One Container of Ricotta Cheese, set to expire tomorrow...

OK, this is pretty much a made-up thing, but draws from a couple of Italian classics: Easter Pie, which is made with ricotta cheese and sweet pastry, and also Cannoli--a fabulous, but fairly labor-intensive dessert. So I'm going to call this "Cannoli Pie."

I had a 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese with tomorrow's expiration date. I already had plans for dinner and didn't have time for anything as time-consuming as lasagna, or the two desserts above. So I did a little poking around and came up with this:

1 container of ricotta

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

grated zest of one orange

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

about 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

for the crust: finely crushed graham crackers (about 6 whole)

scant 1/4 cup sugar

about a tablespoon of melted butter

For the crust, combine the crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a small pie plate (I used an 8 inch plate). Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

While the crust is baking, whisk together the cheese, eggs, vanilla, sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the cheese mixture over the slightly cooled crust and return to the 350 oven for 50-60 minutes or until it has puffed up, is lightly golden, and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

I might see if this freezes well--and will let you know! I've sampled a sliver of it, and it's delicious, so unless I want to completely sabotage my diet, the freezer is probably the best place for it. But such is the curse of never wanting to throw anything away!