"rainbow" pudding pie

I decided to be ambitious this past Mother's Day and made not only an entree(the meatloaf stuffed in a black chicken that nobody on the Internet apparently likes) but also a dessert(this pie). That's maybe because my birthday is not for another six months and when my birthday comes around, I prefer to bring a birthday cake that is actually made by a professional baker, which isn't me. Although to be fair, I did make a sweet potato pie last Thanksgiving. I just didn't make a video of it to share with you all because it was a generic recipe I copied from the Internet.

When I realized just how many varieties of pudding mixes my local supermarket sells(17 in total!), I realized that there were a variety of colors these puddings represent. But when most people think of pudding, they think of chocolate, which kind of too obvious of a flavor, which is why I omitted it from this recipe.

Two of the puddings are hard to find, so here are the helpful links on where to purchase them:

PUMPKIN SPICE PUDDING MIX: http://www.amazon.com/Jell-O-Instant-Pudding-Dessert-Filling/dp/B0078NMYEM/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1463519615&sr=8-5&

STRAWBERRY PUDDING MIX: http://www.amazon.com/Jell-O-Instant-Strawberry-Pudding-Filling/dp/B005ZVOZL4/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1463519684&sr=1-1&

Besides, every foodie on Instagram is obsessed with rainbow-colored food at the moment, and even though this isn't the traditional red through purple rainbow(which would require the use of artificial colorings and I tend to avoid those when I can), to me a rainbow can be a medley of colors. This recipe is also a satire on the rainbow-colored food trend.

My initial thought in my mind was to make some sort of multi-layered pudding ice cream out of several of these flavors, but then I realized that would be too much work making six different flavors of ice cream.

Then I thought of make a multi-layered pudding cake, but then I couldn't figure out how to incorporate a cake mix into the dessert as well.

My final idea was to just make the puddings according to package directions, and just layer them on top of a pre-made graham cracker crust. Yet the most amount of layers I could find a pudding pie to have in a recipe from the internet was a grand total of four, and only one of the layers is actually pudding. So I decided to push the limit as to how many layers I could fit onto a pie.

Initially this was going to be a 7-layer pie instead of a 6-layer one, but then I realized making another cream cheese layer and sticking it on top of the pie wasn't going to work. Apparently, even when you mix whipped cream cheese with other stuff, it doesn't spread as easily as frosting.

Then I recalled the 4-layer pudding pie I saw online had the top layer being a whipped cream layer(Cool Whip, not Reddi-Whip, people!). But I thought a white whipped cream layer on top of this pie was going to be boring, so I mixed it with strawberry pudding. I wanted to not make the strawberry pudding just combine Cool Whip and the powdered form of it. But my dad convinced me to mix the prepare pudding with the Cool Whip, because nobody likes powdery whipped cream. On this rare occasion, he was right about this culinary decision(but he's still wrong 97% of the time).

Harking back to not having chocolate in and on the pie, I didn't want to use chocolate chips to garnish the pie, because that would be too obvious of a culinary decision. Recalling how everybody on the internet loves a good sweet and salty combination(hello caramel sea salt!), I topped the pie with wonton strips I had in the pantry.

My hypothesis was that the strips would provide a nice crunch to the pie, but they ultimately just softened up, which is not the worst thing in the world.

So what did my extended family think of this pie? It was a hit(and I'm not joking this time!). If you look at picture #4, you notice that most of the pie is gone, although I had enough leftovers to tide me over for three more days after Mother's Day. Even my dad liked the pie(in addition to being a meatloaf traditionalist, he isn't particularly fond of chocolate, which this recipe doesn't have if you don't count the Oreo bits in the Oreo pudding).

I'm thinking on planning on making a second version of a "rainbow" pudding pie next Easter that perhaps uses chocolate pie crust, flan, an almond butter frosting layer, rice pudding with raisins, butterscotch pudding(which I was going to put in the first version of a "rainbow" pudding pie, until I read the directions that said it has to be made on a stovetop, unlike the other pudding flavors I used that just require a combination of milk and pudding mix), and an Almond Joy pudding mixed with Cool Whip, topped with croutons.

My inspiration for this recipe was from https://summerofpie.com/2012/03/26/seven-layer-bar-pie/

I have to admit this isn't a fast recipe. It took me 5 hours to make this pie, most of which is just letting each layer set in the fridge. But good things come to those who wait and patience is a virtue!

So what were my dessert's competitors at Mother's Day:

• A store-bought chocolate birthday cake for my uncle
• The same apple tart one of my aunts makes every family get-together
• The same cheesecake said aunt makes every family get-together
• Store-bought Italian cookies, including rainbow cookies
• Fruit salad

Out of all those desserts, mine was by the far the most original. As for best tasting, I'd still say it would be this pudding pie, with the fruit salad and rainbow cookies close runners-up(but I'm partial to rainbow cookies, which are my favorite type of cookie).

My grandpa even raved about this pie days after he ate it!

If this video gets the same amount of dislikes as the stuffed black chicken, then I don't know how to please you people because this channel is not about unoriginal recipes. It's about experimenting with food. But I guess art isn't meant to be appreciated.

You will need:

For the cooking equipment:

A lasagna pan to hold the pie together after the fourth layer has been laid.
A large bowl for mixing the peanut butter layer and strawberry pudding whipped cream layers

For the pie:

1 pre-made graham cracker crust
1- 5 oz. box of Oreo pudding mix
1/2 cup of smooth or creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup of confectioner's(powdered) sugar
6 oz. of plain whipped cream cheese
1- 3.4 oz. box of pumpkin spice pudding mix(see helpful link)
1- 3.4 oz. box of pistachio pudding mix
1- 3.4 oz. box of strawberry pudding mix(see helpful link)
8 oz. of Cool Whip
Wonton strips for garnish

1. Prepare the Oreo pudding mix according to package directions. Pour prepared Oreo pudding into pie crust. Put pie in fridge for 30 minutes to let this second layer set(the first layer is the graham cracker crust).
2. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, confectioner's sugar(granulated sugar won't do for this recipe because it's too grainy to mix with the peanut butter), and whipped cream cheese until you get a frosting-like consistency that is a peanut butter color. Spoon peanut butter layer on top of set Oreo pudding(see picture #1 for guidance- it's not going to completely cover the Oreo layer but try your best). Put pie in fridge for 60 minutes to let this third layer set.
4. Prepare the pumpkin spice pudding mix according to package directions. Pour prepared pumpkin spice pudding on top of peanut butter layer(see picture #2 for guidance). Put pie in fridge for 30 minutes to let this fourth layer set.
5. At this point, put pie in a lasagna pan so that it catches excess pudding. The pie will be very heavy in weight at this point.
6. Prepare the pistachio pudding mix according to package directions. Pour prepared pistachio pudding on top of pumpkin spice pudding layer. Put pie in fridge for 30 minutes to let this fifth layer set.
7. Prepare the strawberry pudding mix according to package directions. Combine prepared strawberry pudding with Cool Whip and put whipped cream on top of pistachio pudding layer. Put pie in fridge for 30 minutes to let this sixth and final layer set.
8. Garnish whipped cream with wonton strips to taste.
9. Bon appetit!