Friday, September 24, 2010

"Je-ssert"



Most states have their state flower, bird, tree, etc...  Utah has an official state Jello - and it’s GREEN.  We take our Jello seriously, and every family seems to have their own signature Jello salad.  This is one (of many) that serves a multitude, and if dessert isn’t on the menu - this would certainly suffice.

Your typical Mormon family gathers often for important events such as baby blessings, mission farewells/homecomings, baptisms, and several other ‘excuses’ to get together to share meals.  And it’s tradition that most of these meals include at least one large Jello salad.  



Every family has their favorite, and just when I think I’ve seen it all - I find another.  My son-in-law’s family claims this one - and they call it “Kristen’s Jello”.  I love their family, but I do not personally know Kristen - so I hope they don’t mind the name change.  This can easily double as both a Jello salad, AND a dessert.

When my children were young, I always served dessert as a motivation.  My children were required to be home by 5:30 every night - whether dinner was ready or not.  Their homework was supposed to be done by a certain time every day, and practicing and the jobs we gave them were expected to be finished within a reasonable period of time.  I used to be quite the taskmaster, and they only took me seriously when I pulled the “dessert card” or the “TV card”.  It was a sad day when they could not have dessert after dinner, or (worse yet!) not be able to watch “Little House On the Prairie”...  Those were the days, (and I miss them).
Now, don’t be impressed with the fact that I served dessert EVERY night.  It didn’t matter what it was, if it was called ‘dessert’ - they wanted it.  I sometimes served something as simple as popcorn, sliced apples, graham crackers with leftover frosting, a licorice rope, etc... in order to reward those who kept the rules for the day.  Jello, however, was always a favorite. 


For this Jello recipe that can work as both a salad and dessert - go to:

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