Strawberry Gelatin Salad

For our New Year's eve party, I wanted to come up with something light and healthy. And this was the idea, though not totally healthy, it is a better option compared to the regular desserts. It's a strawberry gelatin salad. It looks even prettier if you happen to have fancy molds or a flexible bundt pan.

Gelatin Salad







Ingredients
1 package (6ounces) strawberry gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 package (8ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (8ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup strawberry or lemon-lime soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 carton (8ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Dissolve gelatin in water. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Stir in gelatin mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in vanilla, oranges, pineapple, apples, soda and walnuts. Chill until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Fold in three fourths of the whipped topping.
Pour into 13in x 9in x 2in dish. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until firm. Cut into squares; garnish with the remaining whipped topping.
Yield: 16-20 servings

The second picture in this post is the original recipe (lime gelatin salad). Bu we prefer strawberry jello, hence the change in the recipe. Pecans can be substituted for walnuts. And the cream cheese should be beaten well till fluffy otherwise the final product might turn out dense.

pictures courtesy: google images. no copyright infringement intended