Grandma's Pineapple Casserole

For as long as I can remember, my mom, aunts, and Grandma have all made this amazing pineapple casserole at family dinners. It's always been one of my favorites. So while I was home this past August, I collected several of our family recipes to try down here in Grenada. I doubt I'll ever come close to duplicating the perfection of the wonderful cooks in my family, but I figured I should start practicing so I can pass some of these recipes down to my kids some day.

The casserole was surprisingly quick to assemble and used items I already had on hand. I cut the recipe in half, and it made just the right amount for the two of us. Of course, ham and pineapple is a match made in heaven, so I bought a ham for the first time down here. It wasn't actually a whole ham like I'm used to, but rather a large slice of ham in a package. I didn't even know you could buy ham like that. Following the instructions on the package, I cooked it in a large pan on the stove for about 4 minutes on each side. It actually turned out okay, and was a nice complement to the pineapple casserole. I had some feta cheese left over from earlier in the week, so I also made a salad with romaine lettuce, pear slices, celery, feta cheese, toasted walnuts, and balsamic vinegar.




Grandma's Pineapple Casserole
2 cans (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained (save juice)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons pineapple juice
1 stick butter, melted
1 stack Ritz cracker crumbs
2 cups grated mild cheddar cheese

Place pineapple in baking dish. Combine sugar, flour, and pineapple juice. Pour over pineapples. Top with cheese and then cracker crumbs. Pour melted butter evenly over crumbs. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and brown.