Recipe - Favorite Holiday Dish

Green Jello Salad

As long as I can remember at every holiday meal my mom would always make this recipe.  It has become a mandatory staple at all holiday meals.  The recipe was handed down to my mother from my great grandmother McCauley whom I have wonderful childhood memories. 

When ever the holiday menu is being planned it is always the first thing I request and there have been only a few instances when we have not had it at our family gatherings.  Without it the meal just isn't complete. 

I affectionatly call it "Green Jello Salad". Here is my mom's recipe

                  Cottage cheese salad.
                  1 small carton cottage cheese
                  1 8 oz carton cool whip
                  1 small pkg lime jello.
                  1 small can crushed pineapple.
                  walnuts,chopped, marchino cherries cut in small pieces.
- mix dry jello mix and cottage cheese together and beat with mixer.(so it makes it smother.)
- mix in pineapple chopped walnuts and cut marchino cherries.. ( just a little bit of cherries to give it color. and a 1/4 to 1/2 c. nuts)
- then fold in cool whip until mixed well. (mix in by hand) put in jello mold overnight. (can also just put it in a bowl and serve that way.)
Option -
double the recipe by using a lg. cottage cheese, lg, pkg, jello,12 to 16 oz cool whip and regular size can of pineapple and adjust the amount of nuts and cherries.
Option -
can also do orange jello an mandarin oranges or red jello and strawberries.
(I have never used the strawberries and red jello but have done the mandarin oranges and orange jello for Thanksgiving and that is good. )
I always add the nuts but the cherries just with the lime jello for Christmas time to give it the Christmas color and it tastes good to.