Orange Jello Salad

I am fortunate to remember knowing three of my great-grandparents, all on my mom's side. Grandma Tippie-Toes, mom's paternal grandmother lived to be 101 and died when I was a teenager. I have many memories of laughing at her quirky ways and funny sayings. Grandpa Armond and Grandma Dorothy, mom's maternal grandparents, died when I was four, so my memories of them are few, but vivid. 

Grandpa Armond was a happy man with snow-white hair, a long face and eyes that twinkled. He was a gentle man, and I remember sitting on his knee or hearing his quiet laugh that shook his body silently. His build was slight, and he seemed frail to me, but he had lived a long time, overcoming tuberculosis as a young father, at a time when loved ones went away to be cured and then never came home.

Grandma Dorothy was overcome by Alzheimer's by the time my memory was mature enough to take her in. She would sit in her chair, slightly hunched and rocking back and forth. She would break out once in a while with an "Ei-yi-yi", the frustration of being aware but unable to communicate. She scared me, this person whose mind had been ravaged by time and disease, but to my mom she was still Grandma. She remembered a woman who had always been busy, serving her family. A woman who was always in the kitchen, whipping up orange jello salad or lemon sponge pie. A woman who had unfailingly had cake whenever her family came to visit. 

It was a sad time for my mom, as she watched this person that she loved slowly slip away. We made the hour-long trip every Tuesday during that time, and it became a habit to put on a tape of Disney folk songs on the way. Mom, Lace and I would sing to our favorites, especially "Old Blue" and "Carrot Stew". It was a bright spot amidst a lot of sadness and a very favorite memory for the three of us. 

This recipe is from my Great-grandma Dorothy, spawned in an age when jello was a main attraction at every church supper and family dinner. It's billowy, and citrus-y and sweet, a delicious accompaniment to your ham or roast beef dinner. 

Orange Jello Salad

3 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature

3 oz. package of orange jello

1/2 cup boiling water

8 oz can mandarin oranges in juice

8 oz. can of crushed pineapple in juice

1 package of Dream Whip 

(and you'll need 1/2 cup milk to prepare the Dream Whip)

Dream Whip is similar to Cool-Whip but it comes as a powder that you mix with milk and whip up. It's a little more stable than Cool-Whip and works well for this recipe. However, I'm sure you could substitute Cool-Whip if you'd rather. 

Start by making sure the cream cheese is really room temperature. 

Otherwise, it is so hard to incorporate. 

I usually microwave mine for a few seconds to make it really soft.

Whisk in the boiling water and jello powder. 

Whisk really, really well until the cream cheese is fully incorporated.

Stir in the fruit along with their juices. 

(I couldn't find crushed pineapple, so I bought chunked and then crushed it with a pastry cutter)

Refrigerate for 20 minutes, until just beginning to set. It shouldn't be runny, but you should be able to  stir it around. Kinda gloppy. If you forget and check it 45 minutes later, you will have a semi-solidified jello that won't mix in well with the Dream Whip. Just ask me. 

Prepare the Dream Whip according to package directions. 

Carefully fold the Dream Whip into the jello mixture.

Refrigerate for 2 hours until fully set. 

Recipe from my Great-Grandma Dorothy.