nana's strawberry surprise

ladies,

this recipe came from the grandmother of one of my parents' college friends. she's only been referred to as nana. she named the recipe "strawberry pretzel dessert." i'm going to rename it "nana's strawberry surprise."

here we go:

for the crust
2 cups crushed pretzels (chunky)
3/4 cup oleo (i used 1/2 C smart balance and 1/4 C real butter and it worked well)
3 tablespoons sugar

mix the ingredients together and press into a 9 x 13 pan. bake @ 375 for 8-10min. let cool

for the rest
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
9 oz. cool whip
6 oz. strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water
2 10 oz. packages of frozen strawberries.

blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and a little fluffy looking - fold in the cool whip. spread over the pretzel crust

dissolve the jello into the 2 cups of boiling water. stir in the frozen strawberries. let sit for 10 minutes and pour over the cream cheese mixture.

refrigerate until set - but ideally, overnight.

i know, i know. you're thinking, "where's the surprise? you can't call it nana's strawberry surprise without a surprise ingredient." yeah, i know. the surprise is how delicious the pretzel crust turns out. really delicious.

orange jello with carrots

now i realize that my credibility on this blog might have been jeopardized by a certain really real post involving pears and mayonnaise, but i can assure you that however unorthodox the inclusion of vegetables in a jello salad may seem to readers of this blog, if you just give it a chance this really will be one of the most classically delicious jellos you ever eat and a perfect side for your next roast beef dinner.


1 3-oz package orange jello, made as per instructions
1 1/3 c. grated carrot
1/2 can pineapple tidbits, drained

mix together and refrigerate. yum!

i have also heard of, although never actually experienced, this recipe without the pineapple tidbits, and topped with a layer of mayonnaise, but that seems to be taking it a little too far.

grandma's green salad

just in time to kick off the summer potluck season starting this memorial day, here's another essential jell-o/cool whip recipe courtesy of my great-grandma morrell, who, incidentally, did not refer to it as "grandma's green salad" but used the much less fun name of "relief society salad," paying tribute to her church women's group where she presumably discovered the recipe. whatever you call it, this is sure be a big hit at any social function this summer, secular or otherwise.

1 tub cool whip brand whipped topping (not cool whip lite)
1 small package pistachio jell-o instant pudding mix
1 can pineapple chunks
1 can fruit cocktail in light syrup
fresh sliced bananas

combine undrained pineapple chunks and fruit cocktail in a large mixing bowl, add sliced bananas and pistachio jell-o powder, stir until jell-o is completely dissolved, fold in cool whip and chill until ready to serve

*the image used in this post was taken from the wikipedia article on watergate salad, as my google image search for "grandma's green salad" did not result in an appropriate image. while grandma's green salad is similar to watergate salad in many ways, the watergate salad recipe posted on kraftfoods.com reveals several critical differences, namely the lack of bananas and the addition of marshmallows, both of which, i feel, detract from the perfect balance of flavor and texture found in my great grandmother's recipe

Missing in action.

My eternal favorite Jell-O product has always been "Americana" custard. In high school I could eat half a serving bowl of it, especially if it had been dusted with nutmeg (always) and had developed a layer of skin from sitting in the fridge. Delicious. However, those days are over. They don't carry it at my grocery store here, and I haven't been able to find it anywhere. I've resorted to the flan sold in the "mexican" aisle, but I think it's time to rely on that trusty old tome, JofC.

Rich Custard
6-8 servings

Combine in a medium saucepan:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt

Gradually whisk in:
2 cups half and half
4 large egg yolks, well beaten
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Whisking constantly, bring to a boil over medium-low heat, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in:
1.5 tsp vanilla

Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill.

Whip 1/2 cup cold heavy cream until firm peaks form. Fold into the chilled custard.

I haven't tried this yet. Frankly nothing compares to a packet of power combine with milk and stirred to deliciousness. Kraft Foods, Inc., what have you done?!?

the "family party" at grandma and grandpa's

the following three recipes were served to me at least once a month from the time i could eat solid foods until i was 11, always on sunday afternoons, always on a plastic cafeteria tray, sometimes followed by store brand vanilla ice cream in a cake-cone, and always followed by at least one grandchild being checked for a concussion after falling down the basement stairs


potato salad:

five large boiled potatoes
one cucumber
radishes
green onions

cut above ingredients into potato salad sized pieces, sprinkle with pickle juice then mix together with mayonnaise, celery salt, mustard (if you like that), milk, regular salt, etc, etc

marshmallow salad:

prepare 1 small package jello lemon pudding mix (not instant and leave out the egg yolks), then add:
2 cans fruit cocktail (drained)
2 cans mandarin oranges (drained)
1 largish package miniature marshmallows
mix well and chill in refrigerator

before serving add sliced bananas and 1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped plain (no sugar added)

ham rolls:

one bag of small white rolls
ham
iceberg lettuce (optional)
mustard and/or mayonnaise

guests assemble sandwiches at their leisure. serve with potato/marshmallow salads, on cafeteria trays if possible

jello poke cake, alternative decorating idea

my mother generally made this cake on the 4th of july, but i suppose it can be served for any patriotic summertime holiday