There's always room for Jello

Let's talk Jello. Most kids love it, which is why I will make some for Thanksgiving dinner. It will be just plain orange jello, though, cuz that is how this household's only jello fan likes it.

When I was a kid, jello was called "salad". Never mind that the main ingredients are sugar and gelatin, if it is called salad, it must be a vegetable. Most moms of the time even added vegetables to it. This is disgusting. Just because carrots and orange jello are the same color does not mean they go together! We even had one that involved celery and walnuts and cheese, I think. My stepfather's favorite was sliced bananas in strawberry jello. Fruit is a better additive than vegetables, but the bananas always got brown and slimy. Kids hate that. Some church cookbooks have jello salad recipes which feature a mayonnaise topping. Not my favorite. If jello must be topped, I choose cool-whip. These are compatible quasi-food items.

I like some plain foods at Thanksgiving to balance all the fancy stuff. Steamed broccoli, raw carrots, naked jello, that sort of thing. People know what they are getting, and every kid I know prefers not to have surprises on their plates. You should have seen my Nate's face when he thought he was taking cranberry sauce (the sliced, canned kind) from a buffet and instead had a mouthful of pickled beet!

That said, here's a recipe for tarted-up jello. My mom brought this for dinner one time, and it was pretty good.

Buttermilk Jello

1 (6oz) pkg Jello (any flavor, peach is nice with pecans)
3 Tbls sugar (because God knows jello needs more)
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple - do not drain
2 cups buttermilk
1 (8oz) container Cool-whip
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine jello, sugar and pineapple. Heat on low until jello is melted. Cool mixture and add buttermilk. Fold in cool-whip and nuts. Chill before serving.

If you make this with orange jello, you could substitute mashed mandarin oranges for the pineapple and omit the nuts. I bet it would taste like a dreamsicle.