St. Patrick's Day Jello Salad

St. Patrick’s Day Jello Salad
Dorcas Annette Walker

There are two kinds of fiascos in cooking; one where the dish tastes horrible or where your recipe didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to, but it still is delicious. I think it is the magic of combining and preparation of ingredients knowing that the results can either be perfection or a disaster that captivates us cooks. No matter how long a person has cooked or prepared a certain dish, who among us hasn’t come up unexpectedly with a flop? That’s why some folk don’t cook. They figure it takes too much effort, have become discouraged when recipes don’t turn out, or are intimidated by professional chefs that use high-fluting sounding words and costly equipment. While there are all kinds of gadgets today advertised as must-have for cooking- some which takes a science degree in order to know how to operate the complicated item- good cooking can still be done with simple utensils. Some folk jump on the bandwagon of every new cooking apparatus that comes out. I’m not against modern conveniences, equipment that cuts down on preparation time, or shortcuts, but I think each cook has to decide for themselves where to draw the line. Staying in homes all across the United States while out traveling on the road in evangelism with my husband, I’ve worked with all kinds of cooks. Some kitchens have been any cook’s dream filled with the latest up-to-date modern equipment; others have been sparse and simple, while some kitchens were a nightmare of cutter and confusion. I quickly found out that it was the cook that made the difference not the equipment.

I still smile whenever I think back to my first little kitchen in a rental cabin on a college campus where one had to use pliers to turn on the oven. That stove was a big challenge and easily could have overwhelmed me, but I was determined to rule it and not it me. When we moved a year later to a place that actually had an oven with a knob, I had become adept at knowing just where to twist the pliers for the correct oven heat. It stood me in good stead as I moved to different parsonages switching back and forth from electric to gas heat. I’ll never forget one kitchen where you had to prop the oven door shut with a chair to keep it closed. Today I cook on my own stove with a solid top and self-cleaning oven surrounded by a kitchen I designed myself. Ironically, it has been on broken down stoves and less than ideal kitchens throughout the years where I have produced the most of my home cooking entertaining folks from hitchhikers my husband picked up along the road to conference dignitaries.

My simple St. Patrick’s Day Jello Salad was the first molded jello salad that I attempted that turned out beautiful and is still a family favorite. The St. Patrick’s Day Jello Salad melts in your mouth with its creamy smooth texture. You can use other flavors of jello or add nuts if you prefer. Preparation time for my St. Patrick’s Day Jello Salad is around ten minutes (not counting chilling time) and this recipe serves fourteen.

St. Patrick’s Day Jello Salad

2 (3 oz) boxes of lime jello
2 c boiling water
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 (8 oz) container cool whip

In a medium-sized bowl mix water and jello together until dissolved. Stir in the pineapple. Chill until starting to thicken. Add cool whip and mix thoroughly. Pour into a large jello mold and refrigerator overnight. Turn out onto a plate and serve!

Weekly tip: To remove a jello salad from a mold flawlessly first spray the jello mold with a non-stick cooking spray then dip the mold in hot water afterwards. Also rinse the salad plate with cold water before turning out the salad for ease of repositioning to the center of the plate!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com