JELL-O Easy Patriotic Pie

 This is what this pie is supposed to look like.  Notice its smooth, perfect JELL-O and Cool Whip layers.

 And here's the delightful little dessert pamphlet from which this recipe came.  Notice the perfection of the JELL-O and Cool Whip layers in the cover dish also.

And here's what my pie looks like.  All messy and unsmooth.  Now, I realize you can't see the layers.  I considered waiting until it was hacked into to post this so you could have a look at them in all of their patriotic and misshapen glory.  But then I thought, who am I kidding?  I'm not going to remember to do that, and anyway, who wants to look at a picture of a half-eaten pie?

I made this pie because I'm going to a Labor Day BBQ today and wanted to bring something festive and easy.  So I turned to one of my many JELL-O cookbooks (which is something of a misnomer since none of these recipes actually involve cooking) and plucked out this seemingly impossible-to-mess-up selection.  I do hope it will be tasty but cannot make any promises at this early date.  Still, if you want to make it, here's how.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups boiling water, divided
1 3-oz package Berry Blue JELL-O
1 3-oz package Strawberry (or any red flavor, as they all taste the same) JELL-O
1 cup ice cubes, divided
1 6-oz prepared graham cracker pie crust
1 cup Cool Whip

Directions:

Add 3/4 cup boiling water to blue JELL-O; stir 2 minutes or until completely dissolved.  Add 1/2 cup ice cubes; stir until melted.  Pour into crust; refrigerate 5 to 10 minutes, or until set but not firm.  Meanwhile, repeat to dissolve red JELL-O in a separate bowl.  Stir in remaining ice cubes.  Cool five minutes or until slightly thickened.  Spread Cool Whip over blue JELL-O layer, then cover with red JELL-O.  Refrigerate 2 hours or until set.