Pretzel Jell-O Salad

My younger sister sent me a recipe and I just had to share it.  She said it’s an old recipe and had made the rounds in the Midwest about 10 years ago.  I had never heard of it.  Maybe you haven’t, either.

The tartness of the raspberries, the sweet of the Jell-O and sugar, the coolness of the cream cheese and the saltiness of the pretzels make a song in your mouth!

Pretzel Jell-O Salad

1.  Spray or butter a 9 x 13 pan  (you could cut recipe in half for an 8 x 8 size)
    2 CUPS CRUSHED PRETZELS (crush to the size of chopped pecans)
    3/4 cup of melted butter or margarine
    2 Tbsp. sugar
Blend together, press into bottom of pan.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Let cool.

2.  Cream together:
    8 oz. cream cheese (room temp)
    1 c. sugar
     Fold in:
     8 oz. Cool Whip (room temp)
Spread on top of cooled crust.  Put into freezer for an hour.

3.  2 small or 1 large package of Raspberry     
    TWO    12 oz. packages of frozen raspberries
    2 cups boiling water
Mix Jell-O with boiling water.  Mix in raspberries. 
Chill a little until sort of set.
Spoon over cheese layer and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 

You can use any kind of pretzels you have on hand.  I used the skinny stick ones.  But, twisted or rods will do fine.

Desserts, Appetizers and more

Saw a commercial the other day with all these wonderful desserts and appetizers.  There was a website listed - pillsburycrescents.com.  A whole website dedicated to Pillsbury crescent dough!  The recipes are super simple.  And from past experience with crescent dough, all are bound to turn out terrific.

The first recipe we are going to make is the Crescent Layer Bars, pictured above.  Since we’re not fans of the vanilla chips, we are going to substitute peanut butter chips.

Gonna be mighty good with a cup of coffee.

Recipe – Brownie Waffles

I have an old recipe box. It contains old recipes that I wrote on 3” x 5” cards and also contains recipes others have given me over the years – in their handwriting. I am so glad I kept those handwritten recipes over the years. Seeing the handwriting of dear friends who have passed on keeps them close to my heart when I read their recipes.

I have some of my mother’s recipes in her handwriting that I would never part with. The recipe itself might not be so terrific, but it was a recipe she enclosed in a letter, many years ago. Mom died in November 1993, but each time I read a recipe that she wrote makes me feel as if she’s close.

Also in the box are odd-assorted leaflets from past appliances. I don’t throw away many things! LOL

DH was looking thru the old recipe box and came across a leaflet that came with a waffle iron we were gifted with when we were first married. Now, we are coming up on 48 years of wedded bliss, so the leaflet is old! No longer have the waffle iron, but I do remember it. It was round and had an electrical cord that was wrapped with black & white threads. The recipe that interested him was “Brownies for the Waffle Iron”.

I suggested using a box of Brownie mix, rather than making the recipe from scratch. So, that’s what he did. Just follow the directions on the box. DH added a ½ to 1 cup of chopped walnuts to the batter. The Brownie Waffles were excellent!

If you make these waffles, here are some suggestions – Put a spoonful of batter on each quadrant of the waffle baker to get “Waffle Cookie Brownies”. They release easier and are easier to serve than if you made one big waffle. Remove the hot waffles with a spatula to a cooling rack or parchment paper. They firm up as they cool. I like to break up the Brownie Waffles & sprinkle over ice cream. You can also sprinkle some mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms on the ice cream. MMMM delicious!