red, white, and blue dessert

I'm fully aware that this recipe should have been posted the last week of June/first week of July instead of the first week of August, so forgive me for being 5 weeks late.  

I considered making it the week before the 4th of July, but our family doesn't need one more extra dessert just for the sake of a blog post.  This is the one that I made ON the 4th of July.  

Let's just all pretend that this is the 4th of July instead of the 4th of August.

So this dessert is a mix of about 3 other desserts that I've made in the past.  The crust is a graham cracker crust from another dessert that I found on pinterest that looked way too complicated.  The filling is my friend, Kristi's, dirt pudding filling.  The topping is just fruit, whatever you like.  Because let's face it...anything with cream cheese and pudding tastes good with fruit.  And the fruit makes it healthy, right?

Red, White, and Blue Dessert

crust:

1 1/2 c. crushed graham crackers {about 1 1/2 sleeves}

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well.  Press ingredients into a 9x13 dish, and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until crust is a golden color.  Let this cool to room temperature or speed the cooling process by putting the crust in the refrigerator/freezer.

filling:

1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

3 1/2 c. milk

2 {3.4 oz.} packages of instant vanilla pudding

12 oz. whipped topping, thawed

Cream together butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar.  In a separate bowl, combine milk, pudding, and whipped topping.  Stir mixtures together and spread on top of cooled graham cracker crust.  

topping:

strawberries

blueberries

Top with lots of strawberries and blueberries.  Chill for a few hours, overnight, or until ready to serve.  

Notes:

-There are really so many different variations that you could do with this dessert: crushed Oreo cookies for the crust, various flavors for the pudding, different fruits for the topping.

-I also make this in an 8x8 dish and cut the recipe in half if we don't need as much.