The Covered Dish - Angel Food Cake Dessert

Before I start in with the new column, I would like to go back to last week’s Lasagna article and make a few additional observations.
As I stated last week; I made a large lasagna for New Year’s Eve dinner. It came out quite good, baked in a ‘true’ lasagna pan it made many servings. As I was preparing to put the 3 layers together I reached for my noodles, only to find the store had sent me ‘ready for the oven’ noodles, which do not require cooking. These are made to go directly into the lasagna, with no pre-boiling, etc. I was very concerned about the outcome of the presentation, knowing I had written the recipe for noodles cooked prior to assembly. The dish was great the night I baked it, but I will change the amounts of tomato paste if I use the ‘oven-ready’ noodles again. I was concerned the noodles cooking in the sauce might take away from the liquid outcome upon baking. Well; I was correct. The next time I will put in (1) can of tomato paste, not 2! Also; because of this style of noodle I thought the amount of meat was a little too much, so I might pull back there. The over-all outcome was good any way you shake it, and the lasagna cut into a beautiful tall serving presentation.
Give me a few weeks and I’ll run a chicken recipe with spinach for you.
It doesn’t matter what year it is, every January 1st we make new commitments to ourselves. The biggest being what we ‘eat’. We expect to give up everything we were over-eating in December, and go cold turkey, especially in the area of dessert. Personally; I like to make these transitions a bit more subtle. Why? Because I love my sweets, and thank goodness I don’t have to worry about sugar issues.
(At least not since my recent blood work!) Usually; you will hear me say I like to make tapioca when I’m wanting a low-cal dessert. Today I was looking at my own recipe book and found this dish from my mother, Betty. I think it would be a perfect dessert, especially for a bunch of calorie-counting ladies, at the beginning of a new year.
Simplicity? This just doesn’t get much easier to make! Also; you’re going to get several portions from the recipe. I handed the recipe over to my spouse, ErvIn, and just said: ‘Let’s make this next week.’
He was all in, so I think it will find it’s way to our table in the very near future.
Everyone wants to know how the ‘new’ knee is doing. I’m continuing to progress each day, just not at the speed I want it to go, isn’t that always the norm? Ervin, continues to assist me with chores here at home. It’s not a fast recovery, as most are aware. This week I return to work Tuesday, Wednesday and half day Thursday. I have a feeling it’s a good thing there’s nothing on my Friday schedule, because I’ll be ready for a rest day. I’m still doing therapy 3 days a week, which helps greatly.
Time to set the recipe and step into a productive roll on the home front. Enjoy, The Covered Dish.

Angel Food Cake Dessert
(1)Angel food cake mix, dry, one step version
(1) 20 oz. Can crushed pineapple, do not drain.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, mix the cake mix and pineapple together and spread evenly into an ‘ungreased’ 9 x 13 pan. This will be approximately 30-35 minutes.
Frosting
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1⁄2 cup butter or 1 stick, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar, pretty close to a pound. (3-4 cups)
Mix all ingredients together until smooth and spread over the cake.
Garnish with toasted coconut and sliced almonds.
For a lighter frosting version:
1 (4 oz.) instant sugar free pudding
1 cup cold milk
8 ounces, cool whip, totally thawed if frozen
Toasted coconut and almonds to Garnish
Mix pudding and cold milk together until smooth and firmly set. Fold in the cool whip and spread over the cake, garnishing with the coconut and sliced almonds.