Semi-Homemade

I'm back! The pharyngitis is gone so I can eat again, thank goodness. Unfortunately, I still have painful phlebitis in my hand, so it limits what I am able to cook. I went to a pool party today and wanted to bring a cool, summer snack. I decided on a pina colada pie. Please don't judge me, but it's a Sandra Lee recipe. I still hate her, and I didn't think this pie was that great, but I wanted something super super super easy to prepare, and when you want that, you go for "semi-homemade." Usually her recipes consist of a can of crescent rolls, pudding mix, and frozen pie crust... and voila, you have chicken parmeasan! Sandra Lee is a sellout.

This pie was definitely easy to prepare, sans the fresh coconut meat. I have never worked with a fresh coconut before, except in Costa Rica when I drank out of one with a straw. I bought one at Safeway and went at it with a screwdriver and hammer. After much pounding, I finally managed to puncture a hole to drain the water. Then we went at it again to crack it in half. That was only half the battle, it was so difficult to get the actual white meat separated from the shell. I almost sliced off my finger three times, granted I was using a spoon, but if that was a knife I would be down to just nine phalanges.

I made a few modifications to the recipe because I couldn't find all of the original ingredients. If I were to do this again, I would probably use a larger box of vanilla pudding rather than the smaller box of coconut cream pudding. I think this would thicken up the pie because it turned into a runny mess. Because I couldn't find pineapple-coconut nectar, I used just normal pineapple juice and used coconut pudding. Try this recipe out if you want something super easy. It's not that tasty, but it's easy.

Pina Colada Pie
adapted from Pina Colada Pie

• 3/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp rum extract
• 1 (3.4 oz) box instant coconut creme pudding and pie filling
• 1 cup shredded coconut meat (scrape out coconut meat and shred in a food processor)
• 1/2 container of 8 oz whipped topping
• 1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust, baked
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut meat, toasted (bake on a pan at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes)

Pre-bake the frozen pie crust according to directions on package. In a large bowl, combine juice, coconut milk, and rum extract. Sprinkle pudding mix over liquid and whisk for 2 minutes. Fold in coconut and the whipped topping. Pour into pre-baked pie crust and chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Top chilled pie with toasted coconut.