broken glass jello

My daughter is graduating from... pre-preschool today. Basically, a 10 week program to prepare 3 year olds for school next year. For me, it was just another activity to keep her busy, and get her playing with other kids her age. She loved it! It was one day a week, and she would have gone every day if she could have.

So, to celebrate, we're having a potluck snack. Now, Cha loves the program, and I like going because I get to talk to other adults for 75 minutes, but I have a snack issue. I have to pack a snack for her school in the morning. That I understand. Then she comes home and has lunch. (She always asks for a snack first though.) Then, on Tuesdays, she has that program she's graduating from. It's from 12:45 to 2 p.m. And I have to pack another snack. She just had lunch! But that's nothing. On Thursdays, she has a relaxation activity at 6:15 pm, until 7:30. And I'm required to bring a snack to that too! All they do is eat! OK. I'm done ranting...

So, a snack, for a potluck, for a preschool graduation. I was considering making something that looks like graduation caps, but everything I saw kinda looked like caps, but you had to know... So I gave up on that idea when I saw this. Broken glass jello! Isn't it cute?

Jello is not something we eat here at home. Cha has had it a few times at Chinese restaurants and at my mom's house, but that's basically it. And I'm sure all kids like jello. And the recipe couldn't be simpler. I mean, how hard is it to ruin jello. ;)

Broken Glass Jello
adapted from The Food Librarian via Montcarte

4 small boxes (3 oz. each) of Jello in different colors.
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1. For each flavor, dissolve one box of jello in one cup of boiling water. Pour into a container and chill.

2. After chilling the four flavors, cut them into small blocks.

3. Carefully mix the blocks in a 9 x 13 pan.

4. In a separate bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. After the gelatin blooms, add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and cool. Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.

5. Cut into blocks or shapes and serve!

And then, after I cut it, and everything, I quickly realized that jello is really not the ideal snack to be serving to 3 year olds at a potluck... So I quickly scramble around and made mini vanilla cupcakes topped with vanilla icing and colored sugar... Boring! But, of course, they all disappeared within minutes. Lesson learned.