Bananas and coconuts - a tropical weekend

Kevin was away this past weekend so I turned myself into a wandering minstrel. I headed out to York to visit with our friends Lindy and Jared and celebrate their daughter Taylor's first birthday. It was bananas. No, literally. We decorated everything with bananas and all the food was based around bananas. I am on a hiatus from the yellow fruit for the time being. On the way out, I spaced out on the turnpike and missed my exit. If you know the PA turnpike, it was a while to the next exit and then I had to get out my trusty map to find my way to York.

When I first started going to Etown, my dad had highlighted my map for me with the route he deemed I take. It was a bit out of the way, but it kept me away from the continual construction on one of the major roadways. It was also a lot of looping backroads, which are my dad's forte. Anyway, I had to take this route again, and I felt like God took me that way on purpose. It was a beautiful spring evening, the sun was setting, casting a golden glow on the intense green vistas of Lancaster county. It was really a relaxing end to my day and didn't get me to my destination that much later.

Today after Mass I went to my parents house to celebrate Mother's Day with the extended family. Since I've been named the new dessert queen (the torch has been passed from my Aunt Jo and mother to me), I decided to make a Pampered Chef recipe since they tend to make use of short cuts. This recipe went over big with our coconut-loving crowd, who said it tasted exactly like an Almond Joy bar. Remember, "Almond Joy has nuts. Mounds don't."

Chocolate Macaroon Pizza

1 pkg fudge brownie mix and ingredients to make brownies
2 egg whites
14 oz sweetened flaked coconut (you could probably do with 7-11 oz to get the coconut crispier)
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg (2.25 oz) sliced almonds
2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate morsels, melted
1 tsp vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a 15 in circle of parchment paper on large round baking stone. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions in bowl. Pour brownie batter on parchment paper, spreading into a 14 in circle using spreader. (Do not bake without parchment paper or batter will run off baking stone while baking - this happened to me anyway, but I baked it in a drawer oven, so I think that was the problem). Bake 15-18 mins or until brownie is set. Do not overbake. Remove from oven to cooling rack (I'm not really sure why you'd do this b/c you pretty much have to put it right back in, but you could do this step ahead of time and maybe that's the point).

In clean batter bowl, combine egg whites, coconut and sweetened condensed milk; mix well. Spread coconut mixture over top of brownie to within 1/4 in of edge. Sprinkle with almonds. Return to oven and bake 20-25 min or until edges of coconut are deep golden brown. Remove from oven to cooling rack.

Place chocolate morsels and oil in small bowl and microwave, uncovered, on high for 45 sec or until chocolate is melted and smooth, stiring after each 10 sec interval (I didn't do this). Do not overheat. Drizzle chocolate over pizza. Cut into wedges. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

16 servings. Per serving: 450 calories, 22g fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 57g carbohydrates, 5g protein, 230mg sodium, 2g fiber