This Sunday is Easter, and in honor of my mom, I’m sharing her special holiday recipe. Mom’s holiday salad mold lives on in the family, and my dad still prepares it every year for our family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. If there’s not at least a small scoop of this on my plate, it just doesn’t quite feel like a holiday meal. It’s been in the family for at least 50 years. A real blast from the past. 🙂
This recipe’s official name is “Pacific Lime Mold.” Why Pacific? Maybe because there was pineapple added to it? It was created around the time period when Hawaii became a state, so maybe it was a nod to the islands? I remember that I just called it “Mom’s Jello Thing.” Other people in the family called it Joan’s Jello.
I suspect a lot of families had something similar appear on their family dinner tables back in the heyday of Jello recipes and aspics. I sometimes think our moms and grandmoms all used the very same recipe booklets from the major food manufacturers. Everyone seemed to make the same perennial goodies — things like Green Bean Casserole with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, for example.
So without further ado, here’s the recipe for Mom’s jello thing.
Joan’s Cottage Cheese Pineapple Lime Salad Mold
Ingredients:
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 small package lime flavored Jello
- 1 9-oz can crushed pineapple (reserving juice)
- 1 cup creamy cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (or salad dressing)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, dissolve jello in boiling water, and stir in juice from pineapple.
- Chill in refrigerator until slightly thickened.
- Remove from refrigerator and beat until frothy.
- Fold in remaining ingredients.
- Pour into serving bowl or festive gelatin mold.
- Chill until set.
- Serve cold.
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Gluten-free. Meat-free. Cheese-free. I even make mine sugar-free. Sounds like there’s nothing in it but air, doesn’t it? Nothing but yummy deliciousness, that is!
Personally, I find a lunch consisting of a warm grilled cheese sandwich and a hot bowl of tomato soup to be one of the all-time great comfort foods that exists. Brings back warm, fuzzy memories of both my mom and my grandma. 
Groceries are one of the few flexible items in a family budget, but it can sometimes be challenging to find creative ways to save on regular family food costs. The following are some simple tips for reducing your grocery expenses. If you’re an old pro at frugal living, some of these may be old hat, but I’m amazed at how many people still find these types of tips helpful.
The following recipe is one I prepare regularly to use up leftovers or clear out the cupboards. I keep a copy of this taped to the inside of my pantry door at all times.
This is one of those recipes my family can never get enough. I remember my youngest daughter when she was about three, holding out her plate with a huge smile and asking in a sweet little voice, “More yummy noodles, Mommy?” Always a pleasure when the kiddos enjoy an easy meal the grown-up folks love, too. 
In a hurry for breakfast but have a few minutes to scramble an egg? With no more effort, you can make this simple breakfast sandwich (or substitute the English Muffin for a corn tortilla for a gluten-free burrito option).
I’m always on the look out for recipes that are quick, easy, family-friendly, inexpensive and flexible. This quick bread meets all of my criteria for a budget-worthy recipe. Plus it’s tasty and super-simple, too! 🙂
This recipe really does have a “secret” ingredient that makes it the moistest, tastiest carrot cake you’ll ever serve. 🙂
Cheap Eats! 