Testing Tuesday - Pineapple Coconut Buttermilk Pie

I found this recipe on One Hundred Dollars a Month and had pinned it.  I had all of the ingredients on hand and decided to make it last week.  The recipe did not state the size of the pie crust.  I used a purchased frozen crust and thought I had bought deep dish ones.  I was a little annoyed to discover that they were regular crusts.  I seriously need to remember to double check and not go by the tag on the shelf.

As usual I made some changes.  I made enough changes this go around that I completely rewrote the recipe.  I omitted an ingredient and adjusted a few others.  If you want to see the original recipe (which is actually an adapted one as well) go here.

Pineapple Coconut Buttermilk Pie (adapted from One Hundred Dollars a Month)

1 frozen deep dish pie crust
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn meal
5 large eggs
1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using a whisk combine sugar, corn meal, and eggs in a large bowl.  Add in remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.  Pour into pie crust.  Bake for 35 minutes or until set and top is lightly browned.  Allow to cool thoroughly and store in the refrigerator.

I ended up making two small pies.  When baked in a deep dish crust, it will be thicker than the one pictured above.  I sent one pie to work with W and took the other to Sunday dinner with my parents.  I was worried that W's co-workers would not like it since I cut the sugar amount by more than half.  He said they loved it so much he only got a tiny sliver of the pie.  Fortunately I had leftovers so he got pie at home.  

Weekly Savings

I stuck to my pantry challenge for the most part this past week.  I focused on using up some items from the freezer.  My goal for the remainder of the month is to only purchase perishables.

We put tarps up around the chicken house during the winter months to keep the cold wind out.  We took those down several months ago but had no good place to store them.  The old ones had been kept in a cardboard box.  While cleaning out a storage building, I found a plastic tote of Easter decorations that I no longer used.  The decorations went into a cardboard box for donation, and I used the newly emptied tote to store the tarps.

I harvested sweet mint from the garden.  I used it along with some purchased dried herbs to make an herbal tea.  I steeped mint, chamomile, rose hips, lemongrass, hibiscus, and raspberry leaf in near boiling water.  That gets mixed with a little bit of fruit juice for an alternative to the artificially colored and flavored typical sugary summer drinks.

I wanted to plant some calendula seeds in my garden.  I searched the usual places that I buy seeds but wanted a cheaper option.  I ended up ordering some off eBay for around $1.  Hopefully W can finish rebuilding the last of the raised beds so I can plant the seeds by the end of the week.

Mother's Day gifts here were crocheted dish rags.  I had purchased two cones of cotton yarn so I could do a mix of colors.  I know that may seem like an awful gift, but both my mother and mother-in-law like usable gifts especially if they are handmade.

The weather has been mild here.  Many people may not consider it mild since the highs have been in the upper 80s/low 90s.  We have been using fans rather than the A/C.  I am not sure how much longer W and Leo can hold out, but for now it is good for the electric bill.

Pantry Challenge Update

Yesterday was hectic with cooking and a few other odds and ends before we headed over for a dinner with W's family.  I never got online so the post is a day late.  Here is an update of what we ate for meals this past week and the purchases.  Meals first.

Weekend meals (Saturday through Monday) tend to be on our own.  W works a 12 hour shift on these days.  With the weather heating up he rarely wants anything heavy and often wants nothing at all.  Normally his weekend supper is cereal.  I eat leftovers.

Tuesday we had a chicken taquitos with guacamole and salads.  The taquitos were homemade from the freezer.  I am making an effort to eat out of the freezer this month.

Wednesday we had a hamburger/pork and beans casserole, slaw and rolls.  Supper was popcorn and movie theater sized boxes of candy for movie night.

Thursday was cubed steak, peas, macaroni and cheese, and squash.  I used some onion tops from the garden in the squash.  I am trying to thin out my red onions so the remaining ones grow larger.

Friday's dinner was on your own.  I ate a fish sandwich, and W ate leftovers.  Supper was shredded Italian style deer meat and chips on homemade buns.

A helpful pantry challenge tip:  never leave your husband alone with the grocery cart while you go off to look for wasp spray.  He definitely cut into my $60 budget for this month.  It will be tight, but I am still hopeful that I can make it work.

We bought lettuce, cereal, chips, lemonade and yogurt for a total of $27.05.  Can you guess which purchases were his?  That leaves me $32.95 for the remainder of the month.  I do need to buy some fruit this week, but I hope to limit my shopping to just fruit and get back on track.  

Furry Friday

When people talk about raising rabbits, they always assume you have tons and tons of babies.  After all rabbits reproduce like.....well rabbits.  Not at our house.  For some reason we have had very little luck with raising rabbits.  We have only had five baby rabbits in the year plus that we have been keeping bunnies.  

We had pretty much given up on the hope of having any unless we got a new boy rabbit.  We got a nice surprise when we found three baby rabbits in one of the bunny houses.

Then W checked a second spot and found one lone baby.

All four are fat and well-cared for by their moms.  They nearly have their eyes open and will be hopping around on their own in just a few short weeks.

In the Garden - Fruit Plants

This year Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds began selling live plants.  I already love their seed selection.  I was very excited to give the plants a try.  I found several that I wanted but narrowed it down to just two types.

First I picked out the Truly Tiny Banana.  It is supposed to be ideal for containers and can easily be grown in a greenhouse.  My plants are small but very healthy.  Best of all they had a good root system.

I also decided to get dwarf mulberry plants.  We have a mulberry tree, but it is a male which means it will never produce fruit.  A neighbor has a female tree and shares the fruit.  I just like to have my own trees.  These will grow 2'-6' if kept in containers.  When planted directly in the ground, they will grow 10'-30' tall.  That may not sound dwarf.  However a regular mulberry tree can grow 50' tall.  My plan is to keep these in containers for a few years and maybe plant in the ground eventually.

Thus far I am very pleased with my live plant purchases from Baker Creek.  I will definitely be looking at other plants next spring!

Weekly Savings

I cooked all of our meals at home again.  That made me realize we had piles of food, which made me decide to do a pantry challenge. 


I signed up for a free herbalism mini-course from Vintage Remedies.  It is self-paced.  It is very interesting, and I am learning quite a bit. 


I picked strawberries at my parents' house twice.  They are just starting to bear, but I got enough to make a batch of strawberry popsicles. 


I also picked several cucumbers from the greenhouse cucumber plant.  I started some oregano and marjoram seeds in the greenhouse rather than buy plants.  They have grown well and will be ready to plant in pots soon.  A tomato plant branch broke a couple of weeks ago while I was trying to wrangle the limbs.  I put it in water and before long it was covered in roots.  I planted it in one of the raised beds, and it looks great now.  It also has several little tomatoes on it.


While at the grocery store I looked through the bags of marked down bananas.  I have learned that these are not always overripe bananas.  People often pull off one or two bananas from a bunch and leave those behind.  My grocery store bags these up and sells them for half-price. 


I used rags to clean with rather than paper towels.  I have enough that I can go a couple of weeks before washing them. 


I refilled a foaming soap container.  I think foaming soap means less waste.  All it takes is a few squeezes of soap and some warm water.  It makes the liquid soap go much further. 


It was a very quiet week here, and those are the highlights.  I did no extra shopping and talked myself out of a few purchases.  I am trying to do some spring cleaning/decluttering.  It is good motivation to not buy more stuff and work to make do with what I have.

Impromptu Pantry Challenge

I decided yesterday that I needed to do a pantry challenge.  It was a spur of the moment decision.  My plan is to limit my grocery spending for the month of May to $60.  I will share what we eat and buy this month.  Check back each Saturday for an update.

I will start with what we ate the first two days.

Friday - Breakfast was eggs and toast for W, and nothing for me.  Lunch was egg salad in homemade Pita pockets with chips and fruit salad.  We ate a late lunch and skipped supper.

Saturday - W takes a packed lunch to work.  He had grits, popcorn, carrots with homemade ranch, clementines, almonds, and cake.  (Not balanced, but it is what he wants.)  I ate cake, buffalo chicken mac and cheese, and a fish sandwich.  Not healthy, but we all have those days.  I am keeping it real though.

I would like to say that I have a grand plan for the month's meals.  That is not true.  I do know we have more than enough food to make it through the month.  I expect to buy some produce and hopefully not much else.