Happy National Fruit Cocktail Day! Fruit cocktail is a favorite in this house. I don’t know why. The kids don’t even beg for the overpriced extra cherry kind. Any kind is fine. On this day though…a nice ice box pie from my head or from my mother’s head or most likely transferred there from a magazine advertisement in the 60s or 70s.

Fruit Cocktail Jell-0 Pie

Graham cracker crust
1 4-serving size box Jello (cherry or strawberry banana are favorites for this recipe)
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 #2 can fruit cocktail

Drain juice from fruit cocktail into measuring cup. Add water to bring measure to 1 cup.  Bring liquid to boil. Add boiling liquid to Jell-o powder, stir until Jell-o is dissolved. Add ice cream, stir until smooth/melted. Stir in fruit. Pour into graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until set. Top with Cool Whip. (Maybe that interesting new strawberry Cool Whip?)

You knew this was coming sooner or later–the marriage of two of my favorites in one lovely retro Jell-0 dish. Just how many recipes have all that AND GRATED cream cheese?

1 pkg raspberry gelatin
1 pkg cherry gelatin
1 large can crushed pineapple
1 can seedless white cherries (good luck finding them…I can’t…use maraschino cherries instead)
1 cup pecans
2 coca colas (partially frozen)
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese (frozen)

Dissolve gelatin in juices (heated) from cherries and pineapple. Add cokes, cherries, pineapple and nuts. Grate frozen cream cheese over the top of mold. Place in refrigerator until firm. Serves 10.

This is another beautiful but EASY Lady Finger recipe. I love the”serve with whipped cream or liquid” instruction.

1 1/2 qt strawberries

3/4 to 1 cup sugar–to taste

Slice strawberries, stir in sugar to taste. Cover and let stand at room temperature about 1 hour. Place several Lady Fingers on each serving dish, and cover with berries. Serve with whipped cream or liquid.

This time of year says horseradish to me. That comes from many years of attending Passover Seders. This salad, oddly, never was served. Too bad…tasty stuff here.

1 pkg lime gelatin
1 1/4 cup hot water
1 pt cottage cheese
1/2 c. mayonnaaise
1 sm can crushed pineapple
2 tbsp grated horseradish

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Cool until syrupy. Add cheese, mayonnaise, pineapple and horseradish. Mix well; pour into mold. Serve on lettuce. Yield: 10-12 servings.
Mrs Gabriel Raba
New Underwood, S.D.
Salads,  1966

This is a classic or retro cookery-Green Jell-o with cottage cheese and pineapple. If that isn’t enough to tickle you-it also has marshmallows and Dream Whip!

1/2 c. crushed pineapple
1 pkg lime gelatin
1/2 c. water
1 c. cottage cheese
1 c. marshmallows
1 c. dessert topping mix, prepared (Dream Whip)

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Combine gelatin, water, and juice. Boil for 5 minutes. Cool. Add pineapple, cheese and marshmallows. Allow to thicken slightly. Fold in topping mix. Chill.

I love apricot nectar. We also have a bunch of marshmallows I am trying to use right now. This retro Jell-o mold seems perfect.

Apricot Nectar

2 pkg orange gelatin
1  1/2 cups hot water
2 1/2 cups apricot nectar
1 cup marshmallows
Mandarin oranges

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Add apricot nectar, marshmallows and mandarin oranges; let set.

Topping

1/2 cup sugar
salt
2 tbsp flour
1 egg
1 cup apricot nectar
1 cup whipping cream

Combine sugar, salt, flour, egg and nectar. Cook until thickened. Fold in whipped cream; spread on set gelatin. Yield:10-12 servings

We have a can of purple plums in our refrigerator. Unopened. It has been there for well over a year. We had several cans at one point. Now, just one. Maybe, I should make this or would that defile the holy canned plums? I think not…but people with childhood affections for foods can be troublesome. In any case this makes a lovely salad course or light dessert.

Ambrosia Fruit Compote

2 medium oranges, peeled
1 17-ounce can whole, unpitted purple plums, drained
1 13 1/2 ounce can pineapple tidbits
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rum flavoring
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Grate 1/2 teaspoon orange peel; set aside. Section oranges, reserving juice. Halve and pit plums. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup syrup. Combine fruits, and orange juice. Heat pineapple syrup, brown sugar, and orange peel till sugar dissolves. Stir in rum flavoring. Pour over fruits. Stir; chill. Garnish with coconut. Serves 8

From Good Food on a Budget, 1971

Winter means grapefruit. Wednesday means wiggle-as in retro Jell-0. So how about some grapefruit boats?

Grapefruit Boats

5 grapefruit
3 pkgs lemon gelatin (small packages)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 TBSP. gelatin
1/2 c cold water

Cut grapefruit lengthwise; remove and cut up sections. Dissolve lemon gelatin in boiling water; dissolve gelatin in cold water. Combine all ingredients. Fill grapefruit shells. Congeal.

Dressing

1/3 cup sugar
2 TBSP. flour
2 egg yolks
Juice of 2 lemons
8 marshmallows
2/3 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. heavy cream, whipped

Combine all ingredients except pecans and whipped cream; cook until thickened. Cool; add nuts and whipped cream. Top each grapefruit with dressing. Yield: 20 servings.

Easy, sweet and so very retro…not only that, they are perfect for October!
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c water.

Boil together. Add red coloring and boil 6 minutes. Drop in small Winesap apples that have been cored and peeled. Cook, turning occasionally until tender when tested with a fork. Remove apples from syrup. Add a lump of butter to the syrup and cook until thick. Pour over apples. These apples are especially good stuffed individually with a cream cheese and chopped nut mixture and served as dessert.

We bought some lovely peaches yesterday. Of course, this recipe calls for canned peaches, but you could use fresh peaches. I am afraid though, that the peaches we got yesterday are totally unsuitable for anything other than wanton fresh peach enjoyment. That is really too bad though…because this is an excellent retro dessert recipe.

Peach Cheese Pie Mrs. T. J. Eby, Jr.

Crumb Crust: Roll 16 graham crackers into crumbs. Add 3 T. sugar, 1/3 c. melted butter. Bake 350° 10 minutes.

Filling:

3-3 oz. packages cream cheese

1/3 c. milk

1/3 c. sugar

2 eggs.

1/4 t. vanilla

2 c. canned cling peaches, drained

Blend cream cheese and milk. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla, beat with rotary beater until smooth. Place peach slices in pie shells. Pour cheese mixture over peaches; bake 350° –20 minutes. If desired, garnish top with additional peach slices and dust with nutmeg.