I’m a little depressed this week! By the time you read this, I will have had my surgery and will be recovering with soup and crackers on my menu.

Don’t worry; the surgery’s not major. But, I’m still not happy about eating chicken broth.

In honor of my state of mind, I’m going to give you the guiltiest dish I could come up with to make even your deepest depression worth coming out of.

For those who don’t cook, there’s no grilling, boiling, frying or baking involved.

Sinful Banana Split Pie

You will need:

1 Oreo Cookie Pie Crust

1 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened)

1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted real butter (softened)

1 cup powdered sugar (sifted)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 bananas cut up

1/2 cup of washed and cut strawberries (or, if you like frozen, thaw before using)

1/2 cup crushed pineapple (drained)

2 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs water

1 cup Cool Whip or canned whipped cream

1/4 cup chopped pecans (or favorite nut)

small jar of maraschino cherries

Hershey’s syrup for topping

With a hand mixer (in a bowl), cream together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla and butter. Spread evenly into your Oreo crust.

In a bowl, mix together your bananas, strawberries, pineapple, 2 Tbs sugar and 1 Tbs water and spread over cream cheese filling.

Then spread your Cool Whip over your fruit. If using the whipped cream in a can, just spray in a circle or spiral, starting from the outside, covering the fruit. Make a tip in the center for fun!

Sprinkle the nuts over the whipped cream. Add as many cherries as you like and then drizzle your chocolate sauce over the top. Make it pretty!

Finally – if you can resist digging in – chill for one hour, then indulge! If you’re taking this to a party, make two. If it’s a pity party, take three!

Until next time . . . have fun in the kitchen, experiment and indulge your cravings!

Laura Clements is the manager of Kafe Buzz