My grandma was a big fan of Jell-o. It seems like there was a Jell-o dessert at every family gathering when I was young. Grandma would prepare Jell-o in several ways, but the recipe that we ate the most often was one we simply called “Pink Stuff”.

I am sure there is a more appealing name for this recipe. Perhaps fluff, dessert, whip, or many other descriptive words could be used. In fact, your family may have a name by which you call this recipe that involves fruit or flavors.

We called it pink stuff. Maybe that’s because we were little kids and pink was the color of the dessert. Maybe it is because we misunderstood the adults said fluff and we heard stuff. At any rate, this is the family tradition we call Pink Stuff.

Grandma’s Pink Stuff Recipe

Ingredients:

3 oz Strawberry Jell-o powder
8 oz Whipped Topping
24 oz Cottage Cheese
15 oz Fruit Cocktail

Recipe Directions:

Drain the fruit cocktail. Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Refrigerate 2 hours. You can mix and serve in the same bowl.

Approximate Nutrition Information:

Servings Per Recipe: 8, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 423, Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 617g, Total Carbs: 77g, Protein: 16g.

Make it a Meal:

Serve this dish with hamburgers and hot dogs. Add a salad. Serve on top of Angel Food cake.

Planning a picnic? Include this Pink Stuff and the following items: Cowboy Beans, Hamburgers, Italian Pasta Salad, and Pea & Pasta Salad.

Recipe Variations:

Add a coup or two of mini marshmallows. Change up the color pink for green by using lime Jell-o. Replace fruit cocktail with other fruits.

If you really want to go over the top with this pink stuff, spread it over a graham cracker crust in a 9×13 pan and top with cherry pie filling and some more whipped cream. I imagine you’d want to call that dessert:  Pink Stuff Delight!

This dish is a wonderful cool and light menu item that is perfect for hot weather and can double as a salad or dessert. It is easily portable to picnics and does not last long on the buffet table.

If you make this recipe ahead of time, you can freeze it. It is one of those dishes that freezes ok for short periods of time, but I wouldn’t store it for more than a week or two. Too long in the freezer seems to cause crystallization and formation of ice bits.

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