J-E-L-L-O

Do you  remember the song? J-E-L-L-O...now that I think about it, I do. In fact I can't get it out of my head (I think there is a song about that too..for another day).  Do you remember the spokesperson for Jell-O? (Jack Benny for one generation, Bill Cosby for another)  Ever have a favorite fIavor? Did you know that Jell-O's history goes back to the Victorian era and that it was considered a food for the "well to do"? Did you know that the owner of the patent for powdered gelatin was also the inventor of the first American steam-powered locomotive? (Who knew I would be talking about trains this much on a food blog?) Or that there is a museum dedicated to the history of Jell-O?  I decided that while I am cooking my way through my Grandma's recipe boxes, I would also take the time to learn what I could about some of the foods/dishes that I prepared, thus my ability to share this food trivia with you (much like the tater-tot trivia from a previous recipe)  I think I have mentioned before, Jell-O made many an appearance at my Grandma and Grandpa's house, so it's not hard to find a recipe, what is harder is deciding which one to start with.  Any way, to kick off the first of many jell-o recipes, I picked a simple one, Orange Tapioca Salad. I will admit, I purchased more Jell-O in one trip to the store than I have purchased in the last 10 years. There are still plenty of good flavors to chose from.  This recipe was a bit of a surprise, it tastes alot like a creamsicle and we were asking ourselves why it is called a salad.  Bubba was eating it for dessert (and he gave it a 9!).


Orange Tapioca Salad
1 pkg orange tapioca pudding jello or lemon (I did not find orange tapioca, so just used sugar-free plain tapioca)
1 pkg orange jello (3 oz) (I used sugar-free)
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding (I used sugar-free)
Put in 2 cups of hot water - stir
Cook stirring constantly until clear, thick and bubbly.  Cool completely. (not sure why it says clear..it's orange and creamy)
Add 1 pkg or envelop dream whip (according to directions) (I used 2 cups of Fat-Free Coolwhip) 
Add 1-1/2 can of drained mandarin oranges.


This was good...we would make it again!!!