Friday, January 22, 2010

Chocolate and Coconut= Yummy!


Wednesday January 20th...

what a day!

I was driving to work and noticed when I opened the fridge that morning that we had 3 bell peppers that we needed to use up. SO, as I usually do on my morning commute, I try to figure out what we will have for dinner and how my afternoon will be spent when I get home. I decided I would boil up a chicken and we would use our bell peppers and other ingredients for Hawaiian Haystacks.

I came in the door at 1:30,
pulled a frozen whole chicken out of the freezer and got it boiling on the stove, got a batch of bread mixed and rising and was folding a batch of laundry when "Mr. Smith" called me to let me know that we were having dinner at his parents house that night and that we needed to bring dessert
(and he added, Coconut Cream pie would be nice).

SO, on top of the other projects I was doing, I furiously made and baked a crust, made filling for the pie, decided to make a batch of Fudge bars (for the kiddies) and tried to juggle baking everything in my oven. (we had to be out the door at 5:45 heading to dinner)

(Tracy called me when he was almost home and told me to grab my camera as there was a really cool fog setting in...
this is the photo I took)


It was a busy afternoon
, nonetheless, but, it all turned out great, although, different than I had planned. It was topped off by a wonderful night and we enjoyed such a yummy Turkey Dinner feast and spending time with everyone in Tracy's family!
Lots of great memories!

SO, good news is we ended up with fresh baked bread and cooked chicken for chicken sandwiches and leftover Fudge bars for lunches and now we have cooked chicken and broth and all the fixings to make Hawaiian Haystacks for the weekend!
YAY...one less thing I have to worry about!
Thursday January 21st...
a wonderfully relaxing day!
Tracy and I went to Jade's Parent Teacher Conference early in the afternoon. It was fun to hear how Jade is doing and how well liked he is by his teachers!
We're proud of him!
We then
came home and got the car loaded with ski gear and Tracy, Jade and Travis (Tracy's brother) headed to the slopes to go night skiing. Jade has been looking forward to this all week. I'm SO glad they got to go enjoy time together skiing and creating memories.
Ethan and I spent most of the evening cuddled on the bean bag, reading stories, talking, laughing, eating popcorn and fruit snacks and watching a movie. No projects got done just "one on one" time with my son. Evenings like this (where you have 3 hours with no interruptions and the kids decide how you spend your time) don't come along often enough.
I savored every moment!

Which brings us to the title of this post!
Chocolate...means Fudge Bars!
Coconut...means Coconut Cream Pie!
Here is how you create this yummyness!!

Fudge Bars
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 (14-ounce can) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 heaping tsp. vanilla

(For crust)
In a large mixing bowl beat butter on high for 30 seconds.
Add in
sugar and salt and beat until combined and then add in flour.
Press
two-thirds of crust mixture onto the bottom of ungreased 9x13 pan.


(For filling)
In medium saucepan combine sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips.
Stir
over low heat until chocolate melts and it becomes smooth.
Stir in nuts and vanilla and pour over the crust.

Dot with remaining 1/3 crust mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden.
Cool completely and then cut into squares!

These are decadent and yummy and actually are great to make up if you don't have any eggs!


Coconut Cream Pie

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut
(1 cup Cool Whip) (although I never add this)
1 baked pie shell (click here)

In a heavy saucepan mix sugar, salt and cornstarch.
Slowly add milk. Cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes until thick.
Beat eggs in a bowl and slowly pour hot mixture over them.
Return to stove and cook for about 2 more minutes.
Cool.

Add coconut, vanilla (and Cool Whip if you choose to add this).
Pour into pie shell.
Top
with toasted coconut.
Chill several hours before serving

(to toast coconut,
place about ½ cup coconut spread out on a cookie sheet and broil in the oven until lightly browned. You will need to stir it often so it doesn’t burn).

(Thanksgiving Day
wouldn't be the same without this yummy pie!)


Happiness is life served up with a scoop of acceptance,
a topping of tolerance and sprinkles of hope.

~Robert Brault

8 comments:

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Loved reading your post.
Looks like your afternoon was frantic but no problemo for you!

The coconut cream pie would have to be my favorite pie in the world. I've yet to ever make one, but I'll be giving your recipe a try.

Hope you have an awesome, unbusy weekend!

Candace said...

I totally missed the pie!!!I have no idea how?? Maybe everyone else gobbled it up before I got to the kitchen?? Joel was bragging about how good it was last night. He said it was the best pie he'd ever had. I'll have to try making one. Thank you so much for not keeping any of your recipes a secret!

Small House said...

We love Hawiian Hay Stacks.. and now we'll be lovers of fudge bars. Not to mention coconut cream pie! You are quite the woman...
I don't think there is a thing that you can't do. And your energy level is AMAZING!!!

Enjoy your weekend. It sounds like you've got it all under control!!
Sandra

BJ said...

Once again your recipes look delicious!

And I must say I have never noticed how beautiful yours and Ethan's eyes are. And the evening you spent with him sounds so nice and memorable. Do you and Ethan ski too? Derek and I are actually taking the girls skiing tomorrow. Derek's dream is to have his whole family ski together. Somehow it's easier to justify the expense when you can do it all as a family. Ski in the winter, backpack in the summer! :) Although Derek is trying to talk me into winter camping. yikes. We'll see . . . :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Ann Marie said...

You and Ethan have the same eyes.. so cute and very pretty blue!

I was surprised when you said that you didn't get one on one time much. I thought you were mostly alone together? Maybe that's just how it seems through the blog.

Your title made me want an Almond Joy. It is one of my favorite candy bars.. and now I want one. :)

That pie.. That pie.. If it is POSSIBLE.. I vote that Kimmie brings that pie to the cabin! Even if I have to make the ingredients! Deal? Please? ha-ha
It looks divine. Coconut is one of my favs.

I hope your weekend is more relaxing now that Dinner is decided and (probably made). :)

Chad heads with the scouts to do some cross country skiing tomorrow. I will be happy for him.. but will enjoy being warm inside. *wink*

Have a great weekend!
I look forward to October! ( even if their is no pie! )

Ann Marie said...

Sorry.. I was typing to fast.
It was supposed to say " Even if I have to PAY for the ingredients. "
Sorry about that typo! :)

Connie said...

What a busy, fun day you had with all your cooking. It's so nice to have leftovers in the fridge so you don't have to worry about what to cook on the weekend.
I think it's great to spend one-on-one time with a child. Nothing else needs to get done. You're such a good mom AND a good cook!
I hope that one day I can meet you.

C Smith said...

Mmm. Made your coconut cream for a dinner party last night! It was a hit :). I also made pie crust for the very first time. Very yummy, not that pretty .