I love Jello

I love Jello.  I have ever since I can remember.  My mom use to make jello jigglers long before they were popular.  She would make the jello and pour it into a cookie sheet then cut it into squares after it had firmed up.  It was a cheap easy snack in a house with 10 kids.    When I was a teenager I would look through the Sunday paper each week and clip out the Jello recipe and save it in a file.  (I still have all of these recipes). 

 

Recently my mom gave us some of her old cookbooks.  Today while I was flipping through my cookbooks trying to put together a menu for the week, I came across a recipe for Muffin Pan Snacks (Jello Fun and Fabulous Recipes, 1988 Edition).  The ingredients include, Lemon flavor jello, salt, garlic powder, water, vinegar, vegetable oil, black pepper, and dried oregano.  That in and of itself was enough to make me cringe, but then I read on and it gives ideas for "snack combinations".  They are as follows:

 

Cauliflower florets with diced pimiento

Cucumber slices with tomato slices

Chopped hard-cooked egg with chopped cucumber and pickle

Shredded carrot with raisins

Canned sliced mushrooms with pimiento strips

Diced apple with chopped nuts

Sliced hard-cooked egg with anchovies

Cubed cream cheese with chopped nuts

Diced pimiento with diced green pepper and tomato

Sliced celery with sliced ripe or stuffed green olives

 

This brought back memories of some of our family potlucks.  Without fail someone would bring the orange jello with carrots, or the lime jello with pears and cottage cheese.  When I was young I dreaded having to eat that salad, but it does bring back good memories.  Who knows, maybe we will bring this trend back around.