coolwhip saves the day

i just looooooooove when people drop in ... NOT

but just in case my daughter decides to grace us with her presence, we keep a box or two of instant pudding, a tub or two of coolwhip, and assorted schtuff ... amazing what you can do ...

GUMMY DIRT CUPS:
the dirt is made by crushing filled cookies (those last couple oreo's, the generic vanilla creme sandwiches the kids wouldn't eat, the oatmeal cremes you thought you'd like and ... well ... didn't.)
the mud of course is instant pudding made with skim milk (the no sugar no fat instant pudding works just as well and nobody seems to notice the missing fat and calories)
wait ... if it's a dirt cup, you need to throw in a couple gummy worms.
and if you mixed crushed oreo, vanilla and other creme filled cookies ... it looks even more like dirt. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww

JELLO FISHING:
blue jello (some colours just don't work well with the idea)
gummy fish or other gummy sea things
prepare the jello as per instructions on the box, except use ice cubes instead of cold water to chill it down ...
this means it will start setting faster, which is what you want since you want it sort of the consistency of the oatmeal mom used to make ... so the gummy candy doesn't sink to the bottom. wait ... not everyone's mum used to make oatmeal ... okay, how about .... so that when you tilt a spoonful of it, it drops in globs rather than pours out ????

if you are really artistic with an icing gun, use the leaf point to make coolwhip waves. if you're not real confident, do what i do ... mix a tablespoon of the jello with a cup of coolwhip, then swirl it through and tell the kids it's supposed to be water currents?

ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICHES ...
i love em, but i don't like how generic most of them taste ...
1 cup very cold milk (skim works just fine)
1 box instant pudding - a flavour YOU like
1 tub coolwhip
graham cracker squares
ice cream sprinkles (or chocolate chips and crushed macadamia nuts, if you're nuts like me)

blend the milk and pudding. slowly add the coolwhip (or, if you're like me, blob it all in and mix really well)
spoon the stuff onto a graham cracker square. add another square on top, lightly push down to make it even.
use a butter knife to trim the sides even to the edges of the graham crackers, then roll the edges in a dish of sprinkles.
best to wrap singly in waxed paper or plastic wrap before freezing.

the filling is what makes the graham crackers softer, like ice cream sandwiches.
you could eat them right away, but the graham crackers would still be kind of crunchy. freezing these makes it more like ice cream.

COCONUT ICE CREAM PIE
that graham cracker crust (2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter) i babbled about earlier
1 box instant coconut cream pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 tub coolwhip (reserve 1 cup)
2 squares baker's chocolate

press the graham cracker stuff into a crust ... or get lazy -- put it into a springform pan, put a straight sided glass in a baggie, and ask the kids to press the stuff along the bottom and edges

prepare the pudding with the cold milk and coolwhip. spoon it into the crust and smooth it down. (doesn't have to be perfect)

microwave the reserved coolwhip and the baker's chocolate ... HEY! MICRO ON LOW (50% is good, for about 90 seconds)
stir until well blended. pour in a ribbon over the pudding mix, and use a butter knife to ribbon it in a little (don't cut into the crust though)

toss on some milk chocolate chips, chopped nuts, ice cream sprinkles ... or get excessive like i do, and put these in dishes for the kids to add when you serve it.

if you find, as i did, that the stupid pan you used is too big to fit in your freezer, don't worry ... it kept very well in the refrigerator ... which is good since i forgot i made it and it sat in there for two days. *sigh*