NORMA’S STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD

SCOTT CURTIS SIMS’S (Auburn, Alabama) Nana, NORMA SIMS (Nashville, Tennessee), was born and raised in Millers Creek, North Carolina. While she passed away in 2001, she’s remembered for her contagious smile. Nana accepted what she had and never worried about keeping up with the Joneses—she was a great example and a giving person, helping people anytime they needed it. Scott says he admires her for taking swimming lessons for the first time in her life in her fifties. She even went on to take and pass the Red Cross Lifesaving Course, not to be a lifeguard but for survival. Nana had a gift for cooking and baking and was very happy when she prepared meals for her family and friends. Scott’s been told that Nana always had food in the fridge for any unexpected visitors. When his dad and uncle were in college and came home on the weekend with a friend, Nana would have some type of cake or pie that their dad would refer to as the “two-week-old” cake. Their friends thought that was funny, and no one never turned away Nana’s desserts. This salad, now made by Scott’s mom when he’s home from college, reminds him of Nana anytime he eats it.

FIRST LAYER:

2 cups crushed pretzels (use food processor)

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

SECOND LAYER:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

THIRD LAYER:

1 (6 ounce) package strawberry gelatin

1 ½ cups boiling water

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen sliced strawberries

1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2 TO MAKE THE FIRST LAYER, in a small bowl mix the pretzel crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press into a 9 × 13-inch pan.

3 Bake for 8 minutes. Cool thoroughly.

4 TO MAKE THE SECOND LAYER, in a large bowl mix the cream cheese and sugar. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread over the pretzel layer.

5 TO MAKE THE THIRD LAYER, in a medium bowl dissolve the strawberry gelatin in boiling water. Add the frozen strawberries and place in the refrigerator to chill approximately 20 minutes, until syrupy.

6 Pour the strawberries over the cream cheese layer and refrigerate approximately 2 hours, until well chilled. This can be made a day ahead. Serve cold.

MAKES 10 SERVINGS.