The GOOD cook

My kids like to cook. I'm not a good cook, but I enjoy it, as long as meat isn't involved -- dd is a vegetarian. DS18 is a strict carnivore. Dh will eat vegetarian food, then mysteriously need to go to Wendy's an hour later. DS13, bless him, will eat anything. I don't like cooking for the whacked out habits of our family, but I do like to bake.

I have a friend at work who is still working at 84. Sharp as a tack, she is, but I told hubby if I'm still doing the phones at 65, shoot me. And if I'm doing the phones at 84, I'll shoot myself. But this friend of mine is a total sweetheart, very straightforward, plays bridge twice a week, and is one of those cooks that you go to church potlucks for.

She used to give me a new recipe every week, and they were always a hit. She has a way of picking great recipes that the whole family would eat. And then along came GOOD.

We were working together one Sunday, and she told me that she had the perfect recipe for the little family. Jello (ds loves to smell the stuff), strawberries (his favorite fruit), cream cheese (anything is better with cream cheese), and Cool Whip (hello -- with Cool Whip recipes, everything else is just a cover for the Cool Whip. I love the stuff.) Layer of crushed pretzels underneath. DS helped me make it, then pronounced that it was the top of the food pyramid, in a class of its own. He asked me, "what is it called?" I told him I had no idea, but when I wrote the recipe down, I just wrote "Mamie's Jello Stuff" as the title. He said, "I think you should call it GOOD. Cause that's what it is."

Ever since, it's been called GOOD, and it goes to every family get together. I caught a niece of mine eating straight out of the pan one time, saying "man, this is GOOD." Yep. She's right. That's what it is.

If you want to try the recipe, click here. I'm not sure it's exactly the same recipe, but if it's not, it's very close. And good. Not that I'm a Kathy Lee Gifford fan, mind you, but if she's got it on her website, she must have some GOOD qualities.

And if you need to wear something cute while you're cooking, grab this vintage strawberry themed apron, from a Venir Fashions Vintage Clothing, at Main Street Vintage. DS may be GOOD, but he doesn't wear aprons. He'll be the one with the spoon in his mouth. And if you need the spatula, it's out in the car.