Trying the Pineberry and Other Whatnot's

The Pineberry.  Characterized with white-ish skin and red seeds.  A strawberry with a hint of Pineapple flavor. The berries I tried were purchased in Costco a few weeks ago, coming from a farm in Florida.  In the store the pineberries smelled divine, almost like a Strawberry Shortcake doll, so a little nostalgic.  But by the time I tried them they were a little disappointing.  There wasn't much of a taste.  Honestly, I don't want to judge the fruit itself on this experience.  If I got to try a freshly ripe pineberry right from the field I'm sure it would be amazing, as is trying a strawberry fresh from the field.

 

The Pokemon card gifts turned out to be a huge success!  Learned a lot about the cards in the process of buying them.  It was fun.  I can see how they're addicting.  I did buy some for myself, and they're sitting with my bookmarks.  I got some of my favorites and also regional exclusives I achieved while traveling, in case Pokemon Go ceases to be one day.  I can be a little sentimental.  But as fun as it was, I'm good with what I got for myself, and I hope the kids enjoy the cards I got them.  They were really excited, but what happens now with them are the kids choices, even if they get destroyed by water or something.  Crazy how expensive tiny pieces of paper can be.  Crazy the monetary value we put on things.  But it's still in good fun. 

 

My Dad told of daddyest of dad jokes the other day: "I asked Soda if we were related, and he said sure, I'm your Pop." :P

Last Saturday I was driving by an Exxon gas station.  Right underneath the gas prices was a marquee, and on this sign advertised 16 oz Hot Chocolate.  Okay, I know I live where there's a lot of Latter-Day Saints... but Hot Chocolate! In July! It's been so hot lately, being summer and all, so drinking hot chocolate seems a little crazy.  Heh, though during one of Michael and Krista's first dates it was snowing, so they got ice-cream.  Crazier things have happened. :P  

Sarah

Grandma's Yummy Pink Jello Recipe

 No party is complete without Grandma's yummy pink jello.  It's a special occasion treat, and only she makes it.  I've been wanting to get the recipe from her for ages, which doesn't exist because she goes with the flow each time it's made, so on Michael's birthday she brought over the ingredients, and I took careful notes and pictures.

Ingredients:

 1 Box Raspberry JELL-O

1 Box Strawberry JELL-O

3 Cups Boiling Water

23.2 oz Frozen Sliced Strawberry's, juice completely strained out, no longer completely frozen

Large Cool-Whip Tub (to be divided)

4 Cups of Ice (divided 2 cups and 2 cups)

(Optional) Crushed Nuts of choice

 Put both the Raspberry jello and the Strawberry jello in a large bowl.  Mix the two together.

 Pour 3 cups of boiling water (boiled either on the stove or in the microwave) into the jello powder.  Try to get as dissolved as possible.  (My Grandma says this is one of the most important steps.)

 Put 2 cups of ice into jello mixture.  Stir ice and jello so that the jello starts to set, a jell like texture will begin to form.  When it starts to jell up, start taking out ice. You don't want too much extra water in jello mixture.

 Repeat above step by putting the remaining 2 cups of ice into jello mixture, stirring, helping the jello set up even more into a jelly texture.  Spoon out ice before it fully melts and jello fully sets.  Don't let jello set.

 Stir the jello mixture.

 Put a few large spoonfuls of Cool-Whip into jello.  Stir.

 Keep adding Cool-Whip until desired texture and taste.  (There isn't a science to this, just personal preference.) Keep some extra Cool-Whip for later use.

 How we like it.

 Get frozen sliced strawberries and strain out all the juice.

As a note, the strawberries are not frozen by this point, having set out for a while.  Soft, but still chilled.

 Put the strawberries into the jello mixture and stir.

 When strawberries are properly mixed in, take the remaining Cool-Whip and smooth it over the jello.

 (Optional) After Cool-Whip is spread over jello, add a layer of crushed nuts.

Place jello in fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes to set.  Can be left in as long as you wish.  This jello makes great leftovers (which we love).

Take out and Enjoy!