Simple, Cheap and Versatile...Jell-O

Who knew that Jell-O could be added to so many dishes?


My mom gave me her Jell-O cookbook, "The New Joys of Jell-O," that she received as a wedding gift in 1973. I'm figuring 1973 was smack dab in the middle of the great Jell-O boom, because according to this WHACK cookbook, you can add Jell-O to basically anything.

Don't believe it?

How about a stunning Salad Nicoise - as seen on page 67? The ingredient list: tuna, tomato, green beans, olives, green peppers, onions, hard boiled egg, lettuce, mayo, cream, anchovy and the seemingly secret ingredient...Lemon Jell-O! I'm imagining it to be the glue that holds the whole dish together. Those who threw up a little bit in their mouths, please raise their hand. (Yeah, me too.)

My favorite chapter happens to be "Things You Never Thought Of" because, really - the whole book should be titled that! I'm not going to spill the beans too much, but I'm thinking that it might be fun to host a little Jell-O party. I mean, this cookbook pretty much has a 5 course meal planned out, including appetizers. I'll blame it on having a broken oven. Dare me?

When life gives you lemons...

...just save yourself the trouble, and make lemonade.



I was blown away by the produce at the market the other day, and totally succumbed to the enticing lemons that were staring me down from across the aisle. I grabbed about a dozen or so, and happily went along to the check out counter with my loot.

When I got home, I poured over my cookbooks, finally settling on an "all lemon" meal consisting of lemon spaghetti and mini lemon souffles. (And, maybe a lemon drop to wash it all down!)

The lemon souffles were especially intriguing - - a typical custard made with egg yolks, gently cooked over a water bath then mixed with fluffy meringue and baked in their own hollowed out lemon shell. Let me tell you, although they looked really pretty, they were so gross!!!!


Same result with the lemon spaghetti. Dry and disgusting.

My lemon meal made my eyes water, and that's NOT a good thing. The whole mess went straight into the garbage, and I ended up chowing on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sometimes even the best laid plans fall through - no matter the best intentions.

Smells like feet - and weekly meal planning

The other day I made the Meditteranean Risotto that I had on deck in last week's dinner menu. The idea was so appealing...I adore sun-dried tomatoes, olives and feta cheese. I love rice and the creaminess of risotto. I thought the dish would be a slam dunk!

However, when feta cheese is heated up, it smells like old, disgusting, wet gym socks. In this dish, it tasted about the same also.

Looks pretty though!

I really, really wanted to like it! I tried so hard to encourage myself to continue eating it - but in the end, I gave up. I don't know why I kept the copious amounts of leftovers...maybe I'll revisit the risotto cold. Maybe. Probably not.

Monday - Calzones
Tuesday - Roasted Garlic and Citrus Chicken
Wednesday - Moraccan Spiced Chickpea Soup with Sandwiches
Thursday - Tofu Ka-bobs with Mustard Dipping Sauce
Friday - Pizza