Lemon Cheesecake and Strawberry Trifle

They were all going to be here for Sunday dinner ~kids, grandkids…us,  them….you name it. Stella came home from the beach with sun poisoning on her precious face and so she decided she needed to stay home and help me cook. The night before, she and I had seen photos of Lemon Meringue Pies and decided that would be our dessert.  This is a story about taking lemons and making……well, it’s more about taking a ruined lemon pie filling and making Lemon Cheesecake Trifle. And about my little helper helping me.

I love that all of my granddaughters have held and will always hold the title of “NaaNaa’s best helper.”  Truthfully, which ever one is here, is my best helper!  Even with such good help… disaster struck when I, in a typical brain fog, forgot to stir the lemon filling on the stove. When I remembered, it was too late. There were brown streaks on the bottom. Nothing was burned, but a Lemon Meringue Pie is sliced and there was no way to hide discolored streaks. So, off the stove we went and started over with another pan of filling.

We finally got our Lemon Meringue Pie made and in the refrigerator. But I just couldn’t bring myself to throw out perfectly good tasting lemon filling!  There was nothing wrong with it, it just had a slight discoloration… I kept stirring the ruined filling and finally decided that maybe I could find a way of turning this slight disaster into a trifle. I had just bought raspberries and strawberries and Nilla Wafers. I had a block of cream cheese in the fridge….and cream for whipping.

So, with nothing to lose….I began by whipping the cream cheese into the warm lemon filling. No more brown streaks!!! It tasted just like a lemon cheesecake. yum!  I grabbed some small plastic parfait cups and crumbled Nilla Wafers into the bottom. Topped with the lemon filling. Washed, sliced and chopped strawberries with sugar. Added the strawberries on top of the filling. Topped that with whipped cream and garnished with a few raspberries and mint leaves. Oh, it was soooo good.

There were no complaints when dessert was finally served. …. and the Lemon Meringue Pie……it’s still in the refrigerator.

So the moral of the story is this: …  When life gives you streaked Lemon pie filling, make a delightful Lemon Cheesecake and Strawberry Trifle! Only don’t wait to make a mistake…this one belongs in the dessert file… Enjoy!