Pretzel Salad

Ah...the things I have in my recipe box under "salad".... Is this very healthy? Naw. I remember when my sister and her new hubby came up for a family dinner party. I was in charge of bringing salad, and I chose to make Cookie Salad. He was like, "How is this a salad and not a dessert??" Hahaha! Welcome to the family, brother. :)

Pretzel Salad

Crust:
2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels (5 cups of whole pretzels yields 2 1/2 cups crushed.)
3/4 cup melted butter
3 Tbsp. sugar

Mix well and press into a 9X13 pan. Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cream cheese layer:
8 oz. cream cheese
9 oz. cool whip

Mix these two together and pour into cooled crust.

Jello layer:
4 pkg. strawberry jello
3 cups boiling water
20 oz. froz. strawberries, OR 2 cups fresh strawberries plus 1/2 cup water

Dissolve jello in the boiling water. Add strawberries. If you chose the frozen strawberries, stir until they're thawed. Chill for 2 1/2 hours or until the jello is soupy.  You want it to be soupy, not liquid-ey. Otherwise, the liquid seeps down past the cream cheese and makes your pretzels all soggy. When it's nice and thick and soupy, pour it over the cream cheese and let it set.