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Cottage cheese and pineapple Jell-O. Green fluff. Watergate salad. These so-called salads and fluffs with questionable ingredient combinations and altogether too much Jell-O and Cool Whip are often served at the dinner table on holidays or family get-togethers. The origins of many of these dishes are unknown, usually found decades ago in an old cookbook or Jell-O box recipe.

On the Kraft Heinz Jell-O webpage and recipe bank, numerous recipes for Jell-O salads and fluffs can be found. A literal slab of gelatinous cream cheese with cinnamon and pears, topped with lime Jell-O? Thats called under-the-sea salad. The gelatin certainly isnt limited to sweet dishes. Jell-O has a recipe for a gazpacho salad, which is just veggies suspended in gelatinous tomato juice and shaped in a mold. In the 1960s, there were even a few savory Jell-O flavors available for the purpose of making savory salads.

The Freeman asked people to share their favorite holiday salads and fluffs, and they do not disappoint.

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One of the odder-looking submissions was a dish that Mary Dehler of Pewaukee simply calls "Green Jell-O." She said that several members of her family make the dish for holidays, with her mother starting it over 55 years ago and passing it down to her children and grandchildren.

"It tastes just like the Yoplait whipped key lime yogurt," Dehler said. "It is made with lime Jell-O, cream cheese, whipped cream and a can of crushed pineapple. You drain the pineapple and use the juice with water to make the Jell-O," she said. An important detail of this dish is that it has to be made in a copper fish mold, which is shaped like the letter "U" and includes fish features. To top it off, green olives make the eyes and spine of the fish.

"Who knows on the olives. Its just how our mom did it. I suspect it was a Betty Crocker recipe; I tried searching but no luck," Dehler said. "The olives are what usually weirds people out."

The picture submitted with the recipe was that of a minty-green "fish" only identifiable as a creature by its two protruding olive-eyes.

Continuing the theme of eyes, several people said they make a dish called frog-eye salad, which sounds borderline inedible. Its a dessert pasta salad featuring whipped topping and eggs; various fruits and mini marshmallows are recommended as add-ins. When searching for the recipe online there are many variations. The name comes from the acini di pepe pasta used, which looks like frog or fish eyes. Yum.

Others mentioned Watergate salad, otherwise known as green fluff or pistachio delight. This dishs base is pistachio pudding. It contains ingredients such as canned pineapple, pecans, marshmallows and whipped topping. Unfortunately, even the Jell-O team doesnt know the origin of the name, but according to the Kraft Heinz website, the recipe originated in the mid-1980s and was renamed to Watergate salad in 1993.

Other dishes shared were more Thanksgiving-themed and were accompanied by heartwarming stories, such as cranberry fluff. Natasha Siebert submitted a recipe her first-grade teacher taught her how to make in the mid-1980s, and she has served it ever since.

"Usually, the youngest member of the family makes it each year, so they can contribute to the family meal in a simple, yet meaningful way," said Siebert. The dish involves jellied cranberry sauce, red Jell-O and Cool Whip. "It is surprisingly delicious!"

As funny as some of these dishes sound or look thinking of you, olive-eyed Jell-O fish they serve as a way for families to share tradition and create a simple side dish for the holidays. So, go pick up a package or two of gelatin and consider making a sweet salad for your next gathering.

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Say Jell-O to these weird family recipes - Greater Milwaukee Today | GMToday.com