This winter if your budget doesn’t allow a real Hawaiian vacation why not bring the experience home? Plan for an evening, a day, or a weekend of family fun. While it’s snowing or raining outside, imagine you and your family in a tropical paradise. Put on colorful or Hawaiian shirts and sandals with leas around your necks. Dance to Hawaiian music. Have a hula contest. Play Monopoly Tropical Tycoon Game (available at amazon.com). Eat tropical food. Sit back, put your feet up, and watch a movie or several!
Choose from these family movies – Swiss Family Robinson, Au Pair 3-A Tropical Paradise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Nemo, Castaway, Shark Tale, or The Little Mermaid.
Slice a fresh pineapple, pour glasses of fruit juice, and dine on Tropical Chicken with rice and Hawaiian Coconut Cake (recipes follow).
This hearty, colorful dish makes a convenient all-in-one meal. The sweetness of the pineapple in this recipe balances the garlic and hot pepper
Tropical Chicken
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-1/2 to 4 pounds), cut up or chicken parts of your choice
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped or one can of diced tomatoes
3 cups fresh or canned pineapple chunks
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 teaspoon Watkins Cayenne Pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Watkins Black Pepper
1/2 pound fresh snow peas
1 tablespoon minced chives
Hot cooked rice
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in 2 tablespoons oil; remove and set aside.
In the same skillet, saute onion in remaining oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, pineapple, water chestnuts, pineapple juice, hot pepper, salt and pepper.
Return chicken to the pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add snow peas and chives; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until snow peas are tender and chicken juices run clear. Thicken pan juices if desired. Serve with rice. Yield: 6 servings.
To peel tomatoes quickly and easily, cut a shallow “X” on the bottom of the tomato. Put it into a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute, then rinse in cold water and the skins slip right off.
Hawaiian Coconut Cake
1 pkg. (3 1/2 oz.) instant coconut pudding mix
1 pkg. white cake mix
4 eggs
1 c. water
1/2 c. salad oil
Frosting
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. milk
3 1/2 c. Cool Whip
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. Watkins Coconut Extract
1/2 tsp. Watkins Almond Extract
2 c. coconut
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 13x9x2 pan. In small bowl soften pudding in water. In mixing bowl, beat cake mix and oil; add eggs and beat. Add softened pudding; mix well. Pour in pan. Bake 35-40 minutes.
Frosting:
Beat cream cheese, milk, powdered sugar and extract. Add Cool Whip and coconut. Frost cake after it is cool.
Enjoy your tropical vacation!
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