Strawberry (or Lime) Pear Jello Salad

I just had to make a congealed salad for Thanksgiving dinner for a couple of reasons:  1) we always had a congealed at holiday dinners at home  2) my tupperware gelatin mold needed some use 3) I love these light & creamy salads!

You can use other flavors of  jello; I like lime jello as well as strawberry in this recipe.  Sometimes I put sliced fresh fruit in the center of the congealed salad before serving; this makes a beautiful presentation.

I made this with sugar free strawberry jello, reduced fat cream cheese, no sugar added canned sliced pears, and reduced fat Cool Whip & I must say that everyone loved it!

I used a Tupperware Jello Mold that worked great; I was particularly impressed at the ease of removing the jello salad from the mold.  (I found one online at Amazon.com).

Ingredients:

1 (6 ounce) package sugar-free strawberry jello
1 cup boiling water
1 (15.25 ounce) can No Sugar Added Pear Slices
1 (3 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups reduced fat Cool Whip, thawed

Directions:
Whisk together the jello and boiling water in a large bowl until the jello dissolves.  Add the pear halves and cream cheese.  (You can put this in your blender and cover & blend until smooth). You can use an immersion blender or you can carefully beat with your mixer the jello, pear halves and cream cheese until well blended & smooth in your large bowl.  Whisk in the Cool Whip until light & creamy.  Pour into a mold or serving bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least four hours.