Cranberry Gelatin Salad

It’s hard to believe that we are just 1 week away from another Christmas! It seems to me that 2017 has flown by faster than any other year!

My family has been scattered all over the world this year, so we have had no opportunity to get a family picture taken. I made this picture from ones we took throughout the year so that you can see how the family has grown.

Last night we had our church’s annual service of Lessons and Carols. I think that it is one of my favorite services of the year. I needed to take a dessert and a salad for the fellowship meal afterwards. My family has always enjoyed a cranberry gelatin salad at Christmas time, so I decided to make one for the meal. As usual, I didn’t follow a recipe, but just made it up as I went along. Many people liked it and asked for the recipe! I was shocked that it was really that good!  🙂

I think the trick to the flavor came from the wassail that I used in place of the cold water when I made the gelatin. It added an extra burst of cranberry flavor which did make it a delightful salad.

1 large box raspberry gelatin

2 cups boiling water

1 cup regular apple juice (no extra sugar added)

1 cup cranberry wassail

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

1 can whole cranberry sauce

Dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, stirring until completely dissolved. Stir in the apple juice and the cranberry wassail. Stir in the whole cranberry sauce so the gelatin melts.

Put a layer of the crushed pineapple in the bottom of your dish. Pour some of the gelatin over the top and refrigerate until set. Add another layer of pineapple and more gelatin; refrigerate until set. Keep doing this until you use all the pineapple and the gelatin mixture. Refrigerate for several hours or until firmly set.

Holiday Wassail

 

Trim Healthy Mama is a book written by two sisters, Serene and Pearl.  I’ve not read the book, but I have been following the Facebook page and learning a lot about combining foods to help with weight loss.  While I don’t need to lose a lot of weight, I do need to trim down some (25 pounds gained in 25 years of marriage), and get back into shape.  I will probably be prone to arthritis like my sweet mom was since I already have aches and pains.  Keeping the weight down will help me in the long run.  You can check out the web site here.

I came across this recipe the other day on the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook page and decided to give it a try today.  Oh, my! The house smelled like Christmas as my son Sam and I began our Christmas decorating.  I know that traditionally a wassail is an alcoholic beverage drunk while making a toast to a person’s health.  This recipe is non-alcoholic and is actually very good for one’s health!

1 bag fresh cranberries

3 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. whole cloves

3 whole anise stars (I didn’t have these, but I used a few drops of anise oil.)

2 quarts water

1 orange cut into slices or 2 tsp. pure orange extract

Pure Stevia extract to taste  (I used honey.)

Put the cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and anise stars into a large pot. Add 1-1/2 quarts of water. Cover and bring to a rolling boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about an hour.

Pour the wassail through a strainer into a 2-quart jar.  Add the remaining water to make a complete half gallon.  Add sweetener to taste.

Serve hot with a twist of orange.