how to make jello complicated

I finally broke down and started treading the uncharted waters of jello molds...much like the dreaded "aspics" section of Julie/Julia, I've been somewhat uninspired by something that inherently jiggles but since we are exploring the good and bad aspects of cooking I figured I'd have to try one of the American classics. It was not without one or two of my typical disasters but it turned out great. The innocent victims who tried it absolutely loved it, and it was very festive with the red/white/blue theme. This is the most time committed recipe I've made thus far, but I would imagine it's great if you have young kids. If you are in a hurry, this is not the recipe for you.

Patriotic Jello Casserole

Pam cooking spray
2 (3 ounce) boxes red jello
2 (3 ounce) boxes blue jello
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated, not powdered-look carefully at the label!)
4 cups boiling water (no need to boil it all at the same time-do it as you go)
4 packets Knox unflavored gelatin (one box contains four packets)

Spray a 13"x9" glass baking dish with sides with Pam cooking spray before starting.

Step 1: Place one packet red jello in a glass measuring cup. Add 3/4 cup boiling water to the jello and stir well to dissolve. Allow to cool about 5 minutes. Pour slowly into the bottom of the glass baking dish and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Step 2: Empty one packet of Knox gelatin into a glass measuring cup. Add 3/4 cup boiling water to the gelatin and stir well to dissolve. Pour half of one can of the sweetened condensed milk into the gelatin mixture and stir well to mix. Allow to cool about 5 minutes. Pour slowly into the baking dish as the next layer.

Step 3: Place one packet of blue jello into a glass measuring cup. Add 3/4 cup boiling water to the jello and stir well to dissolve. Allow to cool about 5 minutes. Pour slowly into the baking dish as the next layer.

Repeat step 2 (another white layer).
Repeat step 1 (another red layer).
Repeat step 2 (another white layer).
Repeat step 3 (another blue layer).
Repeat step 2 (the last white layer).

If you mix up the layers, the red and blue will combine together and make purple (that's what happened to me) so that's why my pic shows some muddled layers. By the time I figured that out I figured it wasn't worth starting over.

Also, do not try to make all the layers ahead of time. Especially the white layer!!! It will curdled if it sits out too long, and will make a goopy mess (as also happened to me).

This recipe takes a lot of patience...for those of you shaking your head saying "she is the least patient person on the face of the planet" under your breath, you're right. But in the end of what is approximately a 3 hour process, the end result was worth it (if you and your guests are madly in love with jello).