Coconut Custard Pie - the story of a failed recipe

Jan here, facing what all writers love...and yet, dread.

It isn't the pie! Definitely not the pie!

It's the Looming Deadline.

Deadlines need to be met because writers don't work alone. We have agents, editors, cover artists, marketing folks (etc. etc.) counting on us to keep to the schedule!

(And don't we love deadlines, because that means another book is coming out!)

But the downside of deadlines is that our families get the short end of the stick - at least temporarily.

We end up serving box macaroni and cheese, or pizza, or even the dreaded "you guys are on your own tonight!"

I'm on some tight deadlines right now (yes, multiple deadlines = multiple books), and I started feeling bad for my poor husband. So I looked up a recipe I had made several years ago when I was on one of my first deadlines...

Coconut Custard Pie!

My mistake was that I tried to adjust it (with some help from a couple recipes I found on-line) to make single serving Coconut Custard Pie.

Oh, they looked good! I even made one with no sugar and low-carb, and the other one with regular ingredients.

But you'll thank me for NOT sharing the recipe! Once we took a few bites...well... We'll just say that the dogs enjoyed their share. :)

So I decided to share the original recipe again, AND make it for my husband once today's deadline has been met.

After all, I owe him, don't I?

So enjoy this recipe from 2013 -

Coconut Custard Pie

Over the weekend, with my new story down to the proof-reading stage (and not due until tomorrow!), I decided to treat my family to pie. Delicious, scrumptious...and EASY pie. I'm not kidding. It took longer to take the pictures for this recipe that it did to put it together.

Here it is: Coconut Custard Pie

Ingredients: 

2 cups milk

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

4 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup all purpose flour (or bisquick)

3/4 cup white sugar

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

Now, here's the hard part (just kidding).

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a 9 inch greased pie plate.

Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°, or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

This is one of those pies that makes its own crust, kind of like a clafouti, or those "impossible Bisquick" pies that were so popular years ago.

Here we are, back in 2017 :) Doesn't that pie look delicious? And super easy!

Like I said, I have multiple deadlines looming, but Sunday is still Sunday, and I do try to make it a day of rest. So we went out of town yesterday afternoon and enjoyed a trip to the Badlands.

If you've never been to Badlands National Park, it's worth a visit. We go a couple times a year, and while I love our winter visits, summer days are pretty nice, too.

And even though we love to look at the beautiful vistas and craggy peaks, what do the Badlands look like up close?

The Badlands have many faces. Sharp needle-like points in one area, and soft mounds in another. Mountains soaring above you, and then a few miles later vast canyons open at your feet.

But when you go to the Badlands, don't stay in your car for the whole visit. Stop at one of the overlooks to take a closer look.

When you get out of your car, this is what greets you. Steep sided gullies and a labyrinth of mounds and steep cliffs.

And when you take a close look at the surface of the hills...

Even though it looks spongy, the surface is rough and hard. It's similar to the popcorn ceilings you find in houses that were built during the early 1980's. Fascinating, isn't it?

Which National Park is your favorite one to visit?

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com