At any large family gathering of ours that involves a hearty meal, someone is tasked with making what my sisters and I always referred to simply as “Grandma’s Green Salad”.  It is a green salad, yes, but prepared using gelatin in a ring mold and nary a vegetable in sight. There was no way I could cut into this salad today for a photograph so I am posting a photograph of it “as is”,  before chilling in the fridge overnight.  The salad is airy with whipped cream and small bits of crushed pineapple and cream cheese for delicate flavor.

This is a simple gelatin salad to prepare with 40-50 minutes of “down time” while the gelatin is setting up halfway in the fridge. Once that is ready, you need only whip your cream and fold it into the gelatin-pineapple-cream cheese mixture and allow it to rest, covered, in the fridge overnight.  I prefer this salad with some finely chopped pecans myself, but I omitted them today as the Carlyle branch of the family likes it best without nuts.

The cream cheese and crushed pineapple add sweetness to the lime gelatin used in the recipe.  To serve, turn out onto a plate  on a bed of lettuce leaves or serve from your ring mold.  This salad always brings back sweet memories for all of us, and I hope someday it will do so for your family; there really is nothing better than our old heartfelt favorites on the table!  Happy Easter, y’all!

Grandma’s Green Salad

Ingredients

1-(3 oz.) box lime gelatin
1 cup water
1 small can crushed pineapple with juice
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 pint whipping cream
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions Dissolve the package of lime gelatin in the boiling water in small sauce pot. Pour small amount of this mixture in the bottom of a glass ring mold and place in fridge to set. Transfer the remainder of the gelatin mixture to a large bowl and add the crushed pineapple and cream cheese, breaking the cream cheese into small pieces with a fork. Place this mixture in fridge also until halfway set, whip the cream then add it to the gelatin mixture.  Add pecans, if using, and fold well to blend ingredients. Scrape this mixture over the set-up gelatin mixture in your ring mold, smoothing with a spatula. Cover and chill overnight.