Molded Chicken and Grape Salad

Sigh. People of the 70's. This is your fault. What made you people decide that encasing vegetables and meats in fruit jello was a super-de-duper idea? Shame on you.

Out of all the molded dinners, I chose this one because it sounded sort of like that yummy chicken salad on croissants you get at church dinners.

It was not.



Molded Chicken and Grape Salad
1 package (3 oz.) Jell-O brand gelatin, lemon or lime flavor
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
1/8 teaspoon tarragon
3/4 cup cold water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup diced cooked chicken or turkey
1/4 pound green or purple grapes, halved and seeded (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup diced celery

Dissolve gelatin and salt in boiling water, add tarragon. Add cold water and lemon juice and chill until thickened. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon into 4-cup mold or individual molds. Chill until firm, about 4 hours. Unmold and serve with mayonnaise. Makes about 3 1/2 cups or 4 entree servings.



Verdict:
This is an abomination. The bits with grapes and celery were sort of fine, but the chicken was... well, it was coated in lemon Jello. What more can you say? I ate a few bites, then chucked the rest in the trash. If someone served this to me at their house, I would be able to eat it so I wouldn't offend them. I would just never, ever make this again. Or anything like it. Ever. I tried a bit with mayonnaise, as per instructions. Awful. So bad. So bad. Hubby ate all of his and said he'd had worse, but then accused me of trying to make recipes until finally he would not be able to say this. He claimed that I was doomed to failure.

Curses.

I do love my Jello mold though. It is plastic and had interchangable designs that snap onto it to fill with mayonnaise or whipped cream, for festive occasions. When you pop it off, it also breaks the seal so the Jello slides right out. So look out! Now that I'm super good at using it, we're having lime jello with green beans and pimentos and a mayo-filled Christmas tree next Christmas!

Oh, did you think I made up the green beans and pimentos bit? No.



REJECTED.

French Bean Basket
2 packages (3 oz. each) or 1 package (6 oz.) Jell-O brand gelatin, lemon flavor
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups boiling water
1 package (9 oz.) Birds Eye 5 minute French style green beans
1 1/4 cups cold water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped pimento

Dissolve gelatin and bouillon cubes in boiling water. Add frozen beans and stir until beans separate and gelatin begins to thicken. Stir in cold water, lemon juice and pimento. Pour into 4- or 5-cup ring mold or individual molds. Chill until firm, about 2 hours. Unmold and garnish with crisp greens, if desired. makes about 4 cups or 8 servings.

REJECTED.

Gazpacho Salad
1 can (7 oz.) pimientoes, drained and diced
1 1/2 cups diced unpeeled cucumber
3/4 cup diced green pepper
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 scallions, sliced
1 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
1 small clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons salad oil
1/3 vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) consomme
2 packages (3 oz. each) Jell-O brand gelatin, lemon flavor
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Combine pimentos, vegetables, olives, garlic, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Mix well and stir in consomme. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Chill until thickened. Fold in vegetable mixture. Pour into 8-cup mold. Chill until firm, about 4 hours. Unmold and garnish with tomato, lemon and cucumber slices, if desired. Makes 14 servings.