Pineapple Pie and more...

I had fun on Thursday, I got to make a bunch of desserts and along the way discovered a couple of neat tricks, which made for a very good day.    And of course we also served our seniors a very nice lunch as well.

Pineapple Pie, Marble Cake, Jello

Let me start with the menu:
Spaghetti with Meatballs
Johnny Marzetti  (Goulash with a Cheese Topping)

Green Salad 
Tuna Salad
Peas
Pickled Beets
Garlic Bread
Sliced Tomatoes

Salad

Tuna Salad

Not too shabby, huh?   I think we do a good job.   Oh and the desserts, well, I had fun.    I made a couple of marble cakes, and topped them with some Banana Cream, giggle, so easy to make.

From the other side, Bread Pudding, Marble Cake, Jello

Pineapple Pie, Marble Cake, Jello

And I threw together three Pineapple Pies as well.    I want to share the recipe for them here.   They are such an easy, last minute throw together dessert.  Perfect for when unexpected company comes, or you've run out of time to make something more elaborate or ....    I learned this recipe from Sarge.   He said it was something he would throw together when his kids were young, and they needed a quick dessert.   All I can say is this, it is so yummy, and popular as a dessert.

Pineapple Pie recipe

3 Graham Cracker crusts, either homemade or bought

2 Quarts Heavy Whipping cream, whipped divided into two bowls after being whipped.  ** 
1  Family Size box Instant Vanilla Pudding mix (8 serving size)
1 15 oz. Can Crushed Pineapple

 
Make a graham cracker crust, or buy one.   I made some crusts, and they are so easy to make.   Mix one box of graham crackers made into crumbs with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup melted butter.  You want enough butter so that the crumbs stick together.   This made enough for 3 1/2 pie crusts.  I think I could actually have made 4 but I didn't have enough filling.


Whip up 1 quart heavy cream til soft peaks form, then fold in 1 large box of instant vanilla pudding.   Add 1 can of crushed pineapple, juice and all.  Fold together.   This will stiffen up because of the pudding.  Then divide the filling into three and place one third of the filling into each pie shell.   Top with some more whipped cream.   Refrigerate for at least a half hour.     Decorate with slices of fresh pineapple to serve.   And don't be surprised if people go for seconds on this.
 **  If you don't have fresh cream to whip, go ahead and use some whipped topping in place of the cream.  It works very well.   Just use  2 (two)8 oz. tubs of whipped topping,  1 1/2  for the filling and half of one  for the topping. 

And I also made some whipped cream topping for the marble cakes, but this time I added a small box of Banana Cream Instant Pudding to the whipped Cream and used that to 'frost' the cakes.   They were so good as well.   I have to say I got the idea from Robin, because I had gone to the store to get a couple of things and forgot to pick up some more frosting.   So instead of making a butter cream frosting from scratch, I whipped up some cream and added the instant pudding mix.   You have to try this sometime.   It was so good. 

You might be wondering why I keep using whipping cream, well, thanks to Farm Share we were given a lot of cream, so we're using it.  I make custards, use it to make our own butter, use it where ever we can.   It helps that I'm an 'old' farm girl, and I use the term old gingerly, but I was so lucky to grow up on a farm and have a mother who was one of the best cooks ever to teach me how to cook from scratch.     And also how to cook using the foods I have available.  Thanks to her and my older sisters who I shamelessly ask for hints from, I am a pretty decent cook.