Bacon Pineapple Bites

For those of you that love bacon, this one is a winner. I am not a big fan of bacon, but I did try this and I have to say it was actually really good. I guess I like bacon as long as there is something else to drown out it's flavor haha! The hubby ate these up and loved them!
 Now if I could just figure out a way to wrap everything in chocolate and I will be a happy camper also. ;)

 The original recipe can be found here: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/bacon-wrapped-pineapple-bites/

6 pieces of bacon, cut in half
Fresh pineapple cut into chunks, or canned pineapple chunks (in juice, not in syrup)
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.
Place the brown sugar in a medium bowl.
Take a bacon half and dredge it through the brown sugar.
Roll the sugar coated bacon around a chunk of pineapple.
Place the rolled bacon/pineapple onto a broiler pan, sprayed with Pam, so that the fat can drip through. Cook at 375° for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil these for just a couple minutes to crisp them up. Watch them carefully as the sugar will burn fast under the broiler.

Pineapple Casserole

Well, jury duty beckons this morning. So I thought I'd start my morning out on a positive note and blog about a side dish I made this week. Anything to get my mind off of the next 8 hours haha! I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try. It was actually better than I thought it would be. It made a super easy side dish and everyone that has tried it has liked it so far. I did get a suggestion that toasted coconut would be great on top of it. Next time I make it, I will try that for sure! I also think that next time I will use more bread across the top of the casserole. That was my favorite part. Of course!! ;)

2 cans crushed pineapple (20 oz each)
1/4 -1/2 cup sugar (I used right between these measurements)
2 Tbsp flour
3 eggs, beaten
5 slices french bread, crusts removed
Butter for bread

Drain the pineapple, reserving 1 cup juice. In a bowl, combine pineapple and reserved juice with sugar, flour and eggs; mix well. Spoon into a well greased, 2-qt. baking dish. Cut your buttered french bread into cubes. Place the cubes on the top of the casserole. Bake at 350, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until set and browned.
*If you are adding toasted coconut, I would toast the coconut in your oven and add the toasted coconut before placing in the oven. 

Recipe adapted from:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Golden-Pineapple-Casserole-Side-Dish

Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa

Once again I tried to bring the flavor of the tropics to our house tonight. This salsa worked very well on the fish as it had some sweet, some spice and gave the fish a lot of flavor.

1 Pineapple, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper,chopped
2 dry red chilies, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
Salt/Pepper to taste

Combine all salsa ingredients together and stir. Place on top of fish or chicken.

Sugar and Spice Fruit Dip

I love the combination of sugar, spice and salt. When my girls were growing up, they always loved to put spicy chili powder on some of their fruits. Now we are all grown ups and it still tastes great. You can mix this combo of dipping sugar to suit your individual taste. Tonight I only had pineapple to serve it with, but next time you can be sure I will be cutting up some watermelon and mangoes to dip in it also.

 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar
3/4 - 1 tsp salt
1- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
Fruit cut up

Mix the sugar, salt and chili powder in a bowl. Serve with cut up fruit to dip in it.