Cup of S'mores

One of my fondest memories is driving out to the middle of the country with my dad to enjoy a drive~in movie.  It was so much better than watching a movie at the theater, though I have yet to understand why.  Perhaps it was the fresh night air with the sounds of the outdoors in the middle of a quiet scene.  Or maybe the hike to the snack stand and numerous bathroom trips made the evening more of an adventure than just pure entertainment.

The only part of these summer and fall evenings I didn't appreciate was the drive home.  It seemed to me to be so much colder and to take eons longer than the trip out to the drive~in.  Though now that is probably the part I like to remember the most.  My dad would always have a blanket or shirt he would give me.  I could curl up next to him on the bench seat of our car.  And often he would have a little snack left over, something like a caramel cream {I still love those today}.

We have a drive~in in our area.  It would be a long drive out to the country like it was in my childhood, and I plan to do this with the family sometime this summer.  Until then, we have decided to turn our backyard into a theater.  My two older boys set up our dvd player system with a projector. We had a small fire in our fire bowl and all worked on roasting marshmallows as we waited until it was dark enough to watch our feature presentation {The Fantastic Mr. Fox, we loved it!}. As we were waiting, some of us noticed how peculiar the clouds looked.  It only took a few raindrops before we were packing up. Thankfully, the boys got all of the equipment inside before the downpour!

I know we'll try to make it out there again soon, and hopefully I'll have picked a better night of weather for our home drive~in show. I already have a snack for the next showing~ Cup of S'mores. I like to make a variety of pudding cups {Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Pots of Gold} and thought I could whip up something like s'mores. Unlike the mousse I make, these pudding cups are a bit sweeter and are inspired by the pudding from my Old Fashioned Banana Pudding {which is out of this world!}.

Cup of S'mores
1 5.9 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
2 c cold milk
1 c cold whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 c graham cracker crumbs
3 c mini marshmallows
semi~sweet chocolate chips, for garnish
For Serving~ 12 clear punch cups {9 oz size}

Whip cream on medium~high until stiff. Set in fridge. Blend pudding mix and milk; set in fridge til ready to use. Blend cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Fold pudding into cream cheese blend; fold in whipped cream. Set aside.

To assemble~ In the bottom of each clear punch cup put one tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs. Top with one fourth cup of mini marshmallows. Lastly, divide pudding mixture between the twelve cups of graham cracker crumbs and marshmallows. Refrigerate until serving.

After I made these, I decided the next time to actually toast the mini marshmallows in the oven and let them cool before assembling the cups.  Fun!