Fluffy Jell-O Salad

My 2 year old woke up at 2:30 am this morning and had NO intentions of going back to bed. She had crashed at 5:30 the afternoon before, so she was up ready for the day. Well, when the 2 year old is awake, mom is awake. I tried turning on a cartoon and going back to sleep. Nope, apparently that wasn't going to happen. So, I kept the cartoon on for my daughter and thought I would start to work on what I needed to do for the day. Before I knew it I had lunches ready, breakfast ready, laundry folded, and now I was wide eyed and bushy tailed. Now that it's 4:00 am, why not start on dinner. So, I made the first half of this fluffy jell-o salad.

Boil water, add the gelatin pack and 2 puddings. It will fluff and boil, so watch out for over flow. Stir in slowly.

After jello mixture has cool a few hours add chopped fruit

Mix well

Add jello mixture to whipped cream or cool whip. Fold gently so the cream doesn't go flat

And enjoy at 4:00 am or whenever you make dinner

At least one of us finally fell back to sleep!! (Isn't she adorable, how could I be mad at that for keeping me up all night)

Fluffy Jell-O Salad 

3 cups water 

1 small box of gelatin - any flavor  to match fruit that you will use 

1 - 3 oz box cook and serve vanilla pudding 

1 - 3 oz. Box cook and serve tapioca pudding (I have only ever found this in the Jell-O brand) 

1 pound fruit (strawberries, raspberries, bananas, canned mandarin oranges, anything that sounds good), chopped to bite sized pieces 

1 pint of whipping cream or 1 small tube Cool Whip 

2 T. regular vanilla pudding (only need if you are using whipping cream) 

Boil water in 2 quart sauce pan. Add gelatin, if using sugar free it will foam and boil really high, watch out for that. Stir in well. Add vanilla pudding, stir in well. Add tapioca pudding, mix well. Boil and occasionally stir for 3 minutes. Turn off stove and put jello mixture into fridge. The mixture needs to be cooled all the way, so it will take a few hours. I have put it in an ice bath in the sink to cool it faster and that works well too. If using whipping cream, whip with 2 T regular vanilla pudding (this helps stabilize the pudding). Whipped to stiff peaks. Once  the jello mixture is cooled stir in fruit then fold in whipped cream or cool whip. Refrigerate until ready to eat. The longer it is in the refrigerator the better it tastes.