Saturday, July 19

Broken Glass

Finally! A recipe that uses Jello but doesn't call itself a salad!

Nope, not a salad. Just somethin dangerous that, as a rule, you generally want to avoid. Sounds like good eatin to me!

This is recipe #5 in the July Jello Jigtacular! Collect them all!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. ea. lemon, raspberry, lime, and orange Jello (did you catch that folks? 4 boxes of Jello)
1 pkg. gelatin (make that 5 - this, though, is the unflavored stuff)
1 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cold water
2 c. whippin cream (the liquidy stuff, not Cool Whip--although I know you're tempted)
1 tsp. vanilla

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:
24 graham crackers
1/2 c. butter (melted)
1/2 c. sugar

Pan size: 8x13-inch pan (actually, I think the standard is 9x13, so don't travel the globe lookin for an 8x13 pan, ok?)

How to:
Prepare graham cracker crust in an 8x13-inch pan. Prepare each box of Jello in 4 separate pans; set to harden (this is already usin up way too many dishes for my likin). Soak gelatin in cold water. Heat pineapple juice and add gelatin; cool. Combine whippin cream, sugar and vanilla. Cut Jello and fold together with cream mixture, pineapple mixture and Jello. Pour into pan with graham cracker crust and sprinkle graham crackers on top. Refrigerate 2 hours. (I wonder what this ends up lookin like? I just can't get a good mental visual on it at all. And why the hell is it called broken glass?)

Corn Beef Salad

I hope you aren't eatin when you read this one, and if you are, you might want to put down that fork. This could very well be one of the foulest concoctions we've seen here at Midwest Cookin.

I think the Midwest should have its own 4th of July competitive eatin fal-de-ral. Forget about Nathan's New York hot dog eatin contest. Those guys wouldn't last 3 bites if it was a contest featurin this dish.

Dear readers, I present to you: Corn Beef Salad! (No, not "corned beef" - "corn beef".)

This recipe is #4 in the July Jello Jigtacular! Collect them all!

("Wait", you say, slowly comin to the realization of what you're about to read, "beef...and...Jello? NOOOOooooooooo!"

Yes.)

Ingredients:
1 large pkg. lemon Jello
2 c. hot water
1 c. cold water
2 c. celery (chop fine)
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 small green pepper
4 boiled eggs (cut fine)
2 tbsp. onion (grated)
1 can corned beef (flaked)
1 c. mayonnaise (I use Miracle Whip) (thanks for the handy tip, Mary Wolf of Immanuel Lutheran)

How to:
Mix Jello in hot (boilin) water. Add cold water. After Jello starts to set, whip. Fold in the remainin ingredients. Add a little parsley on top (if desired). (Oh yes. The parsley will make it all better.)

Dark Cherry Salad Squares

I'm baffled as to what exactly justifies the use of the word "salad" in the title of this recipe. Is the use of Jello alone enough to call it a salad? I'd call it a dessert, but what do I know?

The first ingredient here is dark cherries, which I normally love - but on seein the rest of the ingredients, I just don't think I could bring myself to sample a square. What do you think?

This is recipe #3 in the July Jello Jigtacular! Collect them all!

Ingredients:
2 c. Gourmet's Choice (r) dark sweet cherries (thawed, drained, reservin juice and cut in half)
1 1/2 c. boilin water
2 (3 oz.) pkgs. black cherry Jello (I've noticed that the word "pkg" hasn't been spelled out in any of this month's Jello recipes. Why?)
1 (8 oz.) container whipped toppin (e.g., Cool Whip)
1 c. white seedless grapes (cut in half)
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. Elite Egg (tm) substitute (oh, this just keeps gettin better and better)
3/4 c. pineapple juice
2 tbsp. margarine

How to:
Thaw and drain cherries, reservin juice. Add enough water to reserved juice to equal 1 1/2 c. liquid. Cut cherries in half; set aside. Dissolve Jello in boilin water. Add to reserved juice mixture. Chill until partially set. Fold in grapes and cherries. Pour into a 9x9-inch square pan; chill until firm. Combine sugar, flour, (wait - what? there's no flour in the ingredients list) egg substitute and pineapple juice in saucepan. Cook, stirrin constantly until smooth and thickened. Stir in margarine; cool. Combine whipped toppin with egg mixture. Pour carefully over Jello. Chill. Makes 9 servins. (Phew. That's a lot of fancy cookin and ingredients for what could be a whole lot easier - take a can of fruit cocktail, pick out and eat all the peach and pear bits, dump the leftovers in a vat of cherry Jello and top with Cool Whip. Voila! I just came up with a new salad. We'll call it "Canned Gourmand's Delite Salad". That's copyrighted as of now.)

Carrot & Pineapple Salad

Mmmmm....nothin says "salad" more than vegetables trapped in Jello. This is a little different twist on the Carrot & Pineapple Salad that one usually finds on the salad bars of buffet restaurants. The secret? Shhh - you use lemon Jello instead of orange Jello! Brilliant!

Recipe # 2 in the July Jello Jigtacular! Collect them all!

Ingredients:
2 c. carrots (grated)
1 c. crushed pineapple (drained)
1 pkg. lemon Jello
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice

How to:
Dissolve Jello in 1 c. hot water and 1 c. cold water. (I use my pineapple juice as part of my cold water.) (How very resourceful of you, Ms. Janet Leckness of Immanuel Lutheran Church!) Add salt and lemon juice. Stir in carrots and pineapple. Pour in molds and chill. (Eh? What if you don't have individual Jello molds? What do you pour it into then? Oh, down the drain? Good idea.) Turn out on lettuce leaves and top with mayonnaise and nuts, if desired. (Oh dear. Mayonnaise on Jello? Excuse me folks, I need to use the bathr-)

Wednesday, July 16

Applesauce Salad

Hello! I am back from my self-imposed hiatus and boy howdy, do I have some great recipes to share with you.

It's July, and what key ingredient of Midwest Cookin also starts with a J? That's right - JELLO!!!

I therefore welcome you to the

JULY JELLO JIGTACULAR!

Our first entry is Applesauce Salad, from Mrs. Walter (Eleanora) Happel of Immanuel Lutheran Church. I never imagined that there would ever be a use for red hots other than as a cookie decoration, but Mrs. Walter (Eleanora) Happel has proven me wrong.

Ingredients:
1 (10 oz.) pkg. red hots
1 pkg. cherry Jello
1 pkg. lemon Jello
3 c. boilin water
1 (15 oz.) can applesauce

How to:
Dissolve red hots, cherry Jello and lemon Jello with boilin water. Add applesauce. Refrigerate. (Well, couldn't get any simpler than that, eh? Don't ask me how long this should be refrigerated for; use your best judgment and at least wait until the "salad" is set.)