Red, White and Blueberry Delight

The Setup:
I've been flipping through my Aunt June's recipes for a while now, trying to decide which one to try first. I kept coming back to this recipe, not only because it seemed appropriate for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, but also because I was intrigued by the ingredients - specifically the yogurt and mini marshmallows. I was a bit skeptical as I was assembling it, but it came together quickly and easily for a refreshing, no fuss dessert.

The Original Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 T margarine or butter, melted
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup lemon juice from concentrate
• 16 oz plain yogurt
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

1) Combine crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of a 12x7 dish.
2) In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, yogurt, marshmallows and pecans.
3) Spread half the mixture over the crust.
4) Top with half the berries, remaining yogurt mixture, then remaining berries.
5) Cover and freeze for 6 hours, or until firm.
6) Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving. Freeze leftovers.

My Substitutions:

• I used a 9x13 baking dish.
• Blueberries weren't on sale at the grocery store, so instead I used Chobani brand blueberry yogurt in place of the plain yogurt, and omitted the fresh blueberries.
• I added about 1/2 cup of cool whip to the yogurt mixture to make it creamier. 

The Verdict:

This recipe had some good points and some bad points. Although it says to freeze the finished product and thaw before serving, I would definitely recommend just refrigerating it for a few hours or overnight. Even after thawing on the kitchen counter for 20 minutes, it was still completely frozen, and cutting into frozen strawberries isn't easy. Neither is biting into them! I ended up putting the dish outside in the 95 degree heat for a few minutes to finish thawing it out. 

The overall flavor was good - refreshing and not too sweet.  I shouldn't have skimped on the fresh blueberries, though - especially since the yogurt didn't add much blue color to a dessert with 'blue' in the name. Fresh blueberries + blueberry yogurt would be the way to go next time. The yogurt, pecan and marshmallow combo wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. In fact, it was a nice surprise to get the sweetness of the marshmallow in certain bites, and I think I might even add in an extra handful of them next time! With the few modifications I mentioned, I would absolutely make this dessert again.

Layering the strawberries on top of the yogurt mixture.

The finished product.
You can see how fresh blueberries would have added nice color, and how the strawberries are still frozen!