Tuesdays at the Table

I nearly died of excitement when I got my hands on this recipe Sunday night. As in literally, I gasped so loudly, the driver nearly ran off the road!

A little background - When we live in Tennessee, we had the most amazing neighbors, Clint and Gwen. They loved us, loved our furbabies and ran a mean grill. One night for dessert we had this dish Clint's mom had made; they called 'orange stuff'. OMG. It was divine. I ate. I raved. I ate some more.

From then on, any time Clint's mom made orange stuff, he'd divide it up and send me home with some. If I heard there was orange stuff to be had, I lit up like a Christmas tree and made a mad dash for their fridge. Eventually, Clint's mom got wise to my game, and started doubling the recipe - making me my very own container of orange stuff.

When we moved to the mid-west, I tried in vain several times to make it myself. It didn't look hard, I knew the basic ingredients, but I never hit on the right combination. In fact, I couldn't even get close. No orange stuff for me for over two years....

....until Sunday! We went bowling with the neighbors (long story short - I got beat by a five-year-old - twice!). On the way home, they start talking about having some orange fluff when they get home. Orange fluff? Could it be......

Curiosity piqued, I asked what was in it. 'Oh, oranges, pineapple, cool whip....oh, and cottage cheese.' And that was when I knew! (And gasped so loud, they all thought I was having a heart attack).

ORANGE STUFF!!!!!

I found my holy grail! Ten minutes later, I was inhaling that orangey goodness with one hand, while copying down the recipe with the other. I can't wait to make a big fat bowl of my very own this weekend.

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ORANGE STUFF

Ingredients:
24 ounce container of small curd cottage cheese
12 ounce container of Cool Whip, thawed
6 ounce package of orange Jello
2 - 11 ounce cans of mandarin oranges, drained (22 ounces total)
20 ounce can of pineapple chunks, drained
Optional ingredient: mini-marshmallows

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine Jello powder and Cool Whip well.
2. Mix in the cottage cheese.
3. Stir in the pineapples and oranges.
4. Stir in marshmallows, if desired.
5. Chill overnight.

Serves about 10. Or serves Sara two helpings per day for a week.

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I know it sounds kind of gross when you read it, but trust me - you'll love it. To make it healthier, you can substitute low-fat cottage cheese and low-fat Cool Whip. Enjoy!