Pina Colada Frosties

Back in May I got an email from my sister that said, "I need you to make these" No Dear you or Love me or Hi, how ya doin' just "I need you to make these" So I did. And I decided to forgive her lack of email etiquette once I tasted these Pina Colada Frosties because they're such a yummy treat.

The recipe came from a Mr. Food segment during the local news and it caught her eye one day during her lunch break. Although the ingredient list is small, finding cream of coconut proved to be quite a treasure hunt for me. After searching a couple of grocery stores and liquor stores with no success, Angie brought me a can from Little Rock and saved the day. This recipe is definitely worth the search!

Pina Colada Frosties (original recipe from Mr.Food)

12 oz Cool Whip, thawed
15 oz Cream of Coconut
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
small jar of maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours. I like to let them thaw a little before serving.

Makes 12 frosties.

Wordless Wednesday: Our Fourth!

Number 17

Look at me, posting on a Friday night. It's past my bedtime but I just HAD to do a post on the brand spankin' new poet laureate of the USA: W.S. Merwin.

The announcement came yesterday so I began looking up some of his stuff online. It's good stuff, too. Turns out the 82 year old Merwin has racked up bookoos of awards including 2 Pulitzer Prizes for poetry. So now he has a year to further the cause, to expand our minds, to get us all to appreciate the written and spoken word, you know, to make poetry totally cool. Kind of like what I try to do here on Poetry Fridays, ha!

Anywho, here's a wonderful poem by the 17th U.S. Poet Laureate, W.S. Merwin, called For the Anniversary of My Death.

Every year without knowing it I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me
And the silence will set out
Tireless traveler
Like the beam of a lightless star...(head on over to the Poetry Foundation to continue reading.)

My Favorite Recipe For Baked Beans

I know, everyone has their own baked bean recipe that they use for every summer cookout. But after the millionth time of preparing this dish don't you start thinking about other baked bean recipes out there? What if there's something better? Something that puts your baked bean recipe to shame?

I admit, I started looking outside my recipe box for a different take on baked beans a few months ago. I came across a post from an uber food blogger where she raved about a recipe for baked beans, comparing them to "a prayer...a song." And she had over 300 comments to back her up, too. They must be good, right?

Well, yes, they were good but they just didn't measure up to my old familiar, tried and true, sweet and savory, perfect liquid to bean consistency, I'm-sorry-I-ever-doubted-you baked beans.

Here's my favorite recipe for baked beans:

64 oz pork and beans

1 cup ketchup

4 tsp Worcestshire

1/4 cup mustard

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup brown sugar

onion, chopped

6 slices bacon, cut into fourths

Combine first 7 ingredients and pour into a large baking dish. Top with bacon. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Wordless Wednesday: 15 Pounds Lighter

They're Back But Not Exactly Better Than Ever

So, last year, just when blackberry season was getting underway the electric company came out and sprayed anything and everything around the electrical poles and under the lines. It killed all the blackberry bushes that were across the road which meant I had to find my blackberries elsewhere. I was afraid the berries were done for and they wouldn't grow back this year but back in May I started seeing those familiar white blossoms again. And although the extreme heat and the lack of rain have them looking a little peaked I managed to gather enough for one of my favorite desserts, blackberry creme brulee. Mmmmmm.

Homemade Pizza Dough

I don't like seafood. It's a texture thing. My husband doesn't like tomatoes but strangely enough he loves tomato products--salsa, tomato sauce, ketchup and even sun-dried tomatoes. Go figure. Big pup, my pickiest eater, doesn't like much of anything. Except pasta. Little pup likes to eat most things. Except pasta. But the one thing that we can all agree on for dinner is pizza. Everyone likes pizza. And I love this recipe for pizza dough from the July '09 issue of Cooking Light. Inside it's soft and chewy and the outside is crispy and crunchy and the crust is perfect for dipping in ranch dressing or garlic butter.

Homemade Pizza Dough (from Cooking Light)


1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups cold water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, divided
cooking spray


1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Combine 1 1/4 cups cold water, oil, sugar, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon 5 1/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, yeast mixture, and cold water mixture in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low 8 minutes or until dough begins to form. Let rest 2 minutes; mix on low 6 minutes or until dough is smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes); add enough of the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).

3. Divide the dough in half, and place each portion in a large zip-top bag coated with cooking spray. Seal and chill overnight or up to 2 days. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.

Note: You can freeze the dough in heavy-duty, freezer-safe zip-top plastic bags for up to 2 months; thaw dough overnight in the refrigerator.