National Jell-O Week: Jell-O 1-2-3

jello123
Remember me?

National Jell-O Week continues!

I have such fond memories of Jell-O 1-2-3. I have no clue as to why General Foods would discontinue making it. I mean, there are petitions to try to bring it back. Maybe it caused cancer? But since it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon, us Jell-O enthusiasts have to make do with what we can do at home.

Although they took away the actual product, the Jell-O people were kind enough to provide a makeshift version on the box. I chose lemon-flavor because I am a lemon-dessert whore. I can’t have lemon bars in my home because I’d eat the whole pan in one sitting.

Real talk.
jello
This recipe couldn’t be easier–that is, if you have an actual blender. I was working with my immersion blender–the situation got quite precarious when the Cool Whip came into play. I was dangerously close to starring in my own cleaning-product commercial.

Cue the Bounty and the Mr. Clean!
Cue the Bounty and the Mr. Clean!

See what I mean? Miraculously, disaster was averted and my fluffy treats went into the fridge.

ready Jello 123
I put some in lidded containers; hence lunch box-ready desserts!

After chilling for a couple of hours here was the result:

Lemon Jell-O 123

This didn’t look anything like the dessert on the box. Or like the other ones I’ve seen online. I should have had at least 2 layers! I keep squinting at the picture hoping that I will see 2 layers. Granted, there was a slight difference in consistency between the fluffy upper part and the lower, denser, gelatinous part, but I wanted pretty layers! Where are the goddamned layers?

Maybe you can’t see it because it’s lemon Jell-O? Did I not put in enough ice? Did I blend it too much? Not enough? Did it matter that I was using sugar-free Jell-O and Cool Whip Free?

Hm. Maybe that’s it. But I will sacrifice layers in exchange for no sugar or fat.

Not to get you too excited but tomorrow is a Wiener Wednesday. So check back in tomorrow for another Jell-O treat!

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10 thoughts on “National Jell-O Week: Jell-O 1-2-3

  1. Yinzerella,
    Just happened on your site and love the retro 70’s theme. I have a recipe with Jello that will give you two layers:
    Mix 3 sm boxes of jello into 2 cups boiling water – stir for 2 minutes
    Add Vanilla ice cream until you have 5 cups of liquid total.
    I use my pampered chef batter bowl to get the right amount of liquid easily.
    Place in refrig. Will get a normal jello on bottom and white on top.
    I KNOW>>>>your thinking eeeeeeewwwww jello & icecream. But it’s really really good.
    You can also get creative with flavors. My fave is cherry jello and cherry nut ice cream.
    Polly

  2. I was a big fan of Strawberry 123 Jell-o. It was a sad, sad day in America when it was no longer available. Not as sad as the end of the Twinkies era, but close to it. 😉

  3. “Where are the goddamned layers?” LOL I think I vaguely remember Jell-O 123 but didn’t ever try it. We never ate Jell-O at home and the only time I ever had it was when my grandparents took me to Furr’s. I love how cubes of cherry Jell-O somehow counted as a salad.

  4. Emily,

    Speaking of Weiner Wednesday, you are not going to believe what I saw this morning as I was driving to work on the Parkway East! THE OSCAR MEYER WEINERMOBILE! I was coming up the hill toward Churchill and got into the middle lane when all of a sudden in front of me was a rather large oddly shaped vehicle headed in the same direction. At first I thought it might be some kind of tanker truck because of the way the back-end was shaped and how tall it was. But then I realized, OMG I am stuck behind a WEINER. I tried to get a picture but I couldn’t while I was driving because, as your father, that would not have been the responsible thing to do. Go Weiner Wednesday!

    Dad

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