Tag Archives: pineapple

Pineapple-Coconut Jasmine Brown Rice

Discovered this rice originally at a local waterside dive bar/restaurant called ZigZag Scallop on the west coast of Florida in Hernando Beach and had to recreate it. Their food is phenomenal if you’re ever in the area. They had used regular jasmine rice but we prefer the jasmine brown. It’s not very dark but it is brown rice. I get my rice at Trader Joe’s because it’s the one place I know I can always find it. Sometimes the supermarkets or specialty markets have it but Trader Joe’s has the best price. I buy several bags when we go and store in the fridge, even unopened. Because anyone who lives in Florida knows that the ants here are beyond tenacious and determined to get into ANYTHING! I lost a whole unopened bag of this rice that was in my pantry as they ate through the plastic. So in the fridge it goes. I also make my rice in a rice cooker these days. So much easier if you ask me. For years I swore I’d never buy one and finally broke down and was so glad I did. I love it!

Use fresh pineapple if you can, it makes a HUGE difference. But if canned is all you can get try to get the best quality canned you can find. Do not use crushed. You want the chunks.

I use this recipe with my Tuna Poke recipe and served it warm. But it is also delicious cold. This recipe is a doubled so I will have extra. Feel free to cut it in half.

This can definitely be made on the stove top or in a rice cooker. Just follow the directions for both and all will be fine. I don’t go by the instructions for the rice cooker on their liquid amounts, they are not really accurate and the rice gets over-cooked.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups jasmine brown rice

1 can of light coconut milk (15-16 oz) (I also get mine from Trader Joe’s, but any brand is fine)

6 cups water

2-3 cups fresh pineapple, diced (if using frozen or canned, drain the juice)

1-2 limes juiced

1 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 cup fresh cilantro or about 1 TBS dried, or leave it out if you don’t like cilantro, I did not use it.

2/3 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened, toasted if desired

1-2 scallions thinly sliced

Directions:

Rice Cooker:

Combine the rice, coconut milk and water in the cooker. Cook until done. (my rice cooker turns off when complete.) Check to make sure it’s not too dried out, if it is just add a little more water and cook for a few minutes.

When cooker turns off and goes to warm (as mine does) add the pineapple chunks, salt, cilantro, scallions, coconut and lime juice. Stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

Stovetop:

In a medium pot, combine the rice, coconut milk and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low right away.

Simmer on low for about 40-60 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Keep covered and remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Add the pineapple chunks, salt, cilantro, scallions, coconut and lime juice. Stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

Pina Colada Cake

Pina Colada Cake

I BAKED!! I know what you’re all saying…(But you don’t bake!) But I tried yet again, I refuse to give in on this. And it’s not really from scratch, it’s semi-homemade. I added my own touches and it worked! It came out amazing! So moist, rich and tropical! Oh and I even made the frosting from scratch! It was so easy! Go figure!

Rum/Vanilla Frosting

I had this cake mix in my cabinet for months, I bought it online for like a dollar and it was past it’s “best if used by date” by a few weeks so I figured I’d be adventurous. Originally I was going to make cupcakes but I thought I better just stick with a sheet cake this time. I toasted up some sweetened coconut flakes I had in the pantry also (they came out a little darker than I wanted but they taste great so all is well), and topped the cake with them.

Toasted coconut

Toasted Coconut

After tasting a small piece I wanted to eat the whole cake! WOW! Success!! I can bake I can bake I can bake!!!!

 

So without anymore self-praise here is how I did it.

Cake Ingredients:

1 box pineapple cake mix (I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme Pineapple)

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained (I used about 8 ounces of fresh crushed pineapple I had in the freezer and thawed)

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

1/4 cup coconut syrup (or you can just use water or even coconut water)

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups confectioners sugar

4 oz butter (1 stick), softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon rum extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Extra Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Cake Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray or butter with a dusting of flour.
  2. Beat cake mix, pineapple, butter, coconut syrup and eggs in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. (didn’t realize how long 2 minutes can be when you’re timing something!)
  3. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 34-38 minutes. (Check after 30 minutes as all ovens can be different. I took mine out at 32 minutes)IMG_5193
  5. Let cool completely before frosting.
  6. Once cool, frost the cake.

Frosting Directions: (this recipe will frost the entire cake)

  1. In a large bowl beat(cream) the butter and cream cheese.
  2. With the mixer on low-speed add the sugar a little at a time until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add the extracts.

Toasted Coconut Directions:

Place the coconut on a cookie sheet in a 350°F oven for about 2-5 minutes. Check after 2 minutes so it doesn’t burn. It goes quick once it starts to toast. Cool before putting on cake.

Pina Colada Sheet Cake

 

Sassy Steak Bites

Ok I can’t take the credit for this recipe. It’s another great recipe from my favorite, Hungry Girl. It’s from her newest cookbook Happy Hour. (I did change the title of the recipe however) A great little book with tons of yummy snacks and cocktails! All low-calorie! She even gives Weight Watcher points for all the recipes! How cool is that! She’ll have a new TV show on the Cooking Channel in January. I can’t wait! So I was looking for something different that we could actually serve for a party snack. I like easy recipes that are really delicious that I will make more than one time. This is one of them. I love steak. Could eat it all the time! But this recipe uses it cut into little bites. The best part is it’s cooked in a slow cooker! Yep, just throw the stuff in there and forget about it for hours! Or until you need it for the party!

This recipe is a little more substantial for a party snack. It’s more filling therefore everyone won’t fill up on too much else! This makes 5 servings so if you need more just double the recipe. The serving stats I got from the Hungry Girl website with all her photos of all her recipes. Check it out! I am trying to get back into healthier eating again now that the holidays are almost gone and the New Year is upon us. My New Year resolution is to start going to the gym in my community’s clubhouse. I didn’t say how much I would go but I am going to go. I’ll keep everyone posted. Once I start that and get in a routine it’s back to Weight Watchers for me! But for now try this easy snack and enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Hungry Girl

INGREDIENTS:

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple packed in juice, lightly drained

1/3 cup sweet Asian chili sauce

½ teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicier

1 pound raw lean beefsteak filet, cut into about 30 bite-sized pieces

1 onion, finely chopped (a medium size onion is good)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place pineapple, chili sauce, soy sauce and crushed red pepper in a crock pot. Mix it well.

2. Add the beef and onion and stir well to coat.

3. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for 7-8 hours.

4. Serve with excess sauce and toothpicks.

Per Serving: (about 6 bites with sauce) 196 calories, 4.5g fat, 254mg sodium, 18g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 15g sugars, 19.5g protein. Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 5

Hurricane Cocktails

Yes I am doing a Hurricane cocktail today. In honor of all the crazy storms out there right now, especially “My Name Is Earl”. As of right now Earl is down to a Category 1 storm with winds only at 85mph. ONLY! Coming from NY we never really knew what hurricanes where for the most part. Sure I remember Gloria. But by the time it got to NY it was nothing like the ones I experienced living here in Florida. I was here 4 years before our first one in 2004. Hurricane Frances. Then 3 weeks later Hurricane Jeanne. Hurricane Wilma in 2005 was another one we got to know up close and personal. Let me just say I am glad I experienced it but don’t need to repeat again, ever. We got hit dead on for these, not just a brushing past us. It was not fun. So now when they talk about these storms and some people just don’t realize how severe they can be. Just ask Louisiana or any other Gulf state. So for all of you up north in the path, even though it’s a Cat.1 please take it seriously and prepare. You never know! If I had a dollar for all the times our weather people said, “Oh this has never happened before! Or This is highly unusual for a storm!” I would be rich. Honestly, you don’t know! So be safe everyone and have a cocktail. Stock up on ice and water! You don’t realize how much you need them both until you can’t get them!

So enjoy the cocktails. This recipe makes enough for 8! It is courtesy of  Rachael Ray. It will NOT be that bright red color that you usually have from a bar hurricane. That is pretty much all sugar and fruit punch. Yuck!! This will be a pretty orange/yellow color.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup simple syrup

2 cups golden rum

2 cups passion fruit juice

2 cups orange juice (no pulp is better)

2 cups pineapple juice

½ cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Mariner

juice of 4 limes (about ½ cup)

Myers Rum

ice cubes

Bitters, such as Angostura (You can leave this out if you want)

8 fresh pineapple wedges for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill a large pitcher or large punch bowl with ice cubes. Add the rum, passionfruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, pineapple juice and simple syrup and stir until chilled.

2. Strain the cocktail into glasses, top with a dash of bitters and garnish with a pineapple wedge. Put a little Myers Rum on top as a floater! Enjoy!

Piña Colada Cupcakes

One of my favorite drinks is the Piña Colada. And not one made from a mix either, made from scratch. The flavors are so much better. But like all things we LOVE to eat or drink, most likely it’s loaded with calories and fat. One way to get that coconut/pineapple fix is with cupcakes! Using lower fat items we can still get that piña colada taste with fewer calories. Granted, it is not the same as the real thing but it’ll do in a pinch! On average an 8 ounce piña colada has about 350 calories and over 10 grams of fat! One of these cupcakes has about 120 calories and about 2 grams of fat! You do the math! The cupcakes are sweet and I can’t wait to make them again!

(Photo for illustrative purposes only)

INGREDIENTS:

For Cupcakes:

2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix (½ of an 18.25 ounce box)

12 ounces crushed pineapple in juice (not drained)

½ teaspoon coconut extract

For Frosting:

4 ounces crushed pineapple in juice (drained)

1 sugar-free vanilla pudding snack

1½ tablespoons fat-free or light cream cheese, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon coconut extract

1 packet Splenda (sucralose)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients and mix till well blended. Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with pineapple. Add the coconut extract and mix until thoroughly blended.

4. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups. Pour cake mixture evenly into cups.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean.

6. Allow cupcakes to cool completely and frost. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 12 servings.

Pina Colada JELL-O Shots

Yes you read that correctly! I like to think I came up with this recipe since I did think of it on my own. Now if someone else thought of it at some point, more power to them! But as far as I know, nobody else has ever made them, that I know of anyway! I love to make JELL-O shots and if it weren’t for all the sugar in the jello I’d make them more often. I would gladly use the sugar-free JELL-O but I am allergic to the aspartame most of them have in it as a sweetener. And all the good flavors of JELL-O aren’t sugar-free. Then again if you’re doing JELL-O shots you are NOT thinking of counting calories. Like they used to say, “There’s always room for JELL-O!” At any of the parties I’ve served them everyone laughs. But then they have one, two, three…and they are hooked. I also have whipped cream available for topping them! I think I will make them for my next party! When I made them in the past I have used small plastic shot glasses, paper shot glasses or some other type of small cup. But the plastic is tough to get the shots out of and the paper cups tend to leak before they “jell”. Plus they take up a ton of space in the fridge. So from now on I am going to make them in a flat container and just cut cubes or scoop it out into small cups. Easier for everyone!

Pina Colada JELL-O Shots

INGREDIENTS:

1 package pineapple flavored JELL-O

1 cup boiling water

1 cup coconut flavored rum

DIRECTIONS:

Add boiling water to JELL-O and stir to dissolve. Let cool to room temperature. Add the rum and stir. Pour into a pan or tray and freeze or chill until firm. Have fun!

Makes about 20 shots

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