Late 60’s/1970 Dinner Theme

Our family can be quite playful, so when I decided to have a late 60’s/1970 dinner, they dressed the part. The menu consisted of Mac n’ cheese (to celebrate the start of Kraft’s blue box kit, only my dish was the homemade version), ham, overnight salad (remember that from potlucks?), striped jello (what 1970’s table didn’t have jello, right?), deviled eggs, and a PB King cake for dessert.

Overnight Salad

Ingredients:

3/4 head Iceberg lettuce head (can substitute with about 6 cups romaine)

2 cups Frozen peas (partially thawed and drained)

1 Yellow onion (chopped) (can substitute white or red)

1/2 red pepper chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

4 hard boiled eggs sliced (optional)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

6 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

In a large glass bowl or a 9 x 13 glass pan, layer lettuce, then peas, then onion, then peppers, then eggs, then cheese, then bacon. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, parmesan, and sugar. Pour evenly over top of the layered salad. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Note: Some versions add diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and/or celery. Make it your way.

STRIPED JELLO

(You will want to do this the day before the party. Easy, but timely.)

Ingredients:

Boiling water (will use 4 1/2 cups total) and cold water (will use 4 1/2 cups total)

3 oz. jello packages: Lime (sugared), Orange (sugared), dark cherry (un-sugared), pineapple (sugared) , berry (blue jello - un-sugared), lemon (un-sugared), and raspberry (sugared) . You can make all sugared or all unsugared. I mixed both to cut sweetness.

12 oz. can evaporated milk

Glass bowl 4 qt.

Directions:

In a small bowl, stir lime jello into 3/4 cup boiling water until it dissolves. Be sure to scrape the sides. Add 3/4 cup cold water. Pour into the glass bowl and refrigerate 40 minutes.

After the 40 minutes, in a small bowl dissolve orange jello into 1/2 cup boiling water. Stir well. Add 1/2 cup cold water and 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. Spoon gently over the first layer in the glass bowl. Refrigerate 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, mix dark cherry jello the same as you did for the lime jello.

After 40 minutes, mix the pineapple jello the same as you did the orange jello.

After 40 minutes, mix the berry (blue) jello the same as the lime jello.

After 40 minutes, mix the lemon jello the same as the orange jello.

After 40 minutes, mix the raspberry jello the same as the lime jello.

Optional: Once jello layers are all set, you can top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of fruit as garnish