Simple Saturday: One of the best pizzas ever!

Hi friends, long time no see. It's me, Martha (MM) here to bring you today's simple meal.

Most of you know I love to cook, but with my super busy schedule I'm very much into meals that are quick and easy while still delicious. As a result I've also become a master of meal stretching - cooking a little extra and planning creatively with leftovers. Not only does it make for quick meal preparation, but it's also very frugal, nothing goes to waste in my house.

Today's featured pizza was a quick throw-together pizza made using up small amounts of leftovers. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Trust me, I am not kidding when I say it's one of the very best pizzas I've ever had in my life - and I am extremely picky about my pizza! This one is definitely going onto my "family favorites" list, it's really that good!

I used a very basic homemade pizza dough or you could use store bought or even premade pizza crusts. This was perfect on a thin crust - quick tip, be sure to let pizza dough come to room temp before trying to work with it.

• Spread dough thinly and evenly on a large greased cookie sheet (or pizza stone).
• Spread a light layer of pesto (homemade or from a jar, either will work fine)
• Top with a thin layer of mozzarella cheese
• Add a light sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese
• Add a layer of finely chopped chicken breast
• Add some very thinly sliced and then rough chopped tomatoes
• Top with partially cooked crumbled bacon (or use the precooked bacon like I did :-)

Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes, cut, enjoy! Seriously one of the most delicious pizzas ever - try it!

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1.03.01

JULY 2010

Fireday Friday: Beef And Swiss Meat Pies

This is a savory meat pie that is based on one of my favorite childhood meals. I love this because it is easy to make, it is easily adaptable to a variety of ingredients, and you can even get the kids involved.
Don't worry if you don't have a Big Green Egg or grill, you can easily do this one in your oven too.

Beef & Swiss Meat Pies
Ingredients
1 pound Ground beef
1/2 ea Vidalia onion chopped fine
1/4 ea Green bell pepper chopped fine
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 ea Cans of refrigerated biscuits
10 slices Baby swiss cheese

Instructions
In a preheated skillet, brown the meat, onion and bell pepper. Drain well.

Flour a surface, take two biscuits, overlap them and then roll them out into a figure 8.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture onto on half of the dough and top with sliced cheese.

Pull and stretch the empty side over and onto the mixture. We find it helps to slightly moisten the edge of the dough with water first. Then crimp the pie closed with a fork.

Bake the pies at 425 for 8-10 minutes each, until golden brown all over.

If you're using the a ceramic cooker like the Big Green Egg, set it up with the plate setter LEGS DOWN with a pizza stone on top. If you're using an oven, a pizza stone would help but you can use a baking sheet if that's what you have. If you don't preheat the stone, the bottom of the pies will be a bit doughy, so take your time and preheat!

Other versions:
Cheeseburger turnover: meat, onion, & American cheese
Taco turnover: meat, onion, taco seasoning, and pepper jack cheese. Dip in taco sauce.
Gyro Turnover: gyro meat (google Alton Brown gyro), red onion, & feta cheese. Dip in tzatziki sauce.
Club Turnover: ground turkey, bacon crumbles, small diced tomato. Dip in a flavored mayo.

Polenta with Talegio Cheese ala Year on the Grill via "the Long Quiche Goodbye"

Good Morning...

I'm older than dirt, but learning every day.

But, I am too lazy, too unfocused and too undisciplined to go back to school (don't really know what I want to be when I grow up, but that's another story).

I am a BIG fan of murder mysteries and what I like to call "Gentle Learning".  here's what I wrote just a couple days ago...

(3 is a magic number).

There is a NEW murder mystery series just released.  I can't imagine anything more exciting than an authors first published book.  Avery Aames has authored, "The Long Quiche Goodbye".  That's the first in a planned series of books set in the cheese shop (Fromagerie Bessesse is the actual name, but everyone in town calls it "The cheese Shop").

I was very excited when I first heard of Avery's book.  First, she is "one of us".  Some of you may know her as one of the Six merry murderesses from The Mystery Lover's Kitchen.  All six of the contributing authors of the blog are published authors, all mysteries, and all their books have food themes, most with recipes included in their books.  The blog posts daily, with recipes and glimpses into their lives.  Fun daily read (and for contest whores fans among us, they have more give aways than any other blog I know of... but I digress).  My fellow bloggers out there, if/when you get a book deal, sign me up as the first to buy.  We should support our own!

But my new found blog buddy's setting for the series really turned my crank.  I am pretty good with basic cheese knowledge.  I no longer buy bags of shredded cheese (the more air that gets to the cheese, the faster it losses it's taste and goes bad, shredding adds surface area, so more air gets to the cheese... buy the bricks and shred yourself, cheaper, tastes better and stays fresh longer... but I digress).  I also buy "real" cheese, and not the low fat versions (half the amount of "real" cheese will add a fuller flavor than twice the amount of the less tasty substitute.  Half the amount is the tastiest way to cut the calories, not pretending you are getting the same taste... But now I am ranting and digressing... Back to "the long Quiche Goodbye").  But aside from the basics, I still buy most of my cheeses from the tiny cheese section of my store.  My knowledge of better quality cheeses is lacking.  Much the way people of my generation still hum "3 is a magic number", soft education is a great way to learn without the burden of schooling (extra points if you caught the "Schoolhouse Rocks" reference.  That's where I was gently educated about math, while watching the Wonder Twins powers activate.  

Do you think the "Cheese Shop Mystery series" will do for cheese what Schoolhouse Rock did to teach me how a bill becomes a law???).  

And sure enough, in one of the recipes Avery provides in the book, I traveled to the only cheese shop on the island and found a new (well, it is at least 11 centuries old, but new to me) cheese... Taleggio Cheese 

And WHOOP de DO, do I ever LOVE Taleggio Cheese!  Think Brie with an attitude. Taleggio melts like brie, so I imagine just about any recipe you have for brie you can sub Taleggio.  But where Brie is a mild gentle cheese, Taleggio will take you down, slap you around and leave you begging for more.  I did a little research (see, learning every day) and found that Taleggio is more related to Limburger (the stinky one) than Brie.  While this doesn't stink, it certainly does have an oder.  Strong earth scents, makes for a strong nutty taste.

Hunting the cheese down was surprisingly easy.  There is one and only one specialty cheese shop on the island. Center shelf, center of the shelf, and there it was!  I asked the cheese monger for a sample, and was in love. Surprisingly cheap, $16 for a pound, I only needed a small amount (the recipe calls for a garnish of the cheese, so no more than 1/8th pound really needed if you follow the recipe (of course, I didn't)).  I bought 1/2 a pound, planning to use it for several recipes during the week.

Aren't cheese shops wonderful places... Just ask, and they will happily slice you off a sample of something that sounds interesting.  I feel a little guilty that it has taken so long for me to leave the safety of the big grocery store here, with their sampling of maybe 7 or 8 cheeses.  Be a cook, don't be intimidated... Find something new!

OK... Time for the recipe...

First, here's Avery's version from The Mystery Lover's Kitchen.

POLENTA AND TALEGGIO-BASIL

[6-8 portions]

4 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1 cup polenta corn meal

1 cup fresh basil leaves separated

2-4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

8 oz. Taleggio cheese, thinly sliced

Bring water and salt to a boil.

Add polenta corn meal in a thin stream. Keep stirring until corn meal pulls away from sides of pan. (No lumps)Turn down heat to simmer for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

While it is cooking, stir-fry the basil in olive oil until crispy, then drain on paper towels.

Spoon hot polenta on to each plate. Lay a couple of slices of Taleggio cheese on each portion and finish with the fried basil.

I just couldn't resist...

Here's my changes, I LOVE polenta.  But, on it's own, it doesn't have much of a taste.  Looking over the recipe, the polenta Avery puts out is unflavored.  She is more generous with the slices of cheese.  It does melt fast and well, so her polenta will certainly have that strong earthy taste I talked about.

But I wanted my flavor in the polenta, not topped...

First, I wanted a stronger Basil taste than just a garnish.  Here's a Bobby Flay trick to slice thin strips of basil leaves...

Gather a half dozen basil leaves...

Lay them one on top of the other and roll into a tight tube.

Slice the tube lengthwise in half.

Cut thin strip from the end and in less than a minute, nicely cut thin strip of Basil that goes right into the polenta as it cooks...

I also wanted a stronger taste of the cheese.

It melts just fine.

So I added 1/4 pound of the cheese right into the cooking polenta (see top left photo).

I continued to stir during the cooking process... And it all mixed perfectly!

One other suggestion, Polenta cuts nicely.  If you have cookie cutters, they can be used to make nice shapes.  Or, if you don't have cookie cutters, I just used a glass to get nice round shape.

I served this on a bed of OHIO PESTO, made with walnuts.  This also has a stronger, earthier, nuttier taste than pine nut pesto.  Complimented the cheese perfectly!

I served this up with some Sea Scallops wrapped in Mango Glazed Bacon...

Oh MY!

Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 ... I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!
...

Cabbage Salad with Peanuts- Quick and Easy

Join me at My Sweet and Savory and Comfy Cook

I usually keep a bag of shredded cabbage in the refrigerator.  It is versatile enough, to come up with lots of good recipes.  It is delicious with the peanuts, as it is with any kind of nut.  It adds a nice crunch to the slaw.

Cabbage Salad with Peanuts

Ingredients:

4 cups of shredded  cabbage

Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

dash of pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

...............

1/2 cup peanuts

Method:

Place cabbage in a large bowl and set aside.

Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

Combine cabbage and dressing.  Mix to coat all of slaw.

Add the peanuts and presto, you have cole slaw.

Quick and easy....

Share your meatless recipes at My Sweet and Savory.  The link stays open throughout the week.  Many people are cutting down on their meat meals.  Share with them. 

Try a New Recipe: Crepes

Don't forget to visit me at The Bad Girl's Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!

Bonjour!!!

As this recipe posts, my family and I will be flying over the ocean, on our way to....

PARIS!!!

We'll arrive today just before noon, Paris time, which means only one thing: It will be Time To Eat!!! I'm very excited. But I just want you to know, I'm not kRaZy enough to post recipes while I'm actually in France, so these next few weeks I've done my best to come up with some recipes for French-ish food we love.

When I return, I'll fill you in on all our luscious culinary adventures. (and it's possible I'll sneak in a comment or two while I'm abroad, but don't count on it!)

So let's start with crepes. I am looking forward to eating some of these for sure. We love crepes! They are easy to make, and so delicious. This recipe makes quite a lot of them.

We serve ours with several different toppings, depending on what we've got: sliced strawberries, peaches, cottage cheese, Mexican crema (table cream), maple syrup, and bananas sauteed in butter, brown sugar and a splash of rum.

Crepes
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup flour

In blender, mix milk and eggs, mix in flour, then blend in melted butter. Cook on greased medium hot crepe pan. Pour about 1/3 cup batter quickly onto hot crepe pan, quickly tilting pan to cover the entire surface. Cook on one side until beginning to brown, then quickly flip and cook for a few more seconds. This is a fast process that you will need to practice to get the hang of, and the first few crepes never, ever turn out quite right. Just keep after it, and they'll start to turn out. Serve right away, or you can refrigerate or freeze them for another time.

RUM RAISIN CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

RUM RAISIN CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
CAKE
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
3 Jumbo eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup golden rum*
3 cups grated carrots
8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• Pour rum over raisins and set aside for at least an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour 2-9 inch cake pans.
• In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugars.
• In another bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and 1 egg. Add additional eggs and beat until well creamed.
• Add dry ingredients gradually until well blended.
• Add carrots, pineapple and walnuts until well blended.
• Drain raisins and fold in last.
• Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes.
• Invert cakes onto rack and cool completely.

*As an option you could soak the raisins in orange juice instead and then substitute 1 teaspoon maple flavoring for the rum.

FROSTING
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

• In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
• Add lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until blended.
• Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended and smooth.
• Ice first layer and then add 2nd cake top and ice again including sides of cake.
• Refrigerate 1 hour to set icing before serving.

NUTTY MUSHROOM CASHEW CHICKEN

NUTTY MUSHROOM CASHEW CHICKEN

4 chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces

1 small bunch green onions, sliced

1 ounce dehydrated Maitake mushrooms, re-hydrated and then chopped

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons oil
2 cup hot chicken broth
2 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup cashews
cooked rice

• Heat canola oil over medium high heat until JUST sizzling.
• Saute' green onions and mushrooms until tender. Using a slotted spoon remove onions and Maitake mushrooms to drain on paper towels.
• Stir fry chicken in hot oil in frying pan or wok until chicken is lightly brown and tender, about 8 minutes. 
• Remove chicken from oil and drain excess oil from the pan. 
• Whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and  the  Worcestershire sauce. 
• Blend well, then add chicken stock to the pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened. 
• Add lemon juice; add chicken pieces, onions and mushrooms and reheat. Do not boil. 
• Taste to correct seasonings. 
• Add cashews. 
• Serve over hot rice.

He all but licked his plate!

Don't forget to enter the new giveaway!

Veggie Tales by Kris! Pasta Time!

I love pasta. I think that it's safe to say that I have an obsession with it. I love coming up with new ways to incorporate vegetables into my pasta dishes, and here is my latest creation! Have a great weekend and enjoy!

Angel Hair with Shaved Carrot and Zucchini Ribbons

{serves 4-5 hungry Italians!}

What you need:

1 box/lb of Angel hair pasta

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup pasta water

1/4 cup, 2 tablespoons olive oil

5-6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

sea salt and pepper to taste

2 large carrots, peeled and shaved in ribbons

1 summer squash, shaved into ribbons
2 pinches dried oregano

3/4 cup white wine

1 lemon juiced, zest

1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley

1/2 cup freshly chopped basil

1/2 cup, plus extra garnish Parmesan cheese

What you'll do:

• Boil water for pasta. Salt it and add bay leaf. Add pasta and cook until al dente. About 7-8 minutes. Angel hair is quicker than other pastas.
• Meanwhile, in a LARGE saucepan heat 2 tablespoon oil. Add pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.
• Add carrot and zucchini ribbon shavings. Salt and pepper the veggies.
• Add the oregano. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Add in garlic and white wine. Bring to simmer for about 10 minutes. Let the alcohol cook down.
• Add lemon juice and zest. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. When pasta is done, save 1/2 cup of the water.
• Drain pasta and discard bay leaf. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.
• Add 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup parmesan, salt and pepper and stir up so that pasta is flavored and coated.
• Dump the veggie mixture over the pasta.
• Add in fresh herbs and toss.
• Transfer helping to serving dishes and garnish with any extra herbs and cheese. DELISH!

Mexican 'Fondue' with Chorizo & Tomatillo Salsa

When you are grilling for guests, people are always hungry before the food is ready so I'm always on the prowl for good appetizers to keep the wolves at bay while I'm finishing on the grill.

I had some Mexican chorizo sausage that I needed to use tonight and wanted to try something I had not made before. I decided to try this dish that I saw on Serious Eats a while back.

Mexican 'Fondue' with Chorizo & Tomatillo Salsa

adapted from Serious Eats

4 ea flour or corn tortillas

1 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded

1/2 cup queso Cotija, aneejo, or manchego, grated

1/2 lb Mexican chorizo

tomatillo salsa

1 avocado, sliced

Cut each tortilla into 6ths with a pizza cutter. Spray or brush lightly with olive oil and bake 7 minutes in a 400f oven until crisp.

Crumble and brown the chorizo in a hot skillet. Drain.

Reduce oven heat to 375f. In a small oven proof dish, spread half the cheese and bake until the cheese begins melting, about 5 minutes.

For the manchego, I used Cumberland cheese from local Locust Grove Farm. It is their manchego cheese base with green peppercorns, sweet red chili’s, onion, garlic, and ginger. Yeah, how awesome is that?

Top with the cooked and drained chorizo. Top that with the rest of the cheese mix. Bake for another 5-7 minutes until the top layer of cheese is melted.

Finish for a minute under a broiler but we forgot that part.

Serve with the tomatillo salsa, chips, and avocado.

While the flavor was very good, I would have liked for the texture to be a little more "saucy". Next time I'd probably take half of the cheese and melt it into a white sauce to make a cheese sauce to pour over the chorizo and cheese.

Pagans, HELP US, I think the Virgin Islands are all out... Oh, and I made Cookies

Look close at the photo (taken at 2 PM BTW, the brightest part of the day)...

WE ARE FLOODING!

6 days of rain, and the forecast has a couple more days of the stuff still coming.

And now, while I didn't feel it, there are rumors that There was an earthquake on the island yesterday (click here).  This is NOT what I signed on for.

Here it is at 9 AM

And here it is at Noon

And it kept raining all day and night!  But the tourists still came.

St Thomas is a volcano (inactive).  I think it's time for a lottery.

But, as for me, I am working on provisions for the Ark.

And since I was bored, I did add a few twists and turns to the recipe on the bag.

Oatmeal Scotchies!  Don't even think about making a different recipe.  Buy the bag, and use the recipe on the back.  The bag got it right, and even I am not silly enough to try something new.

Except...

Only 1/8th of a little teaspoon separates my cookies from the mundane.  Seriously, there is no bigger fan of the classic oatmeal scotchie recipe found on the bag of Nestle butterscotch chips.  I just kick in a small extra.

1/8th tsp of Cayenne Pepper.

Really, not a joke.  The tiny amount is just enough to add a mystery taste to the cookies.  A little extra taste on the back of your tongue.  Heat with sweet.  Think about it...

But wait, I was really bored...

After making half the recipe in cookie form, I added an egg and a cup of flour and a nearly bad banana.

Oatmeal Scotchie Banana Bars
still with that little kick of
Cayenne Pepper!

Spread in a square small baking dish, bake at 350 till you can insert a toothpick in the center and comes out clean (about 40 minutes).  These tasted really good as well!

Just my way of spending a rainy afternoon.  But Florida and the gulf coast, start making your plans, it's coming your way.

Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 ... I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!
...

...

It's giveaway time again!

We were recently made aware of a wonderful online shopping experience  and it's available right from your desk top. Whether you are looking for a new set of dinnerware, a sofa, TV stands, dining room furniture or cookware they have it all.

Seriously, you really need to go check out some of their sites
www.racksandstands.com
www.allmodern.com
www.diningroomsdirect.com
www.cookware.com
www.moremailboxes.com

Maybe you need a new spice rack like this one? How can you get it for free? By joining in on this giveaway of course!

The winner receives a $60 gift certificate to use
as they wish on any of the CSN.stores websites.

Kamenstein 16 Jar Acadia Wood Spice Rack

THE RULES ~ 6 chances to win.

• For your first entry answer one question - What is your favorite dinnerware pattern?  Go to this site: dinnerware over at CSN.com and then come back and tell us your favorite pattern.
• You can earn an extra 2 entries by blogging about this contest. Come back and leave a 2nd entry with the link.
• You can earn another entry by becoming a follower of OUR KRAZY KITCHEN. Come back and leave a comment.
• You can earn another 3 entries by signing up to be a guest host.  Your guest host piece would need to be completed and in place before the contest deadline.  We would then schedule it into our time slots available over the next 2 months.
• No entries after 11:30 pm Pacific Time Thursday, August 5th.
• Winner will be selected at random and announced Sunday, August 8th.
• Good luck!

Disclosure: I did not receive any type of compensation for this post. CSN stores is sponsoring this giveaway and will handle prize fulfillment. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced to post them.

Copycat KFC Coleslaw

Visit me at Comfy Cook and My Sweet and Savory.  

Would love to share with you.

I couldn't resist when I came across this recipe.  I have no idea what KFC cole slaw tastes like but I am betting it has to be good so I made this cole slaw.

Copycat KFC Coleslaw
This is adapted from Food Geeks, a site, I am getting to like more and more.

8 cups very finely chopped cabbage ( probably used 4 cups)

1/4 cup shredded carrot (1/8th)

1/3 cup granulated sugar (1/4)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper (dash)

1/4 cup Rice Dream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

1-1/2 tbsp. white vinegar

2-1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

Method:

Be sure that the cabbage and carrots are chopped up into very fine pieces, about the size of rice kernels.

Combine the sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar, and lemon juice and beat until smooth.

Add the cabbage and carrots. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

This was pretty easy to do, especially since the cabbage came already shredded...

Now, for the taste test.

This was a good cole slaw but nothing special.  Tyler Florence has the best cole slaw, I have made.  No one comes close.  This falls far behind.  I have no idea if this is close to KFC but if so, it is a let down.  It holds its own but that is about all.

Try a New Recipe: Rosemary Cashew Chicken

This is a dinner we had while on vacation in Michigan (my brother actually prepared it because I was busy!) while the whole family was there. It was simple to put together, and delicious. It's made in a slow cooker so it's perfect for a hot summer night. There is a bit of hands-on time at the end, but it is worth it! (I did make the end sauce, and Number One sliced the onions, so it was a team effort!).

Rosemary Cashew Chicken

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut up and skin removed

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup orange juice concentrate

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons water

¼ to ½ cup chopped cashews

Hot cooked pasta

Directions:

Place chicken in a slow cooker. Combine onion, orange juice concentrate, rosemary, salt and cayenne; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken juices run clear. Remove the chicken and keep warm.

In a saucepan, combine flour and water until smooth. Stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cashews. Pour over chicken. Serve with pasta.

Don't forget to visit me at The Bad Girl's Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!

Save Room For Dessert ~ Raspberry Pineapple Cheese Bars

Raspberry Pineapple Cheese Bars
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup crushed vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup finely minced walnuts
1-8 ounce crushed pineapple
1-8 ounce raspberry cream cheese spread, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 JUMBO egg
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup +/- shredded coconut

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Beat butter and brown sugar until well blended.
• Add flour, vanilla cookie crumbs and walnuts and mix until well blended.
• Spray the bottom of 9x9 baking dish with PURE.
• Press cookie crumb mixture into the bottom.
• Bake 10 minutes. Cool.
• Drain pineapple reserving the juice.
• Beat cream cheese and pineapple juice together until smooth. Add sugar and egg and beat again until smooth.
• Fold in the pineapple.
• Pour over the crust.
• Sprinkle with the coconut.
• Bake 20-22 minutes.
• Cool completely.
• Cut into bars.

We are looking for an avid foodie to host this meme on Mondays. If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post and Martha or I will get back to you ASAP.