Midwest Classic: Indian Trail Cranberry Orange Jello

Over the past few days, I've been pulling out my beaten and battered recipe cards to find those classic dishes we prepare every Thanksgiving. Our family's recipe for Indian Trail Cranberry Orange Jello is first on the list of favorites. It's such a Midwest classic.

But this year, we seem to have a problem! Indian Trail, the company that makes a key ingredient for our Thanksgiving Jello went out of business in November 2008.

What to do?

Well, if there's one thing I've learned in my years as a Midwest Mom, it's that this part of the country is resilient and resourceful. Cora at Cora Cooks has posted her recipe for Indian Trail Cranberry Orange Sauce. The taste and texture of hers is identical to our old favorite from the freezer section.

You still might be able to find a few tubs of Indian Trail out there... but know that they've been in your grocer's freezer for at least a year. Cora's alternative, however, will be perfectly fresh (and delicious). I suggest you give it a try.

In the meantime, here's my family's recipe for Indian Trail Cranberry Orange Jello. It's so good, I almost always make a double-batch.

Ingredients:

1 tub of Indian Trail Cranberry Orange Sauce
or
1 batch of Cora's Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce, drained with the liquid reserved

3 regular sized packages raspberry jello
2 cups boiling water
1 cup reserved chilled relish liquid, or cold orange juice
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans (roasted, if you like)

Instructions:

Thaw the cranberry orange sauce. In a large bowl, mix jello and boiling water. Stir in juice. With a blender, mix cream cheese into jello until mixture is smooth. Stir in cranberry orange sauce and pecans. Pour into decorative serving bowl (we use a glass trifle dish) or jello mold. Chill 4-6 hours, or until jello is completely set. (To un-mold jello, place mold in a bowl of warm water for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to spill water into the jello. Put serving plate on top of the mold and quickly invert. The jello mold should come out intact.)

Enjoy!

NanaJane's Easy Banana Pudding Pie

I remember my mother making this dessert in the summer. She let me help with it, and by the time I was about eight years old, I could make it all by myself. It's that easy. Now, I let my kids make it, too. It's a fun, cool treat for a hot summer evening.

Ingredients:

16-20 Honey Graham Crackers
1 package instant banana pudding
1 package instant vanilla pudding
3-4 ripe bananas
4 cups cold milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbs sugar

Break graham crackers into small rectangles. Peel and slice bananas. In an ungreased 9x13 pan, lay graham crackers in a single layer. Top with a single layer of banana slices. Whisk together banana pudding and 2 cups cold milk for 5-7 minutes, or until soft-set. Pour gently over graham crackers and bananas, being careful not to disturb layers. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and place another layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding. Top with another layer of banana slices. Prepare vanilla pudding the same way you did the banana pudding. Pour gently on top and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Just before serving, whip cream and sugar to stiff peaks. Serve in squares, topped with sweetened whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

My family always called this dessert 'Ambrosia'. My husband's family calls it 5-Cup Salad. It is a simple recipe -- impossibly sweet and uniquely American. The kids and I like ours heavy on the fruit and light on the dressing. To add a little crunch, I have added toasted almonds too.

Ingredients:

1 large can of pineapple chunks, drained
2 small cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 small jar maraschino cherries, drained
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup whipped topping
1/2 cup plain yogurt (healthy) or sour cream (decadent)
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Heat a small non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Toast almonds by placing them in the pan for 1-2 minutes then gently stirring until they are fragrant and golden. Remove from pan and cool completely.

In large mixing bowl, combine halved cherries, oranges, pineapple, and coconut. Gently fold in whipped topping and yogurt (or sour cream). Cover and chill until ready to serve. Spoon into dessert dishes and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Enjoy!

Julia's July 4th Trifle

This is an easy, festive dessert -- a perfect end to any holiday picnic. It's a great dessert to make with the kids and is best when freshly prepared with the freshest ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 homemade or store-bought angel food cake
2 boxes instant pudding
2 cups milk
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup water
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh strawberries
fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Begin by cutting the cake into 1 inch cubes. Set aside. In small saucepan, combine one cup sugar and one cup water for simple syrup. Boil, stirring until all sugar has dissolved. Boil 2 minutes longer. Turn off heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Pour over fresh, washed blueberries and allow to steep while you prepare the other layers. In large mixing bowl, mix instant pudding, cold milk, and whipping cream. Whisk until soft set and chill. Wash strawberries and remove stems. Drain thoroughly and slice, tossing with remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Chill.

When you are ready to serve, layer ingredients in a glass trifle bowl. Layer in this order: 1/3 cake cubes, 1/2 blueberry mixture (I use a slotted spoon with this. Add as much liquid as you like.), 1/3 pudding, 1/3 cake cubes, 1/2 strawberry slices, 1/3 pudding, 1/3 cake cubes, 1/3 pudding. Arrange remaining blueberries and strawberries in a sunflower pattern on top of the final pudding layer. Blueberries in the middle and strawberry slices in a fan around the edge. Garnish with fresh mint, if desired. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Grandma's Strawberry Pretzel Jello

This dessert is such a treat. You would never imagine that these ingredients would combine to make something so wonderful. One of us always makes this dish for our family get-togethers in summertime. It's a great alternative to cake or pie for a picnic or potluck.

Ingredients:

For the crust,
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 tbs. sugar

For the cheese filling,
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 pint whipping cream, whipped

For the strawberry layer,
16 oz. strawberry jello
1 3/4 cups boiling water
10 oz. frozen strawberries
6 fresh strawberries, for garnish

Mix crushed pretzels, butter, and 4 tbs. sugar. Pat into 9x13 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool completely.

Cream together cream cheese and remaining cup of sugar. Fold in whipped cream. Spread over pretzel crust. Chill.

Mix jello and hot water. Stir in frozen strawberries and continue stirring until gelatin is soft-set, about 8 minutes. Pour evenly over cream cheese layer and refrigerate until firm.

Just before serving, garnish with slices of fresh strawberries. Serves 12-15 people.

Enjoy!

Grandma's Apple Crisp

My children's grandfather has a weakness for anything with apples in it. His account of a good restaurant meal always ends with, "and they had this great apple dessert..." This recipe is his wife's answer to her husband's apple craving. Served over a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, it is a sweet way to end a home-cooked meal.

Ingredients:

4 cups apples, peeled and sliced (Granny Smith or Jonathan work best)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter

Butter a 10" x 13" glass baking dish. Combine apple slices, cinnamon, salt, and water and spread evenly along the bottom. In a mixing bowl, cut together flour, sugar, and butter with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over apple mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Super-Cooling Sherbet Slices

This dessert helps me remember steamy summer days as a girl in Virginia. The only thing better than eating it was when my mother let me make it myself! It is an instantly-cooling dessert that is perfect for parties or as a special treat to end a family barbecue.

Ingredients:

1 gallon lime sherbet
Half-gallon lemon sherbet
Half-gallon raspberry sherbet
1 cup mini-chocolate chips, optional

You will also need:

3 mixing bowls (small, medium, large) that will nest easily and fit in your freezer

Place largest mixing bowl in your freezer for 1o minutes as you remove the lime sherbet from the freezer and allow to soften on the counter top. Scoop into your largest mixing bowl, pressing against the inner wall of the bowl until it is completely covered. Place medium bowl into lime sherbet layer, pressing down until there is an even layer or sherbet between the bowls. Freeze until firm.

Remove lemon sherbet from the freezer and soften. Remove nested bowls from freezer. Fill inner bowl with warm water to make it easy to lift out. Carefully remove -- there should be a shell of lime sherbet in the largest bowl. Scoop lemon sherbet into the lime shell to make a layer as before. This time, nest and press the smallest bowl of the three. Freeze again.

Finally, soften the raspberry sherbet. Remove the nested bowls from the freezer, loosen and remove the smallest one as before. Fill the remaining empty space with raspberry sherbet. The three layers should now all be in the largest bowl. Cover with saran wrap and freeze until firm.

When you are ready to serve, remove the large bowl from the freezer and place in warm water, being careful not to get the sherbet wet. Invert onto a serving plate and slice like a layer cake. The slices will be the color of watermelon. Sprinkle slice with mini chocolate chips to resemble seeds, if desired.

*Note -- you can other flavors of sherbet or sorbet, or use four layers to make a sherbet rainbow! Don't be afraid to get creative!

Enjoy!

Raspberry Summercake

This is one of the best (easiest) cakes. It is a crowd-pleaser and looks simply amazing!

Ingredients:

1 store-bought (or homemade) Angel Food Cake
1 pkg. raspberry jello
1 small bag frozen raspberries
1 8 oz. tub of cool whip
1 1/2 cups water
fresh raspberries and mint leaves to garnish

Instructions:

Slice the angel food cake into 3 layers. Set aside. Mix jell-o with 1 cup boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Mix in 1/2 cup cold water and frozen raspberries. Chill in refridgerator for 15 minutes, until semi-soft. Fold jell-o/berry mixture into cool whip. Frost between the angel food layers. Mix frosting again until smooth. Chill frosting and cake 15 more minutes. Frost top and sides of cake. Fill center hole and top with fresh raspberries. Fresh mint gives some nice color to garnish.