Pineapple Crisp

2 cans (15 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
¼ tsp. vanilla
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place fruit in a 1 qt. shallow baking dish. Combine flour, sugar, oats, nutmeg and coconut. Mix in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Changes – serve hot with ice cream. Change fruit to apples and add cinnamon or apple pie spice. Add ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese to flour mixture.

Strawberry Punch

2 cups cold water
1 lg (6 oz.) pkg strawberry jello
1 can (6 oz.) frozen orange juice
1 can (6 oz.) frozen lemonade
2 cups boiling water
1 can (46 oz.) pineapple juice
1 cup sugar
1 qt. ginger ale
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen strawberries or 20-25 fresh sliced strawberries

Add boiling water to the jello and dissolve. Add cold water, fruit juices and sugar. Mix well and refrigerate. Add ginger ale and strawberries when ready to serve.

This is a really refreshing punch. It can be changed by using different flavors of jello and fruit. You can use peach jello with frozen peaches. To get a tart flavor use frozen lime juice instead of the lemonade. Mix up the flavors you like and create your own flavor. This works best with an ice ring which can be made by freezing the pineapple juice or any other juice you may decide to use.

Pina Colada Punch

1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice, chilled
1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 (15 oz.) can cream of coconut
1 (32 oz.) bottle 7-Up, chilled

Combine all ingredients and serve over ice.

This recipe can be used as a base for other drinks. Add cherries, kiwi, strawberries or any other fruit you might enjoy. To me this drink is one of the most refreshing drinks there is. That's probably because I love anything with coconut and/or pineapple in it. When I lived in Florida my daughters and I went to a really great island on the Gulf called Boca Grande. There is a little store
on the island that sells frozen coconut bars. I'm sure they are nothing but juice with shredded coconut mixed in before freezing but I loved them. So since I no longer live in Florida I had to start making my own. By using this recipe, adding flaked coconut, pouring it into pop cycle containers and freezing them I now have that great taste again.

Cottage Cheese & Pineapple Jello Salad

2 pkg. lime jello
1 pkg. lemon jello
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup pecans, chopped

Mix lime and lemon jello using only 2 cups of water. (Use 1 cup of boiling water to dissolve jello. After dissolved add 1 cup of cold water. Pour jello into a 8 x 8 dish and refrigerate until firm. Mix together pineapple, cottage cheese, mayonnaise and pecans. Cut jello into 1/2" squares and place into a bowl. Fold in cottage cheese mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Changes - change the jello flavors.. orange, cherry, etc. When ready to serve, scoop into serving dishes, top with whipped topping and a cherry for a really pretty dessert.

Pineapple Fritter Rings

1 cup self rising flour
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 large can pineapple rings
1 cup brown sugar
Vegetable oil
Powdered sugar

Mix flour, egg and milk until smooth. Set aside. Drain juice from the pineapples into a bowl. Heat oil in a frying pan or deep fryer. Mix brown sugar with juice. Place pineapple rings into the juice. Dip into the batter. Fry until light brown turning once. Drain and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Changes - Use fresh cut apple rings with about 1/2 cup of apple juice. Use orange juice or pineapple juice and chopped fruit such as cherries, apples, blueberries, etc. After dropping into the juice/sugar mix add the chopped fruit to the batter and drop by spoonfuls into the hot oil. You can also sprinkle the drained fritters with brown sugar instead of powdered.