Delicious Easter jello with home made pudding, marshmallows and cheddar cheese

Grandma's Jello Salad 

Delicious Easter jello with home made pudding, marshmallows and cheddar cheese

Since Easter is fast approaching, I thought I would share this beloved recipe again.  With almost 10,000 views, this is a fan favorite.  My Grandmother came up with this recipe and the home made pudding.  Sadly, Grandma is no longer with us.  She the year she turned 90.  She was 89 for several years before she acutally turned 90.  She'd swat at me for saying that, if she were here.  I'd love for her to be here.  I miss her terribly.  If you make her Jello Salad recipe, say a little prayer for those of us who miss her so.  Thank you all for your loyalty and for keeping her recipe alive.

Oh, one more note, even though the cheese sounds like it might not be so good, it is delicious.  You can not imagine how well this combination is.  My Grandma is a genius!! :)

One of my most favorite deserts is my Grandma's jello salad.  She made up this recipe and it is a family favorite.

I use different variations of this Jello salad, but the same technique Grandma taught me.  The home made pudding is out of this world. It is very easy to make.

When my husband first saw this jello salad, he wasn't sure what to think.  He told me he didn't think the cheese was such a good idea, he didn't think he'd like it.  His mind was quickly changed once he took a taste.  Don't write this off because you think the cheese will not be good, it is wonderful.
I found these cute, rabbit shaped, marshmallows and decided to use them since it is Easter.  They are hidden a little in the cheese, but it's still a cute presentation. 

This recipe makes a lot of Jello Salad. I cut it in half and I have fun with the combinations of jello and fruit. I also use the flavored marshmallows to mix things up a bit. Kids love this, and adults do too!

My Grandma makes this a lot, and she always adds different kinds of fruit with the pineapples. Her favorite type of fruit to add are bananas. I'm allergic to bananas! I went to her house and she told me she made her jello salad. I cut myself a piece then put it right back in the pan. I went back into the living room with no jello. She was just about to ask me why, when her eyes got all big and she said BANANAS! A few weeks later she made the jello again. This time she didn't add banana's and was happy to tell me that. I was so glad I could have a slice of her jello salad.  I get a slice and there were some odd looking fruit pieces mixed in with the pineapple, just to be sure I asked what they were, Mango. I'm allergic to mango too. So, I had to learn how to make it myself, or I'd never get any I could eat! Ha Ha.
The first recipe is Grandma's actual Jello Salad.  The ingredients I used for the salad pictured are listed below.  Feel free to experiment with flavor combinations. 


Grandma's Jello Salad:


1 regular package Lemon Jello
1 regular package Orange Jello
 can crushed pineapple
1 bag mini marshmallows
Orange Juice
2 TB. sugar
3 TB. flour
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 pint whipping cream (or 8oz. Cool Whip)
Grated cheddar cheese

Prepare Jello according to package
Drain pineapple and reserve the juice
Add pineapple to jello
Pour into glass dish
Cover with mini marshmallows and refrigerate to gel

Add orange juice to pineapple juice to make 1 cup

Pour into sauce pan

Add sugar, flour, and beaten egg

Cook over medium heat until pudding like, stir constantly
Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally
Once room temp., refrigerate until ready to add to Jello salad

Put whipping cream in a bowl and add lemon juice

Fold in the pudding mixture, whip together (if using whipped topping, then mix into pudding mixture)

Put on top of marshmallows then grate cheese on top

Refrigerate until ready to serve

Easter Jello Pudding ingredients:

Raspberry jello

Bunny shaped Marshmallows

Fruit cocktail drained, reserve the juice to use for the pudding

PLEASE NOTE: This recipe is protected by copyright law 2012.

Roasty Toasty Peanut Butter Marshmallow Mini Bagels

Coming up with lunch ideas that are healthy, easy to make, as well as, nutritious is not an easy task for me.  I tend to find something that works, then stick to that.  If it isn't broke, don't fix it.  That gets boring, so I've been trying to come up with some different ideas. 

This past summer, Bens friend Alex came over to play.  A thunder storm came along bringing with it a pelting rain mingled with flashes of lightning.  I knew the boys were a little scared of all the noise.  It's easy to tell them a story about why there is such a loud noise coming from the sky. Sometimes it's easier than trying to explain the real reason for something.  I have always had a very good imagination, my son has one also.  That said, sometimes the funny little stories conjure up a different image for an inexperienced child.  My favorite story was, why the mountains would have smoke curling up towards the sky, after the rain. Mom told us that the bunnys were baking bread.  Well, that explained forest fires.  I love that story, I do tell my son that one. I adored the idea of little bunny chefs, in little bunny holes baking up warm yummy bunny bread.  Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread! 


The reason for thunder, I was always told that the angels were bowling in heaven.  Now that's a cute story, we'll all agree.  However, I did wonder a little anxiously, what if the Angel threw a gutter ball, would it land down here?  I hoped it wouldn't land on my head. Therefore, I try not to make up a reason why something behaves in a certain manner.  Every book I read about childhood development says a childs "foundation" is developed with the first 5 years.  Therefore, I try not to make up a reason why something behaves in a certain manner, I simply try to explain it on his level.  Even the "Bunny bread" phenomena.
 
When he started being a little wary of thunder, I told him that thunder is just warm air and cold air bumping into each other.  The warm air says, "Oh excuse me!" while the cold air says, "No, excuse ME" and then (clap hands together) BOOM, thunder.  He laughs so hard when I tell him that.  It doesn't always comfort him, however it lightens his mood.  On this day, it wasn't doing a lot to comfort either of them, 3 years olds boys together equals more imagination.  We needed some comfort food, special food that only gets made during Thunder storms.  I fixed bread with peanut butter, and marshmallow creme toasted in the oven.  They were called Thunder Boomer sandwiches.  That did the trick, by the time they'd finished their Thunder Boomer sandwiches, the storm was over.  That didn't help me today, during the winter, when there is no thunder.  I couldn't exactly make a Thunder Boomer, if there was no thunder booming. 

I was reading in a magazine, that said, mini bagels are an excellent breakfast choice for toddlers since they are small and easy to handle.  Why not use them for lunch too, after all, it's just bread.  When I was little, we use to love to fix toast and as soon as the toast popped up, spread peanut butter over it.  It melted and tasted so good.  My little one loves peanut butter, he loves bread, he loves marshmallows.  Just like that, the Roasty Toasty was born.  It was delicious.  I served it with fresh orange slices and cottage cheese.  It was very good to see him eat well again.  He's been sick with a chest cold, that took his appetite away.  Thank the Lord he's feeling better and his appetite is back.  I had some leftover gingerbread marshmallows in gingerbread man shapes.  Good way to use them up and add a little special touch to lunch.

Roasty Toasty:

Mini bagels
creamy peanut butter
Fun shaped marshmallows, or small regular marshmallows

Turn oven broiler on low

Halve the bagels
Spread peanut butter on each half
Put marshmallows on top
Place on a cookie sheet in pre heated oven

Watch carefully, don't burn the marshmallows!

When the top of the mallow gets golden and a little smoky take out of oven immediately

Smush the mallows down and into the warmed peanut butter
Cut in four, bite size pieces making sure that the peanut butter and marshmallows are not too hot for your little one to eat. 

If anyone has any fun lunch items to share, feel free! Have a super day.