Pina Colada Baked Oatmeal

Original Recipe HERE

The kids loved this, maybe because they didn't expect the combination of pineapple and oatmeal.  Even *J*, who normally doesn't like coconut, gobbled it up.  Most of it was eaten for dinner, but the leftovers reheated well the next day for breakfast.

It was definitely sweet.  Next time I will decrease the brown sugar amount.  Using unsweetened coconut, like the original recipe asks for, would help - but I can only find the standard stuff in the blue bag at our grocery store.

Ingredients

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 & 1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil [I used melted coconut oil]

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 can (15 oz) crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup shredded coconut [I used sweetened]

milk, coconut milk, cream, or yogurt for serving

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13" baking dish.

(2) Sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

(3) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, pineapple, and coconut.

(4) Combine dry ingredients, oats, sugar, and wet ingredients.  Stir until well mixed.

(5) Pour batter into baking dish.  Bake 25-30 minutes, or until oatmeal is set in the middle.

Kid Participation:

* Measure dry ingredients

* Sift dry ingredients

* Combine wet ingredients

* Stir everything together

Pineapple Stuffing

Original Recipe: from a message board

I made this for Christmas dinner because I thought it would be a nice accompaniment to the main dish (spiral ham).  It was SO good - my favorite part of the whole meal.  Too bad everyone else liked it just as much because we had to ration our portions so that everyone got enough.  We each might have consumed the whole thing if left to our own devices.  I'm making it again for Easter and will double the recipe.

Update: I made this two more times.  Adjusted/doubled amounts appear below.  It fills a 9x13" baking dish, but leftovers are still sparse.

Ingredients

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple
1 cup white sugar
3/4 to 1 cup butter, softened
6 eggs
10 slices white bread, cubed into 1" pieces and dried overnight [I just used an entire loaf]

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13" baking dish.

(2) Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer.

(3) Add eggs, one at a time.  Mix after each addition.

(4) Drain pineapple.  Stir into egg mixture.

(5) Gently fold in bread.

(6) Scoop into dish.  Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.  Stir stuffing several times during cooking to prevent top from burning.

Kid Participation: Not much to do besides stirring.

Hawaiian Pizza Pockets (aka, Pineapple Ham Calzones)

Original Recipe HERE

I love Hawaiian pizzas but can't get enough votes from other family members to ever order it.  I guess I need to have a few more kids to necessitate a second pizza, and then I will pull the Mom Card and demand a pineapple-and-ham (or bacon)-and-red-onion pie.  Luckily I got a consensus tonight, and everyone thought these pockets were a fabulous dinner...but...what gives?  I don't get it; everyone likes all of the ingredients and toppings on their own...but putting them all together is a no-go. 

I didn't think the filling amount looked like enough, so I doubled it.  It made for some obese calzones that leaked a bit.  Not that it mattered, but the presentation wasn't great.

I used the Weelicious pizza dough recipe found here.  It seemed like a lot of flour, and I thought there'd be leftover dough, but there was just enough.  Anything less would have made pretty small calzones.

Ingredients

1 pound pizza dough, at room temperature

1 cup pizza or tomato sauce

1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup pineapple chunks, chopped

1/2 cup ham, chopped

olive oil

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 450° F.  Line a baking sheet with foil.
(2) In a bowl, combine sauce, cheese, ham and pineapple.  Divide into 8 portions for each pizza pocket.

(3) Divide dough into 8 even pieces. Roll one piece out into a rectangle approximately 6x8".
(4) Place one portion of cheese mixture on one half of a rectangle.  Fold uncovered side of dough over cheese mixture.  Use a fork to press edges to seal.  Place pocket on baking sheet. 

(5) Repeat with 7 other pieces of dough.
(6) Lightly brush tops of pockets with olive oil.  Bake for 18 minutes.
(7) Pockets will be extremely hot.  Use a sharp knife to pierce several holes in the top to allow steam to escape for several minutes before serving.

Kid Participation:

* Combine filling ingredients

* Roll out dough rectangles

* Spoon filling onto rectangles

* Seal edges with fork

Carrots & Pineapples

Original Recipe HERE

I was positive my kids would wolf this down.  They like carrots, and they really like pineapple.  Shockingly, it was a no-go.  They did eat the pineapple, but the carrots were left untouched.  It may have been because I served it during a "Dinner & a Show" night, so they were distracted due to being planted in front of the TV, sitting at their miniature picnic table.  I'll try it again, since they likely have no memory of this dish thanks to being mesmerized by something Disney-ish.

Ingredients

4 large carrots, peeled & chopped [I used a half-bag of baby carrots]

1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 Tablespoon butter

Directions

(1) Chop carrots into bite-size pieces.  Steam until tender-crisp.

(2) Drain pineapple, saving juice.

(3) Combine juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter in small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, about 2-3 minutes until thick.

(4) Combine carrots, pineapple chunks, and sauce in bowl.  Stir until combined.  Serve warm.

Kid Participation: None.