Cran-Orange Geleatin Salad

I made this the other night (I think Wednesday?) with Campfire Bundles (previously posted). It was great. The entire family enjoyed it, which is rare.

Cran-Orange Gelatin Salad

15 oz can mandarin oranges
2 pkgs cranberry Jello (3 oz each)
1 1/2 c boiling water
16 oz can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 1/2 c crushed pretzels
6 T butter, melted
5 T sugar, divided
8 oz pkg fat-free cream cheese
8 oz frozen fat-free Cool Whip, thawed

Drain oranges, reserving juice in a 2-cup measuring cup; set aside oranges and juice.

In a large bowl, dissolve the Jello in boiling water. Stir in cranberry sauce until melted. Add enough cold water to the reserved juice to measure 1 1/2 cups; add to Jello mixture. Stir in oranges. Chill until partially set (this took about 1 hour for me).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the pretzels, butter and 2 T sugar. Press into un-greased 9x13 dish; chill.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over crust. Spoon Jello mixture over cream cheese layer. Chill for at least 3 hours or until set.

Yield: 15 servings at 6 PointsPlus each.

Notes: As usual, I changed several things from the original recipe. First, it called for sugar-free Jello. I am allergic to Nutrasweet so I used regular Jello. Also, it indicated "salt-free" pretzels. I have had similar recipe to this one made with strawberry Jello and strawberries. I thought it would taste better with the salted pretzels so I used those. Instead of sugar, the original recipe used "sugar substiture equivalent to 5 T sugar". I figured it's only 5 PointsPlus for REAL sugar so I used that (divided by 15 servings, it didn't matter). I also used fat-free Cool Whip instead of reduced-fat Cool Whip because my store doesn't carry the reduced-fat. Using the original ingredients will change the PointsPlus value (pretty sure it will be lower). This is another recipe I got from "Light & Tasty" magazine (now called "Healthy Cooking by Taste of Home").

This morning I made:

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

MUFFINS
1 1/2 c Oats (quick or old-fashioned), uncooked
1 1/4c all-purpose flour
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c skim milk
3 T canola oil
1 egg white

TOPPING
1/4 c Oats (quick or old-fasioned), uncooked
1 T firmly packed brown sugar
1/8 t cinnamon
1 t butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups OR lightly grease bottoms only. Combine dry ingredients; mix well. Add combined applesauce, milk, oil and egg white; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fill muffin cups almost full. For topping, combine all ingredients; sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake 20-22 minutes or until deep golden brown. Let muffins stand a few minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.

Yield: 12 muffins at 5 PointsPlus per muffin.

Notes: The original recipe called for vegetable oil. I don't buy that and had canola oil on-hand so I used that. Also, it said to use margarine for the topping. I used butter instead.

These were a HUGE hit with my family! Will be making this regularly. Yum!