Mom's Thanksgiving Day Jello

These are the ingredients. I use low fat cream cheese. Of Course. I buy pecans at Costco.
You can make this without nuts if you desire.

After you set the first layer, which is strawberry, you pour on the second layer...which is the blended cream cheese and yellow jello (that has had the boiling water then cold water added to it as described on box.) Then the nuts. I chopped them first, then threw them in the blender for a few seconds after the other 2 ingredients were well mixed.

A square of the final product. I got 15 squares from the 9" by 13" pan. You could get 20 pieces if you cut them a bit smaller and that is still a good portion.

RECIPE FOR THANKSGIVING DAY JELLO

(Inspired by Bernice Hulihan Farley)

And as per requested by Megan and Amy....

I first had this jello at a Thanksgiving Day meal at John's Aunt Bernice and Uncle Lee's place in Manti, Utah back in 1979. It was so nice to see this colorful jello on everyone's plate (or was it on a separate dish?) that I decided I would make it every Thanksgiving...and I pretty much did.

1 6 oz. box strawberry jello

1 6 oz. box orange jello

1 3 oz. box lemon jello

1 small can mandarin oranges

1 10 oz. carton of frozen sliced strawberries (in syrup), thawed.

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened at room temperature.

1 cup pecans, chopped (Optional but it adds a great texture to that middle layer!)

(I just realized that some years, I put a little crushed pineapple into the white layer.)

Get out your 9" by 13" cake pan.

First layer: The red layer. Make the jello, but when it is time to put the 2 cups of cold water in, use the container of strawberries as part of your cold liquid and add more water or ice to total about 2 cups of stuff. (I dump it allinto my 2 cup liquid measuring cup to make sure I have it right. Pour into pan and put in fridge.

When red layer is set, after a few hours, make the lemon jello up as directed on package. Then put this liquid mass into the blender with the softened cream cheese. Add chopped nuts after the first 2 ingredients are well blended. At this point, if you do not have nuts, it is OK . You can blend up some drained crushed pineapple into this if you want. (like 1/2 or 3/4 cup).

Pour this layer over the red layer and refridgerate until set.(few hours).

Make orange layer. Open can of manadarin oranges and drain water out into cup. Follow direction on package. Use the canned mandarin orange water for part of the water. After you have made the jello, add the drained mandarin oranges. Pour this over the cream cheese lemon jello layer and put back in fridge until set.

Makes 15-20 serving. Cool, sweet, colorful and refreshing.

As you can see..this should be made the day before Thanksgiving and get started early in the day.

My First "Baked Ziti"

I was going through my cupboard and found a (Safeway Brand)box of ziti. This is a tube pasta without the ridges (Penne has ridges, ziti is smooth.)
I decided to make Baked Ziti using the recipe on the box. The recipe, it stated on the box, was developed by cookbook author marlene Sorosky-Gray.

Here is the exact recipe, which is followed exactly, only I halved it and used a 9" x 9" glass baking dish. I used 8 oz. of ground turkey. I also sprinkled some shredded mozarella on the top along with the shredded Parmesan cheese before I baked it.
This was so good. John and I both enjoyed it quite well.
Here is the full recipe. Remember: I halved it.

Baked Ziti

1 16 oz. package Ziti
16 oz. lean ground beef.
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jars (25 oz.) pasta sauce, any variety
(I used Classico Mushroom and Ripe Olives)
6 oz. Provolone cheese slices
6 oz. shredded mozarella
1 & 1/2 cups sour cream
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
non-stick cooking spray
(I just used olive oil from a bottle and slathered it onto the bottom of the baking dish.)


In a large skillet, brown the meat, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add pasta sauce and simmer for about
15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook ziti according to package directions and drain. Grease a 9 x 12 inch baking dish. Layer half each of the ziti, hamburger mixture, provolone cheese, mozzarella and sour cream. Repeat the layers. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake 5 more minutes. Serves 8. (Note: I used up all the sour cream in the first set of layers.

I served this meal with salad, and corn and garlic bread. MMMMmmm. I will always love gooey hot cheese dishes like this!!!!!

Revisiting Norwegian Pancakes

So John's first words as we woke up Monday morning (yesterday) was: "I dreamt of having a baggie of Norwegian pancakes." I recalled how I used to make "Norwegian Pancakes" all the time for breakfast for the kids and John and then if there were leftovers, I would cut them in half and put them in baggies for a snack. Sometimes Kelsy's school lunch would just be a baggie full of Norwegian pancake halves.

So, feeling ambitious, that morning (5 am) I whipped up a half batch of ...

NORWEGIAN PANCAKES

In blender... put...
1 cup milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
dash salt
a squirt of honey
2 teaspoons melted butter

Blend well. Pour straight from blender into hot skillet that has been greased. ( These are like making crepes...pour enough to coat the bottom of the skillet as you tip the skillet around.) If you melted the butter in the skillet, you can use that, or use some canola oil.
THE TRICKY PART IS HAVING THE SKILLET HOT ENOUGH. I got 5 Norwegian pancakes from this recipe...just enough for 2 people. You serve lemon wedges on the side, and soft brown sugar. Sprinkle the pancake with the lemon juice, then brown sugar..you can swish the brown sugar around with a spoon to cover the surface of the pancake. Roll up and eat...or cut in half and put in baggies for a snack later. Because they are egg-y...you may want to refrigerate them if you do not eat them up in 4 hours. ENJOY! Brings back memories, huh, kids???