Food Friday - Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie
Adapted from Boy Meets Bowl

  I never knew I liked Coconut Cream Pie until Christmas when my mom had one for dessert (or was it Thanksgiving . . . .) I came across this recipe and figured I might as well try.  All in all, this is a great recipe - very easy to follow and it comes together quickly.  My only "complaint" is that it needs more coconut flavor.  In the defense of this recipe, I felt that way with the first one I tried.  I think I might try this again but maybe use some coconut extract in it???  

 Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

makes 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 3 cups half-and-half
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
• 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake it, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the half-and-half, eggs, sugar, flour and salt and mix well. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut and the vanilla extract. Reserve the remaining coconut to top the pie.
4. Pour the filling into the pie shell and chill until firm, about 4 hours.
5. Top with whipped topping and with the reserved coconut.

Weekly Menu

So, I forgot to take the turkey out last week.  Oops!  That's ok though because we actually had enough stuff in the freezer/fridge that I was able to just change some stuff out and not have to do any major shopping.  The turkey will get used next week!!

This coming week we are heading to my parents for a few days but otherwise it is a pretty typical week!

Friday - At my parents

Saturday - Dinner with family that are in town for the weekend.

Sunday - Enjoying my mom's cooking (i.e. going out to eat HA!  . . .unless she actually cooks!)

Monday - Turkey and the fixin's.  I took the turkey out on Friday and left it in the fridge all weekend to unthaw while we were gone so it is ready to cook!

Tuesday - Turkey and Dumplings

Wednesday - Darryl will be at practice so I tend to do something simple - the boys and I will probably have frozen pizza since we love it and it isn't something Darryl can eat right now.

Thursday - Turnkey Noodle soup!

That actually looks like an easy cooking week to me!

Phase one of the LIving Room Re-Do

I mentioned in my recent post about our Closet Switch that we had more fun coming and guess what, it's here!  After three years of planning, saving, needing that savings for unexpected things and saving again . .. . we bought new living room furniture.  I think I sat on about 400 couches over the course of one week not to mention chairs and rockers/recliners but we finally found the perfect furniture and it was delivered a week ago Thursday. 

We bought a couch with recliners, a chair that is also a recliner and a rocker with . . .yes a recliner.  I love to be able to put my feet up.  A couch just to sit on is not that comfortable :-)  We went to the Laz-Boy store after being mauled at Art Van by the sales people and found it so refreshing.  The sales clerk greeted us, told us to find her if we had questions and she walked away.  The boys played in the play area, the clerk never bothered us but was there the instant we had a question and the other sales clerk gave each of the boys a toy because they were so well-behaved.  It was cute because Nate saw a chair that looked like one that used to be "his" and said, "Look mom, that looks just like the chair I puked in!" (yes, he did, and yes, that chair was ruined.)  At that point the sales clerk told us about the fabric protection we could buy that WOULD cover puke HA!  (The best part of that is this particular store will refund the money if you never have to use the policy - how cool is that!).

Anyway, here are some photos - yes the kids were on it quickly :-)  I'm loving it.  I finally have a place to sit.

 I almost always forget to take "before shots" so this is a shot of the living room after we had cleared out most of the old stuff :-)

 The truck is here!!!! 

The couch :-)  It reclines on both ends and is so comfy!

 The sun kinda makes this photo difficult to see but there is a chair that matches the couch that has a footrest that kids out and beyond that is a rocker/recliner. 

Everyone loves it :-)  We all kinda claim spots but we've told the boys that the furniture belongs to everyone and anyone can sit anywhere they want!

This is only phase one.  We will be replacing our huge TV stand that we purchased about 5 years ago to house an "old" TV.  We need something much smaller now.  Also, there is paint in our future, new window treatments and new artwork.  Stay tuned!

Things my Kids Say

* Nate was scratching his bare hiney while I was getting him dressed one morning.  I told him that his hands were going to stink if he kept doing that.  He sniffed his hands and said, "They smell like fresh fruit.  They don't smell butty!!!!"  I did not smell them - I took his word for it and then made him go wash his hands.

*Nate can speak baby talk and dog talk (as well as chicken, cat, rooster, pig, and sheep).  If he wants China to move, he will "speak" to her.  He has told me she listens and does what he says.  Then, the other day he wanted the Princess to move away from his fort so he got down on the floor and proceeded to "talk" to her in baby talk.  She then crawled away and he exclaimed, "Look mom, she understood me!". 

* We were practicing this weeks memory verse before bed which is "Pray for one another".  Josh repeated it and said,Pray for Another Lover.  Hahahaha. I was laughing so hard and he was like, what mom, what's funny?  I hope he corrects that before,Sunday!

* Nate told me finally that he knows the people snide him are not real.  He the proceeded to pull them off of his body and said, "I'll just carry them in my pocket instead."

* We recently got new furniture and had been going over the new "rules" with Josh and Nate for a few weeks.  On the morning it was arriving, I started explaining the rules to the munchkin when Josh said, "Don't worry mom, I already reminded the boys of the rules, you don't need to."  Yep, he thinks he is in charge.

Food Friday - Fails.

So, this past week I tried a Crock Pot Pork Chop recipe that I planned to share here.  But, it was a fail.  First, I had to cook everything prior to putting it in the crock pot which, to me, is not a crock pot meal.  The purpose of a crock pot to me is to NOT have to cook!.  There was supposed to be gravy in the end (which you cooked and thickened first and poured into the crock over the pork) and it was just a watering pork liquid instead.  Therefore, I do not have a recipe to share this week but I WILL next week :-)

Enjoy cooking!

Weekly Menu

The best laid plans . . .. . Last weekend did not go as planned.  Darryl got hit with a bad toothache on Thursday that really messed with his weekend.  Friday night I don't even remember what he/the kids ate but once the kids were in bed, I ordered a pizza.  (LONG day!!).  On Saturday evening, we ordered in, as planned, and Darryl ended up getting so sick.  He got a sub sandwich that he has eaten before (recently) but this time it set off his stomach issues with a v.e.n.g.e.n.c.e.  It was so bad, he was up all night (for real); didn't go to church and, needless to say, we did not go on our family outing Sunday either.  I picked up McDonald's/Taco Bell on the way home from church and then I ran a few errands after the kids went to bed and picked up a subway sub on the way home.  So, I've shifted some meals around while also cooking some super mild dinners for the big D so he can get is stomach back under control. 

Here's the plan for this week:

Friday - Honey Chicken and Fries (A carry over from last week)

Saturday - Our normal - the kids get Mac and Cheese and we'll order in (or at least I will - Darryl may eat a PB and J HA!)

Sunday - We'll try this again - a family day so we'll eat in town after church before doing something fun.  Spaghetti will be on the plan for dinner.

Monday - Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We have a tradition in this house.  We did try Corned Beef and Cabbage several years ago and it still makes my skin crawl when I think about it so, instead our tradition is Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (My favorite crock pot version!), with Crash Potatoes and Rainbow Jello.  I also make Green Pudding with gold coins at the bottom :-)

Tuesday - I have a turkey in my freezer that I want to use before it actually gets to warm to have the oeven on for 3-4 hours during the day.  So, we'll have turkey, Stuffing, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans and Rolls

Wednesday - I'm starting to do "last time" meals (or almost last time!).  Those are meals that are winter meals . .. so today we'll have Turkey and Dumplings.  YUM!  Unless we get another cold spell (which we could, it is only March) this will probably be the last time we have this until next fall!

Thursday - What comes after the above meal?  Turkey Noodle Soup of course! 

I'm hoping that since most of what I need for the above meals I already have on hand that I can cut way back on the grocery bill this week!

March Goals

Well, it is March.  The days are longer and we are actually seeing some sunshine.  I will admit, again I think, that we hibernated this winter.  Besides it being cold and snowy, which I love, only having one car kinda limits what one can do!  Even on the days Darryl was home, he was home because of snow storm OR he had a day off and we got a snow storm!  Well, we are still one car-ed but at least the weather is cooperating a little more so that hopefully we can get out of the house more.  With all of that said, I made great plans for the February goals.  I even made an awesome (if I say so myself) calendar with goals written for each day.  That lasted for about five days HA!  As March is now here. . . . Well, almost half over as I just realized . . . . I do have some plans.

1.  The living room.  We are making big changed to,our living room.  I'll share the palan a little later . . . But phase one happens this week!

2.  Scrapbooking.  A few weeks ago Darryl asked me what I really wanted in order to make the house. Ore comfortable for me since I'm here pretty much 24/7.  Yes, I have a short, realistic list but one of those things is a place to scrapbook.  So, this month I'm creating that space.  More to come later!

3.  Scrapbooking part two.  I need to organize my projects and write everything down with plans to accomplish those items.  I have lost focus due to losing "my company" for all of my supplies.  

4. Date.  First, Darryl and I need our day out.  Second, I need my day out.  I gave it up more than willingly last month so we could go to the lake but, I'm hoping to make it happen this month!

5 Finances.  Do you ever feel nickel and dimed to death? And then you discover that you are the one guilty of spending all of those nickles and dimes!!!!!  I need to budget, budget, budget and rein in the money wagon to keep it parked in the "garage". 
6. Summer Planning. Last summer, I tried to do one activity a day (or so) with the boys just for fun.  That worked until it became hotter than hades but I'd still like to work on those plans now.  One of the keys is to have stuff on hand and ready to go otherwise, it doesn't happen.
7. Holiday Planning:  St Patrick's Day and Easter - need to plan a few fun things.  The boys keep asking about finding Eggs on the 17th (St. Patrick's Day) . . .they are so confused HA!
8. Cleaning/Organizing.  I've started going through the kitchen cabinets one at a time and cleaning them, rearranging the shelving (now there's an idea!) and cleaning out stuff.  I'd like to finish that this month.  Also, I have some work in the basement to do.  I usually do it in January to clean up after Christmas but, our basement was pretty much freezing (seriously - we put a thermometer down there and it stayed around 32 degrees all winter. )  If I can get that done this month, that would be good.  (If not, I'll do it in April HA!)

I think that's enough to focus on for this month.