On Christmas Eve last year I was staring at my daughter-in-law as she lay on a nightmarish bed of amniotic fluid, her own excrement and afterbirth. My grandbaby had just ripped her way into this world and she was about to rip my family apart too.
I never liked my daughter-in-law. From the moment we met she was incredibly possessive of my perfect sweet baby boy. He’s the youngest of fifteen boys. My wet noodle of an ex-husband and I kept trying for that girl until my uterus gave out on me, so I always thought having a daughter-in-law would be like having a girl of my own. Oh no, it was nothing like that. When we went on walks together, she downright refused to let me stand in the middle and hold both their hands. She never let me join them on a single “date night” (They’re young, what do they need privacy for?!) and when they (to my dismay) decided to get married, she didn’t take a single one of my suggestions. I still think it would’ve been a real show of love toward me for her to let us wear matching dresses. Despite all this, I was the most loving mother-in-law somebody could ever hope to have.
Then, she fell pregnant. We found out it was a girl, and I was sure it was finally my time to have my little sweetheart! But NO. Right away, my son was setting ridiculous limits that I am 100 percent positive that silly wife of his coerced him into, because my little angel boy would never say those things to his mother. No touching her stomach without permission, no asking her to track her diet on an app so I could make sure she was caring for my grandbaby, no making the grandbaby call me mommom, no staying with them for a month after the baby came to teach them how to care for her properly, no calling her an incubator for my little girl (endearingly)…I mean they may as well have outright disowned me!
Then, the day came. My daughter-in-law, ever the attention hog, just HAD to go into labor on the night of the big Christmas Eve family party! It took enough wheedling to get them to come to my house for Christmas Eve, and they were still insisting on going to HER house for Christmas Day (no idea why), so I’m still sure her “water breaking” was all a big ploy to STEAL my boy from me for Christmas. I was barred from the delivery room, and still have not forgiven her for forcing me to miss the arrival of my baby girl. For some reason, when my daughter-in-law decided she wanted family to visit that night, EVERYBODY decided to go see the new baby instead of coming to my house for our family dinner! My daughter-in-law hasn’t spoken to me since I took my baby girl out of her crib in the middle of the night (she had no idea how to swaddle her properly!) My poor sweet son has somehow been convinced that I was in the wrong for picking their lock and “kidnapping” my sweet girl (how could I kidnap my own grandbaby?). They’ve got all the cousins and my worthless ex-husband on their side too. So, since nobody in my family cared to come to my party last year and have yet to RSVP for this year, I want to share with you my favorite Christmas recipe. This Ham and Sausage Jell-O Salad is all my boys’ favorite, it just tastes like home. So, from mine to yours, have a very merry Christmas, and dig in!
Yeah, it’s safe to say Merry Christmas on this blog ;) #waronchristmas #christisborn #reasonfortheseason #family #loveforall #worldsbestgrandmommy
Alright, now let’s just jump right into the recipe!
Prep time: 45 Minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 45 min
Serves 12
1 (3 oz) package lime flavored gelatin mix
1 cup boiling water
1 (8oz) can mandarin oranges in juice, drained with juice reserved
1 ½ tablespoons white vinegar
½ cup cold water, or as needed
½ cup of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 cup chopped boiled cabbage
1 can Vienna sausages
3 ribs chopped celery
1 cup chopped cooked ham
½ cup craisins
Directions
- Dissolve lime gelatin in boiling water in a large bowl. Pour reserved mandarin orange juice and vinegar into a measuring cup; add enough cold water to measure 1 cup. Stir water-juice mixture into gelatin mixture; refrigerate until cold and beginning to set, about 30 minutes.
- Stir mayonnaise and mustard together in a bowl; whisk mayonnaise mixture into cooled lime gelatin mixture until smooth. Gently fold cabbage, ham, celery, vienna sausages, craisins and reserved mandarin oranges into gelatin. Transfer mixture into a ring-shaped gelatin mold.
- Chill in the refrigerator until firmly set, about 4 hours.
- To serve, dip the gelatin mold into hot water to loosen the sides; place a plate on top of the mold, invert and gently lift the mold from salad.