Orange Jell-O Salad

Sorry, Anne. I know you're not a fan of the chunky Jell-O salad recipes, so you can skip right over this one. Now, for the rest of you who like a good Jell-O salad (even if you're afraid to admit it in public) here is one I made for my Sunday dinner with the stir-fry. It was a last-minute dinner plan, and I found myself on Sunday (a day for no quick trips to the grocery store) with no side dish. As fate would have it, I did have cottage cheese and thawed Cool Whip in the fridge (what are the chances of that?). I remembered having (and liking) an orange Jell-O salad at a church function (where else?) some time ago that included those ingredients. So, I searched my "pot luck cookbooks" (as I call them) for a recipe.

I did not have orange Jell-O on hand, so I substituted it with pineapple Jell-O. I made this recipe again for my MOPS meeting on Tuesday with orange Jell-O, and I must say that I preferred the pineapple. I felt like the flavor was a little more mild, and the color was not as offensive. If I make this again, I think I will go for the pineapple rather than the orange, though the orange is traditional.

"Easy To Do" Salad (Orange Jell-O Salad)
Source: Favorite Recipes from Family and Friends/Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
[Side note: I have four or five other "pot luck cookbooks" and enjoy searching them for those recipes that you always seem to find at pot luck meals, parties or church functions. You are almost always guaranteed to find your favorite corn bread pudding, sweet potato souffle, Jell-O salad, broccoli salad, artichoke dip, layered desserts, dump cake, orange cake, and so much more--including those random recipes that leave you thinking, "This is really someone's 'favorite'?" I think everyone should have at least one of these cookbooks in their library. They're more fun to read than any other no-picture-included cookbook.]

1 (8 1/4 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (11 oz.) ctn. mandarin oranges, drained
1 (12 oz.) ctn. cottage cheese
1 (9 oz.) ctn. Cool Whip
1 pkg. orange Jell-O

Sprinkle dry Jell-O in cottage cheese. Mix well. Add pineapple and oranges. Blend in Cool Whip. Chill for one hour before serving.

[Note: I was not very exact in my measurements. I think I used a 15 1/4-ounce can of pineapple, a 15-ounce can of oranges, and only about 3/4 of an 8-ounce container of Cool-Whip. I also used about 3/4 of a 16-ounce container of cottage cheese (but if you do the math, that's equivalent to a 12-ounce container). And, as previously mentioned, I used pineapple Jell-O instead of orange.]