To brighten up the mood, I'd like to share with you all one of my favorite summer time picnic/pot luck recipes that everyone will enjoy. It is a lemon-pineapple Jell-o mold that is both creamy & jiggly...and entirely delicious.
You can use any type of mold that you like, though I strongly recommend avoiding anything with tight or sharp edges - because of the milk factor in this recipe, it's not as solid as a normal gelatin mold. I use the following products, which I found on Amazon.com (click on the picture to find the listing):
The nice thing about this container is that both the top & bottom come off, allowing you to retain the shape of your treat. It also is a great carrying container - after setting, just keep it in the container until you're ready to serve.
Here's the recipe; enjoy!
Pineapple-Lemon Jell-O Mold
6 ounces lemon Jello
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in syrup
2 cups water
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 (16 ounce) container of cool whip
Drain pineapple and reserve juice, set pineapple aside.
Combine reserved juice and water, heat in microwave until very hot.
Stir jello into hot water/juice until dissolved. Do not heat further in microwave. Over-heating jello will denature gelatin and it will not set.
In separate bowl, stir cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add jello mixture into cream cheese.
Add pineapple
Chill until thickened, fold in cool whip.
Turn into a ring jello mold and chill for 6 hours or overnight.
