Juicy Fruit Jello Salad

In the middle of cold winter it's so nice to have a summer breeze blow through in the form of a fruity and light jello salad. Sometimes you just gotta fix it.

Grandma would frequently have some form of jello in the fridge. Nothing fancy, maybe just orange jello with some fruit or mandarin oranges in it. To the evening fridge surfers out there, it's a little better than a fatty snack. Jello used to be considered a diet food, but with the glucose levels in America running amok, it's probably not anymore. There are sugar-free varieties of Jello, but I think I would rather use the full-fledge sugar version than the Splenda-riddled stuff. It's the same argument as the choice of butter over margarine. Somehow it seems like the healthier option. 

I must admit I don't make jello salads enough, but with the kudos received after making this one, I'll definitely have to make them more often.

Juicy Fruit Jello Salad

1 ½ cups boiling water
1 packet (8 serving size) Jello Strawberry or Cranberry gelatin
1 cup cold orange juice
ice cubes
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip topping, thawed and divided
1 can fruit cocktail, drained

Stir boiling water into gelatin in large glass bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. In separate bowl or measuring cup, mix cold orange juice and ice cubes to make 1¼ cups. Add to gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Remove any remaining ice and refrigerate 45 minutes.

Reserve 1 cup of gelatin. Stir ½ of the whipped topping into remaining gelatin until smooth. Pour mixture into 8-inch square pan or 1½ quart casserole dish. Refrigerate about 5 minutes until set but not firm (should stick to finger when touched). 

Stir fruit into reserved gelatin and carefully spoon over creamy layer in pan. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares and serve with garnish, if desired. Servings: 9.

Cranberry Fruit Salad

I'm not sure where Grandma got all of her jello recipes--from friends, from relatives, from the recipe collections of her various clubs and guilds, from her own ingenuity--but at least one would find its way to our holiday table (and sometimes not just during the holidays)! They are so refreshing, they could be used any time of year.

This variation of the cranberry jello salad has the sweet and tart together using pineapple with a little bit of crunch from the celery. A delicious combination of flavors and textures!

Cranberry Fruit Salad

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained, reserving juice

½ cup cranberry juice cocktail

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 (3 oz) pkg raspberry gelatin

1 (16 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce

½ cup chopped celery

Combine reserved pineapple juice, cranberry juice and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add gelatin, stirring until it is completely dissolved. Break up cranberry sauce with a fork. Stir into gelatin mixture.  Refrigerate until mixture begins to set. Stir in pineapple and celery. Pour into a 4-cup mold. Chill until firm. (Makes 8 servings.)

Cranberry Apple Salad

I did some research on cranberries and why they're so darn popular during the holidays.

Did you know that the cranberry is one fruit that is native to the United States and was grown by Native Americans, who introduced them to the Pilgrims? Not only were they used as a food source (and a right healthy one at that!) but also pressed and used for dying fabrics, crushed and used as a healing balm, and also used as "money" for bartering! Amazing!

There's just something about the cranberry during the holidays.  Given a great combination of ingredients, cranberries can enhance a turkey dressing, a bread, a jello, or a drink (Crantini? Delicious!)

This cranberry jello dish is a delicious combination of sweet and tart all at once. If you use Granny Smith apples, the tartness of the apple blends with the sour of the cranberry in a delicious way.  You will absolutely love this one for your holiday table!

Cranberry Apple Mold

1-½  cup boiling water

1 pkg (8 serving size) OR

    2 pkgs (4 serving size) cranberry jello or ANY RED FLAVOR

1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce

1 cup cold water

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 medium apple (preferable Granny Smith), chopped

Stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl 2 minutes or until completely dissolved.  Stir in cranberry sauce, cold water, and cinnamon.  Refrigerate about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until thickened.  Stir in apple and spoon into 5-cup mold. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.  Unmold and garnish as desired.  

Ambrosia Salad

Another family favorite during the holidays (or any time of year) was Grandma's Ambrosia Fruit Salad. It was just plain good (and refreshing) with ingredients you can get year round. The trick was to let it thaw until it became soft and then the fruity and marshmallow-y goodness came through in all its delectable-ness...sorry, got a little carried away there. It really is good though and something different for your table than just the ubiquitous red jello, especially during the holidays.

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

1 pkg (8 oz) Philly Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 large can fruit cocktail, drained thoroughly

½ cup drained/halved marachino cherries

2 ½ cups mini marshmallows

1/2 pint whipped cream

Mix softened cream cheese and mayo until smooth. Gently fold in fruit cocktail, mini marshmallows and whipped cream that has been prepared and sweetened to taste. Fold in marachino cherries last. Pour entire mixture into small Pyrex baking dish and freeze at least 3 hours or overnight.  Thaw slightly and cut into squares. 

Holiday Cinnamon Molded Salad

Grandma did a lot of entertaining. She absolutely loved people and loved giving back to the community, so she belonged to many clubs and guilds that raised funds for disadvantaged youth or kids who needed medical care.  Her servant's heart ran deep.  

When a meeting place or special event location was needed, Grandma often opened her home. She was a natural at putting together something memorable, carried out with attention to every detail.

Her beautiful table always had a centerpiece of some sort with flowers or candles. She cared about each place setting and the silverware was deliberately placed in its proper location. There had to be order but she was never compulsive about it so things were very relaxed. Such a life lesson to be learned from that.

As she got older, the soirees began to diminish and she wasn't able to be a member of so many organizations, but she still had family over for holidays and other special events well into her 80s! Where she got all that energy was a mystery.

Family dinners always included some sort of gelatin salad and Grandma used to say that a good salad starts off a meal on the right foot...and they always did. Her holiday salad fixings were wonderful and with Thanksgiving around the corner these "tried and trues" should give you a few ideas for your own family gathering.

Holiday Cinnamon Molded Salad

½ cup red cinnamon candies (Red Hots--trust me on this)

4 Tbsp sugar

2 cups hot water

2 pkgs cherry Jello

2 cups cold water

2 cups diced apples

1 cup diced oranges

½ cup walnuts (optional)

Dissolve candies and sugar in boiling water then pour over 2 packages of cherry Jello.  Add cold water and chill until partially set, then add apples, oranges, and walnuts.  Chill until set.