Coconut Cream Pie

My boys, the perpetual jokers. As I sit here putting this together I am thinking I should have made a face along with them, but of course, me, miss prim and proper doesn't even like the photo of herself as is. If I had made a face, I probably wouldn't have put it up at all!

We celebrated Justin's birthday last night with a BBQ. He requested Fireman's Field Chicken & Salt potatoes. I made a salad to go with and for dessert he requested Coconut Cream Pie.

Last night Kristina told me she went back to my blog yesterday afternoon because she expected more from me with it being Justin's birthday. Well, last year I wished him happy birthday with a progression of photos. You can see that post by clicking HERE. I decided this year I would wait until we celebrated and I would post photos from that celebration. 😉

Yeah, yeah, I know, I actually put the dessert photos up first....but those silly faces, I just wanted them to be the first thing you would see. 😉

My birthday boy, all grown up and 24 years old. I loved him in every stage. I loved him when he was growing inside me, I loved him when he was stubborn and came 10 days late. I even loved him when he gave me a hard time coming into the world .... for 36 hours. The Dr even decided that to get him here he had to do a c-section! I loved him when he would keep his daddy and me up in the night wanting to play instead of sleep. I loved him when he sucked his little thumb....omg that was so cute. lol. I loved him when he wanted to hold the fuzzy blanket under his nose. I loved him when he would put his daddy's boots and hats on (and he was so tiny!) and play around like he was daddy. I loved him when he would come home from kindergarten and patiently answer all my questions about what his day was like, even right down to what he at for lunch. I loved him as he grew up and was no longer a baby. I love him today like only a mother can understand. He is my precious first baby boy and my heart just swells with love for him. Who knew a person could love so much?

This was Justin's Coconut Cream Pie. I decided to substitute half of the milk in the recipe for coconut milk and instead of vanilla extract I went with coconut. This pie was rich but really awesome. Its definitely a celebration pie. Not something to make on a regular basis because it is not weight friendly (if you care about that!) I was lazy and bought a Pillsbury pie crust yesterday. I knew I had too much to do to make a homemade crust....but Pillsbury pie crusts are so good that it doesn't matter if you don't make your own!

Justin's B-Day CCC Pie

½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup coconut milk
4 egg yolks, well beaten

Mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Gradually add the milk to the sugar and then add the yolks. Cook in heavy bottomed pan over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Boil for 1 minute. Make sure you stir the pudding the entire time you are cooking.

Remove from heat and add:

3 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup coconut

Combine well. Pour into prepared (already baked) pie crust. Place saran wrap over the top to prevent skin from forming. Cool and refrigerate.

To make whipped topping:

1-½ cup heavy cream
½ cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip together until cream is stiff. Don't whip too long or you'll have butter! Top pie with cream and sprinkle with toasted coconut if desired. Serve & Enjoy!