 CRANBERRY JELLO SALAD
By Kevin Williams
Cranberry Jello Salad: Cranberries seem to be the "fruitcake" of Thanksgiving.  People either love them or hate them.  I'm not really a fan.  I often dab a spoonful onto my plate at Thanksgiving just because that seems like what you're supposed to do,but they are not my favorite.  So this cranberry jello salad doesn't seem all that appealing.  On the other hand, my wife LOVES cranberries so she'd  probably be all over this dish.  So for the cranberry lovers out there, enjoy this salad recipe from Rosanna, our Plain Kansas columnist.  This is her mother's "signature dish" at Thanksgiving so it must really be good if you like cranberries!
Plain Kansas Recipe: Cranberry Jello Salad
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 1 salad
Ingredients
- one pound bag of raw cranberries to make 2 cups of cranberries.
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 2 cups apples
- 3 cups boiling water
- 2-3 ounce boxes of cherry Jell-o
- 2 cups undrained, crushed pineapple
Instructions
- Shred a one pound bag of raw cranberries to make 2 cups of cranberries.
- Cook together cranberries, sugar and water until cranberries are softened.
- While cranberries are cooling, shred enough unpeeled apples to make 2 cups.
- Then mix together boiling water with jello.
- Stir into the jello shredded apples, cooled cranberries, and pineapple.
- Pour mixture into a bowl or ungreased Jell-o ring mold.
- Chill several hours until set.
- To remove the salad from the ring mold, run hot tap water over the mold before inverting onto a serving platter. (Cook time listed below reflects "chill time")
Linda from KY
Why would you shred the cranberries? That's an unnecessary step because the cranberries will soften on their own as they cook. I know this because I make whole cranberry sauce during this time of year.
Kevin
Linda, we'll have to ask Rosanna, she must have some reason. I'll let you know!
Barbara Miller
If you ever make your own cranberry sauce with a bag of whole cranberries, you won't like the canned stuff (jelled or whole) ever again. No flavor!
I use a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup. Pour in a bag of fresh cranberries (can be straight from the freezer), add one cup water and one cup sugar. cook in microwave on high until soft I use an old potato masher and mash them a little bit when they're done. Pour into a plastic container. It thickens as it cools, and will last in the fridge for an indefinite amount of time! I buy and freeze in the fall months when they are for sale in grocery stores. So easy, and so GOOD!!!
Linda
Hi, Barbara--
Some of us like the canned jellied cranberry sauce. I never eat the homemade whole cranberry sauce. My daughter and son-in-law won't eat any cranberry sauce so when they do Thanksgiving, I always bring a can of jellied cranberry sauce and take home the leftovers.
Kevin Williams
I Definitely like the jellied kind more than the whole kind!