Do you have a recipe that reminds you of your childhood? Over the holidays I had a Facebook memory that reminded me of one. Sonya and I love what we always called “the purple stuff”. Growing up we had an aunt that made it and we didn’t know what it was so we always called it “The Purple Stuff”. It was one of those things that not everyone liked and eventually was not at family event anymore. But it never left our memories.

Several years ago I decided to look for a recipe, but how do you search for “the purple stuff”? Turns out it is called Blueberry Salad. Who would have known that was the name?? I shared my find with Sonya and we brought it back to our family events. We would always send each other a picture of the ingredients with a “guess what I’m making” text. Here is the picture of the last time I made and sent to her.

The recipe is:

2 packs (3 oz each) grape jell-o

2 cups boiling water

1 can (21 oz) blueberry pie filling

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained

Topping:

1 – 8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a large bowl, dissolve jell-o in boiling water. Cool for 10 minutes. Stir in pie filling and pineapple, until blended. Put in a 13×9 inch dish. Cover and refrigerate until partially set, about 1 hour.

For topping, in a bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Carefully spread over the jell-o mixture. Sprinkle with nuts. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

In the Jones family we have a nut allergy, so the few times I’ve made it for them I’ve left the nuts off the top, that is why they are not in this picture.

The next time I make this will be different because I won’t be able to send a picture to Sonya to remind her of our childhood. But I will make it again and think of her with every delicious bite!!