For Janette

We were in charge of dessert for our family Easter picnic, and it was a completely gorgeous day out, so I thought something cool and easy was in order. I settled comfortably on Jell-O pretzel salad. I know it sounds like an odd combo if you've never had it before, but my husband (who was wary at first) was fighting my Mom last night for the leftovers! I think it's the perfect combination of sweet and salty.

I have a friend who is completely crazy for all things Jell-O, and I think my inspiration for dessert might be partly to blame because of the awesome Jelly article she had up on her blog. So this one's for you Janette! *MWAH!*

Strawberry Jell-O Pretzel Salad

2 cups crushed pretzels (crush them up to wee chunky bits, and measure them after crushing)
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 (8 ounce) tub whipped topping (aka cool whip) thawed**
1 (6 ounce) package of strawberry Jell-O*
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen strawberries, or 16 ounces fresh sliced strawberries
1 small can crushed pineapple (optional)

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
~Mix together the pretzels, sugar and melted butter. Pour into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
~Bake for 7 minutes.
~Remove from oven and let cool completely.
~Once the pretzel crust has cooled, mix the cream cheese and sugar together, then fold in the whipped topping until completely combined.
~Spread this mixture over the pretzel crust. Cover the pan and put in the fridge.
~In a bowl, mix together 2 cups boiling water with the Jell-O until completely dissolved (about 2 minutes).
~Chop the frozen strawberries (I put mine in the blender until they're coarse chunks) or slice fresh strawberries. Put them in the Jell-O. Add pineapple if desired.
~Put the Jell-O Mixture in the fridge until thickened, but not set. Pour the Jell-O mixture over the cream cheese layer.
~Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Top with additional whipped topping if desired.

Serves 12.

*Feel free to change Jell-O flavors to your liking. I think that lime with pineapple would be tasty. Or orange with mandarins! BigScottishJerk.com also brought up the fact that a chocolate pudding type topping might be completely awesome. I think he might be very right.
**I know I have friends who can't do the cool-whip. I'm sure you could substitute 2 cups of heavy whipped cream in lieu of this.

J-E-LL-O!

This is actually an old, old recipe from the Jell-O company which is called "Poke Cake". *Snigger* I'm sure you've seen it in one incarnation or another. I think I had it once for my birthday cake when I was wee... This is my take on it, with a lot less fat and calories. And it doesn't taste like it! The cake is still moist and wonderful and you don't have to feel guilty. And because it has to stay in the refrigerator it's always nice and refreshing in this horrid heat.

You can mix it up by changing Jell-O flavors; I think orange would be fabulous with a yellow cake mix. And feel free to make it with the regular ingredients (regular jell-o, regular cake mix directions, whipped cream...it's the same basic recipe) if you're feeling naughty.

Pokey Jell-O Strawberry Shortcake

1 package white cake mix
1 small package sugar free strawberry Jell-O (4 serving size)
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 8 ounce container Cool-whip Free, thawed
sliced strawberries (optional)

1. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with pan spray.
2. Heat oven as directed on cake mix directions.
3. Follow directions on cake box, using the egg whites option (it will tell you how many to use on the box) and replacing the oil with an equal amount of applesauce~~this tastes even better if you use strawberry flavored applesauce!
4. Bake cake according to directions, remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
5. Pierce cake with a large fork at 1/2 inch intervals.
6. Stir the boiling water into the gelatin for 2 minutes until completely dissolved.
7. Stir in the cold water; pour the gelatin carefully over the cake.
8. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
9. Frost the cake with whipped topping.
10. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Top with sliced strawberries if desired. Store any leftovers in refrigerator.

What do you do with a Lonely Rhubarb?

Okay, so I had some frozen rhubarb that needed to be used up, too. My parents have a gi-normous rhubarb patch in their garden and I squirreled a few bags of it away for the winter months.

I love rhubarb, but I run out of ideas when it comes to putting it in things. I noticed strawberries were cheap again, so I started searching...I was delighted to find this recipe on the web. It's originally from Guide to Southern Cuisine.

Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Filling

3 cups rhubarb (cut into 1 inch pieces, fresh or frozen)
2 pints fresh strawberries, mashed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 and 2/3 cups sugar (you may add more or less to taste, depending on how tart you like your rhubarb)
1/3 cup cornstarch

Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar

To make the filling:

-Combine the rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice in a saucepan.
-Cover and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
-Combine the sugar and cornstarch.
-Stir into the strawberry mixture.
-Bring to a boil, stir constantly until thickened, remove from heat.

To make the cake:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.
-In a seperate bowl, beat together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.
-Stir into the flour mixture until just moistened.
-Spread half the mixture into a greased 9x13x2 baking dish.
-Carefully spread the strawberry rhubarb filling over the top.
-Drop remaining batter evenly over top with a tablespoon until well covered.

Topping:

-Melt the butter.
-Stir in the flour and sugar until crumbly.
-Sprinkle over the top of the batter.
-Bake the cake for about 45 minutes or until it tests done. (You may need to lay a sheet of foil or a baking sheet on the lower rack under the pan if the juices from the filling start to leak out so you don't have burnt rhubarb all over the bottom of your oven.)