Cooking Up A Little ZERT

It is our Thanksgiving tradition. When #1 was a wee little one (age 2, I believe) my mom had asked us to bring what we called growing up "Pineapple Delight". I asked #1 if she wanted to help me make it and she asked "what is it?" in her cute toddler language and I told her it was for dessert.

When we arrived at my mom's she enthusiastically told everyone that she helped to make "zert" and it has become a Thanksgiving tradition each year to make it and bring it wherever we happen to be having Thanksgiving dinner. It is so easy to make, but somehow this year I managed for the first time ever to make it wrong! Instead of adding mandarin oranges, I gave #1 a can of peaches to open and we dumped it on the very top of everything and just stared at it thinking "MAN! THOSE are some big oranges!". Duh. We left them in there and I added some cinnamon so who knows what we may have come up with!

Here is the recipe. It is delicious and a slight bit different than the version I grew up with (my mom used cool whip and no oranges). Most people call it ambrosia and have their own variations, too.

ZERT
1 can crushed pineapple
1 can drained pineapple chunks
1 can drained mandarin oranges (or peaches if you're in a walking coma like me)
1 bag small marshmallows
1 16 oz container sour cream

Dump it all together and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled. Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like. I also think it would be yummy with shredded coconut, but I'm the only one who likes that so I never put it in. Don't worry if it looks soupy when you make it, the marshmallows absorb the liquid overnight.

Happy Thanksgiving.....I think I'll be at JC Penney's when they open the doors at 4am Friday morning. Anyone else going shopping in the wee hours of Black Friday?