Coconut Caramel Pie and a broccoli salad

As always, I am coming in just under the gun.....in submitting this to "Weekend Cooking".

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads. It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend.

I received a nice little e-mail from Christy over at "Southern Plate" so I zipped on over to her blog to see what she had been making and there was this pie. It looked so delicious and easy--I love easy--so I thought I'd make it for a BBQ we were headed to on Saturday afternoon.

In the words of this generation---"OMG!!", it was soooo good. Everyone ate it all up. Every last bite. (there was one non coconut loving person in the group--boo, cuz how can you not like coconut? She had to settle for "store bought" chocolate cake )

You should try this pie. Right now! It's very easy and quite tasty. Even tho I'm doing weight watchers right now... I tasted it. Then tasted it again. But I was overall very good. Which is quite a feat, as you can tell if you look at this pie!

Ashley Mac’s Coconut-Caramel Pie

(yields 2 deep-dish pies)


1/4 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecan halves
8 ounces cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
16 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 deep dish (9-inch) pie shells, baked
1 (12 ounce) jar caramel topping

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add coconut and pecans. Cook until brown and set aside.
Combine cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in a mixing bowl. Beat with mixer until smooth.
Fold in whipped topping.
Layer 1/4 cream cheese mixture in each pie shell.
Drizzle 1/4 jar of caramel topping on top of cream cheese mixture in each pies.
Sprinkle half coconut mixture on top.
Repeat the layer, beginning with the cream-cheese mixture.
Freeze. Serve frozen.   (I let mine sit out a bit before serving so it was frozen solid, but just really really "set".
***********************************************************************

We have a group of friends and we get together quite often for various reason, but our get togethers almost always include food. Lots of times, a potluck, or as Mitzi, who is from Minnesota says, we bring a dish to pass. ( well, I don't say that, but I love it when Mitzi says it. She also says "Lord love a duck." ~grins~)



It's really strange, because we never discuss what each of us will bring, but it never fails that we have doubles or triples of the same recipe.
And there are only 8 of us. It's eerie. Like we are mind readers.


It must be that "Collective unconscious" they talk about.

I made broccoli salad to take to the BBQ. (there were only 5 couples this time) and "Lord Love a Duck" if Mitzi didn't make it too!   How weird is that? 
(and just FYI....Mitzi is joining the Hot Book Club Book challenge. see post below)
Her's is in the white Tupperward bowl, mine is in the glass bowl.

Here is my recipe for

Broccoli Salad:

4-5 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
1 cup raisins (I half this)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 C vinegar
1 chopped red onion
1 cup sunflower kernels


Chop broccoli, stalks and all, and place in large bowl. Add raisins, cooked bacon, onion, and sunflower kernels.
Mix Mayo, sugar, and vinegar to make dressing. Pour over broccoli mixture. Stir to coat well and refrigerate until ready to serve.