Jello My Grandma Made
Vintage cookbooks are full of gelatin mold recipes. Jello is the star in so many of those recipes. This recipe is from my grandma’s recipe box, and was served at many family meals. It’s only three ingredients, including the water, so it’s fast and simple!
I suppose that simplicity was appealing to my grandma. She was a school teacher from the time when teachers weren’t allowed to be married in the late 1930s, until retirement at in the mid 1970s.
Grandma was a fan of #ConvenienceCooking in that she used many canned and boxed ingredients in her menu. As a mother of three children, teaching school all day and attending college classes at nights, she didn’t spend much time in the kitchen.
When grandma began her career, a teaching certificate was all that was necessary. However, as time went on, more “further education” classes were required. My grandma did obtain a college degree in the 1960s.
My mother talks fondly of the nights they got to eat frozen, prepackaged pot pies for supper while grandma attended classes. I’m not sure if it was the pot pies she enjoyed, or the freedom on those nights to bring the goat and dog into the house.
There’s even a story about the dog chasing the goat through the house. The craziness was topped off by the goat climbing onto the dining room table to escape the dog’s antics. I’m not sure if grandma ever knew her table was used this way. She certainly would have disapproved.
[bctt tweet=”Jello and Fruit Cocktail, one of grandma’s favorite recipes – get it now!”]
This serving is the simplest form of the dish, grandma usually served hers with some whipped cream on top.
Keep in mind, this dish was about serving something cold, fruity and light. It was not about being fresh, organic, paleo or any trend from the current era.
However, I imagine Jello and fruit cocktail in light syrup might meet the requirements of some current eating plans.
Grandma’s Jello Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 oz Red Jello
- 14 oz Fruit Cocktail
Recipe Directions:
- Mix Jello powder with 1 cup boiling water. Stir until dissolved.
- Add 1 cup cold water. Stir well.
- Drain juice from fruit cocktail.
- Spread fruit in the bottom of 8 x 8 baking pan or 2 quart casserole dish.
- Pour Jello over fruit cocktail.
- Refrigerate.
Approximate Nutritional Information:
Servings Per Recipe: 6 servings. Amount Per Serving: Calories: 150, Total Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 105mg,Total Carbs: 37g, Protein: 3g
Make It A Meal:
A really good side dish for sandwiches, salads and soups. The coolness of the fruit cocktail jello is a nice compliment to Taco Sloppy Joes. This makes a great snack, too.
Variations:
Instead of red Jello, you can use any flavor. You can replace the fruit cocktail with any canned fruit.
Lime Jello & Pineapple
Orange Jello & Mandarin Oranges
Pineapple Jello & Cherries
I don’t make this recipe very often, but it’s a nice walk down memory lane, so it does make an occasional appearance in the menu rotation.
What Jello memory do you have?
Tel me in the comments below…
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