This is not your typical fruit salad. It sets up like jello, but looks creamy and tastes unique! I remember my Grandma (Diane) Furr always making this for our Christmas Eve family party.
1 20oz. can crushed pineapple
½ c. cold water
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
Combine above ingredients in a bowl. Microwave until warm and stir to dissolve sugar.
1 8oz. cream cheese, cut up
2 packets Knox gelatin, dissolved in 1 c. cold water
Place cream cheese in a bowl. Microwave until soft, 30 - 60 seconds. Whisk until smooth. Add in the gelatin mixture and whisk gently until smooth. Add this to the pineapple mixture. Refrigerate until it starts to thicken.
1 c. whipping cream
1 Tbs. sugar
½ c. nuts
3 bananas, cut up
Whip the cream and sugar. Gently add nuts and bananas. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour into an 8x11 pan. Refrigerate 4 hrs. or until set.
Notes from my Mom:
A day (or two) before the event, I start the jello:
I put the pineapple, lemon juice, sugar, and water together in a mixing bowl and heat in the microwave to dissolve the sugar (stirring regularly).
While that is heating, I dissolve the Knox Gelatin in cold water.
I combine the warm mixture with the softened cream cheese and whisk together - then I add the gelatin mix, stir well and put in the fridge in the bowl I mixed it in.
A couple of hours before serving, I warm the mixture in the microwave just enough that I can stir it.
I stir in the cut bananas and nuts and fold in the whipped cream - then dump in a 9 X 13 casserole dish and return to the fridge for the final set.
The bananas are fresher when first served, so the leftovers look better longer.
