Apparently for the under ten set, this holiday is right up there with Thanksgiving... not as important as Halloween or Christmas, but it definitely ranks.
For my son's class tomorrow, I was supposed to bring fruit. For him, this meant only RED fruit (or possibly pink), so he convinced me to purchase all sorts of out-of-season produce: strawberries, grapes, cherries, pears, apples, and plums. I probably accumulated more "food miles" than in the previous 6 months put together, but our fruit salad is RED.
And then for my husband, I finally tried out banana caramel pie. One of my friends calls this "Danger Pie" because of the potential for exploding cans of milk. Either way, it was a very easy day-before-Valentine's dessert.
1 baked pie shell (I cheated for once and used store-bought, but if you want to make your own... you know, if you are not moving out in 5 days to prepare for massive home renovations... I recommend this one).
3 bananas, sliced thin
1 can Eagle sweetened condensed milk, made into caramel (see below)
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 Heath Bar, crushed
The time-consuming part is making the caramel, so I did that last Sunday while the baby napped. Basically, you take the wrapper off of a can of sweetened condensed milk, then put it in a pot of boiling water. Boil it for 3 hours, adding water as needed to keep the can completely covered. Apparently, the "danger" part of the "danger pie" comes if you let too much water evaporate... putting the milk can in danger of explosion. If your can does not explode, shake it when you take it out (with hot pads) and make sure it no longer sounds like milk. Then, allow to cool. This will keep on the shelf indefinitely.
When you are ready to make the pie, slice the banana into the pre-baked crust. Pour the caramel over the top (you may need to warm it in the microwave if it won't pour). Whip the whipping cream and the sugar until soft peaks form (or heck, since everything else on this one is out of a can or box, just go ahead and break out the Reddi Whip). Top with the Heath bar and get your kids to pose!
And yes, we still wear our Santa pajamas in February. Don't judge.