Orange Fluff

1 container (12oz) Cool Whip

1 container (16oz) small curd cottage cheese

1 package of orange Jell-O gelatin

2 cans (15oz each) mandarin oranges, drained

           

You will absolutely love this fluff!  Mommies need play dates too so whether you are headed to one or hosting one serve or bring this decadent dessert.  The kiddos may be crawling all over the floor but your mommy friends will be crawling all over you!  That is until you unmask your culinary secrets.

Mix the cool whipped topping and cottage cheese together in a large bowl.  Add the powdered orange Jell-O gelatin and mix well.  For your final step add the two cans of drained mandarin oranges.  Now that you have whipped up this recipe let it chill until you are ready to serve.  This recipe is too easy to not try and you can swap the orange stuff to make Strawberry Fluff, or experiment with other fruit variations.  This dessert is prepared in seconds and it requires just that…seconds please!

This is a perfect dish to bring to just about any potluck party.  Just about happen to be the key words.  I brought this delight to a local social event for mommies and their little tykes.  I am proud of this easy family recipe so when the evite said potluck, I thought no problem.  Well there was a problem.   

It began with a sense of pride in a perfectly whipped bowl of orange perfection and that initial pride gradually transitioned to embarrassment and then to sheer anxiety.  In my mind I pictured mingling with moms and making new friends, so with fluff in hand and my angel propped on my hip I headed into the event.  The room was swarming with moms and kids.  Located near the back a table sat full of potluck goodies.  From edge to edge sat a collection of platters brimming with goldfish, cookies, brownies, pretzels and just about every other self feeding snack a kid could dream up.  As my eyes scanned the table for a place to set my fluff I started to realize that:

1.  I didn’t take into account that some tykes may not be able to self feed Orange Fluff.
2.  I didn’t bring any spoons to eat the fluff.
3.  I was totally out of my league; obviously these snack toting moms were pros.

There sat my untouched fluff and I wondered why no one was gorging on it like my family does, how exactly did I expect them to eat it?  My son, sensing a shift in my anxiety level decided that this was indeed the best time and the best place to start displaying "terrible twos" behavior.   This behavior can somehow manage to trigger a seemingly cute little boy to go out of control and cause his early thirties mom to head right into a hot flash.  A nearby mom then informs me that a little girl is hovering over my orange treat and is practically up to her elbows in fluff as she gobbles it in handfuls.  Obviously she thought it was delicious, her mom on the other hand might not be such a fan. 

“It’s time to abort!”  I thought scanning the room for the nearest exit.  I was scrambling to gather our things while my son proceeded to dump a zillion cheerios all over the floor.  There I was with my nose in the carpet of shame frantically hand sweeping cheerios while desperately trying to maintain an ankle grasp on my squealing and squirming child.   With beads of sweat and sweaty palms I sheepishly smiled and hurriedly left the party.  Once in the car I began popping xanax like pez. 

It was that afternoon that I realized that being at home with your little one(s) will always feel more comfortable, especially when a wiener dog is there to serve as the vacuum.  And, at some point all new moms get a little disheveled dealing with there kids naughtiness in public.  I tell you this from experience, it happens to the best of us.  Any mom that reads this can relate as I am certain she will have a story of her own.  Any mom who tells you otherwise is  a robot for a mom and a vicious liar  just lucky.