =)

Piña Colada Fruit Dip

8-oz. can crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained
3 1/2 oz. pkg. instant coconut pudding and pie filing mix
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup dairy sour cream

In food processor bowl with metal blade or blender container, combine all ingredients. Cover; process 30 seconds. Refrigerate several hours or overnight to blend flavors. Serve with fresh fruit. 2 1/2 cups.

Pineapple Boat:

For an impressive and easy presentation, this dip can be served in a pineapple boat. To make a pineapple boat, cut a pineapple in half lengthwise, cutting through the green top. using a small, sharp knife like a grapefruit knife, remove the fruit from the rinds of both halves without piercing it. Remove the core; cut the fruit removed in 1-inch chunks. Spoon the dip into the pineapple boat and place it on a large platter. Arrange clusters of fresh fruit (such as grapes, strawberries, pineapple chunks, kiwi fruit, and bananas).