2. Smile. Say you are a friend, you come in peace.
3. Reason with it.
4. Offer it a gift.
5. Find out what it wants.
6. Let it see you have no weapons.
7. If it continues to jiggle menacingly, stab it to death with a kitchen knife and throw it in the sink.
–3rd Rock from the Sun
Did you know that Utah is the Jell-O eating capitol of the world? Seriously. We have the highest per capita consumption on the planet and in Utah alone we eat more green {Lime} Jell-O that the rest of North America combined. We make up the major part of what is considered the Jell-O Belt. In 2001, Utah officially designated Jell-O as the state snack food. When the bill was presented to the the joint session of the Utah legistlature, Bill Cosby, long-time Jell-O spokesman, appeared before the assembly and told them that he believes the reason people in Utah love Jell-O is that the snack is perfect for families — and the people of Utah are all about family. During the 2002 Winter Olymics {hosted here in Utah}, there was a set of trading pins featuring Jell-O in Blue Raspberry, Lime and Cherry.
Despite our love for all things Jell-O, Jell-O Shots are not super popular here
. And you may have even heard some horrible rumors about Jell-O being served all kinds of weird and often disgusting ways. I've lived in Utah all my life and the weirdest thing I've ever seen with Jell-O was a layer of mayonnaise and shredded cheddar cheese on top {
that isn't one of my favorites}. I asked my mom about it, particularly about putting meat in Jell-O {
} and she said she vaguely remembered a Jell-O something her grandma used to fix with meat in it, but that recipe never got passed down. It was probably because nobody would eat it. And then there are the few odd flavors {which have thankfully been discontinued}, like Celery and Seasoned Tomato. But by and large, Jell-O remains in the dessert category although is not, strictly speaking, classified as a dessert here. I think we mostly consider it a sweet side-dish. And today I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite Jell-O recipes with you.Grandma's Best Green Jell-O Salad
1 large package {6 oz.} lime Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1¾ cups cold water
½ pint whipping cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can {15 oz.} crushed pineapple
1 container {16 oz} cottage cheese
• In a large mixing bowl dissolve Jell-O into boiling water; stir in cold water and refrigerate until Jell-O just begins to set, about 1 hour.
• In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it is light and fluffy.
• Drain the pineapple and stir the whipped cream, pineapple and cottage cheese into the mixing bowl with the partially set Jell-O.
• Spread the Jell-O salad into a 9" x 13" dish and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Cut into squares and serve.
Serves 12
Orange Delight Jell-O
1 large package {6 oz.} orange Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1 small can {6 oz.} frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cans {8 oz. each} mandarin oranges
1 can {15 oz.} pineapple tidbits
Juice from 1 can of the mandarin oranges, plus water to make 1 cup
• In a 9" x 9" glass dish, dissolve Jell-O into boiling water; add frozen orange juice concentrate and stir until melted.
• Drain the juice from one can of mandarin oranges into a measuring cup. Set the fruit aside. Add enough water to the juice in the measuring cup to make 1 cup; stir into the Jell-O mixture.
• Drain the second can of oranges and the pineapple tidbits, discarding the juice. Stir the drained fruit into the Jell-O.
• Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.
Serves 8
Creamy Raspberry Lemon Jell-O
1 large package {4.6 oz} cook and serve lemon pudding mix, plus the ingredients to make the pudding
1 large package {6 oz.} raspberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1 cup cold water
1 container {8 oz.} frozen whipped topping
1 cup raspberries
• Prepare the lemon pudding according to the package directions. Set aside.
• In a 9" x 9" baking dish, dissolve the raspberry Jell-O in the boiling water. Stir in the cold water.
• Add the prepared lemon pudding to the raspberry Jell-O, mixing well. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.
• Cover with whipped topping and raspberries.
Serves 12
To finish up, here is a clip from the movie Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. My favorite part is the Jell-O Scrunchie.
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12 comments:
Happy New Year E. We love our Jell-o here in MN too:) Your recipes look good! Can't wait to try them. I'm known as the Jell-o "queen" in our family...I make sure there is Jell-o at every family event:)
This cracks me up. I heard long ago, the stuff that made jello 'wiggly' was....horse cartlidge. eeeew Probably a tall tale.
I did so enjoy reading your post, and the link to the article about Mormon cuisine. My mom was not Mormon, or from Utah, but she made a Jello dish that has lived in infamy ever since - Turkey Jello! Chunks of turkey, onion and celery floating in a turkey broth gelatin. I say lives in infamy - because it was terrible! Thankfully, there are other, better versions of Jello that I still love and eat!!
yep, have the lime jello, cottage cheese, pineapple blend for every holiday ... and potlucks and hotdish luncheons
That Grandma's Best Green Jello Salad recipe sure brought back flashbacks of family gatherings in the '60s and '70s! Some years I loved it, others not so much, but it was always a staple. Funny thing is, I really wish I could eat it again now. Thanks for the Jello trip!
I was going to pick Jell-o as my FTF too! I love jell-o jigglers and I have a favorite jell-o recipe with strawberry jello, strawberries, cool whip, pretzels, sugar and butter. I'm glad there are others out there who are jell-o lovers!
I am sadly not a jello fan. We just call it plain jelly here ...which is what you call what we call Jam. Anyway I digress...my Dad is a big jello fan and I just sent him your Jello recipes. Now he'll have to beg my mother to make them.
This was actually a trip down memory lane because I recall recipes like that from my childhood.
Jello is a very cool FTF !
Not a huge (jelly) jell-o fan here either, although I did find what looked like a fabulous recipe the other day which included condensed milk, yum.
I do like the sound of Orange Delight Jell-o, it is very similar to something we had when we were kids.
What an awesome favorite thing post with all of those great recipes.
When I was in Jr. High I asked a missionary serving in UT what the weirdest thing he'd ever been served was. Big surprise what it was? A green jello salad with shredded carrots, and topped by a whole rainbow trout. Complete with skin and head and fins. Blah. Also, I just watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs this week. His jello land is definitely the best part!
I love jello! and I had no idea UT was the jello eating capital.
I think you know my stance on jello ;)
But I do love the lime one with made with evaporated and condensed milk. My grandma used to make it. Come to think of it, she gave me a recipe foe making a peach one with condensed milk a couple of years ago. If I come across it I will make it for you whenever you come visit me! ;)
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