July 20, 2012

Unscripted Sketches Christmas In July Spotlight


Hi ya'll!

It's my turn to be our featured spotlight designer for the Christmas in July party going on at Unscripted Sketches.  When thinking about what kinds of traditions we have in our family, they always seem to revolve around food.  So, I've decided to share an old family recipe.  Welcome to my kitchen!


Some of you may know, but for those of you who don't, my father is Hispanic and my mother is white.  The holidays were always so exciting because we had the best of both worlds when it came to what foods were prepared.  I remember my grandmother, on my dad's side, making dozens and dozens of homemade tamales for all of us, while my grandmother, on my moms side, made things like apple pie (my Hispanic grandfathers favorite) and turkey and dressing.  It was definitely quite the spread.  Ever since I can remember my grandmother on my mom's side would make us a dessert that didn't really have a name, that I know of, but we call it Orange Fluff.  I'm pretty sure it was just some stuff she dumped in a bowl, that sounded good, and wound up being better than expected. lol  It's easy, and I can't remember a holiday without it.  My mom still makes this for us at every holiday, where we'll all be together, and it makes us all feel like we're "home".  Below, I'm going to show you how easy it is to make.

Orange Fluff
1 16oz container Cool Whip
1 24oz container Cottage Cheese
1 15oz can Mandarin Oranges
1 16oz package Orange Jello


I drain the Mandarin oranges and cut them in thirds.  This way you'll get more out of one can.  You can use two cans, if you'd like, and leave them whole.  Either way works.  Once I've cut the oranges up, I add all of my ingredients to my mixing bowl.  It looks like a huge mess, but believe me, it's worth it.


Once you have everything in the bowl, you're almost done.  See, I told you it was easy.  All you have to do now is mix everything together.


Once I have everything combined, I use a few of the reserved, whole, orange slices to decorate the top.  You'll need to refrigerate this for at least an hour so it can set, and keep it refrigerated because of the ingredients.

I have made this simple and easy dessert for office parties, and other gatherings, and it's always a big hit.  I'm not sure what it is about it, but I'm glad that everyone enjoys it.  This recipe is also easily converted to low fat, and low calorie.  All you need to do is buy sugar free jello, low fat cool whip, and 1% or 2% cottage cheese.  Remarkably, it still tastes exactly the same.  :)

That's all for me today.  I hope you enjoyed hanging with me in my kitchen.  You'll have to let me know if you try this out, and what you thought about it.  Thanks for joining our Christmas in July party at Unscripted Sketches.  There is plenty more fun coming up, so I hope you'll continue to stay tuned for that.

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your memories sound a bit like mine! Cuban Father, Colombian Mother, but I was raised in the South and my older brother married someone from Louisiana! So many taste buds, so little time :)

Thanks for sharing a bit of yourself and a yummy recipe!

Patrice said...

Sounds like Christmas was fun in your house! Great to get to know you better...

Geri said...

Great post Steph! Now that looks like one desert that I could handle. You say you love to cook....well, if you ever get bored living where you are, just skip on over to my house because cooking is definitely not one of my favs! Great pics too!

PS...Love the font you use for your signature!

BrendaB said...

Thanks for sharing the recipe - it looks yummy!

Billie A said...

Great memories and awesome orange stuff.. looks good I will have to try it..My mom made same but with lime jello ..we had the green stuff. LOL Enjoyed your spotlight.

Tracey Holdyk said...

I just loved reading about your family traditions when it came to Christmas food, how wonderful to have such mix of great food.
The recipe sounds too easy to be true, although I don't think we can get cool whip here in Australia, I am going to try though.
Merry Christmas in July,
love me :-)