Auntie Em’s Tropical Fruit Salad

For a girlie salad luncheon there is nothing more fitting than a fruit salad– it’s sweet (yay sweets!) but relatively healthy, with no added sugar, gluten, or processed foods. (Yay for those of us who are “trying to avoid cookies!”)

I just cut up lots of fresh fruits: watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwi, and pineapple. Try to cut them all in similar size chunks. Mix together and you have a beautiful, sweet, healthy dish!

Shake it up with a dressing of some kind, or whipped cream– or add nuts or coconut. We like it plain, though!

Auntie Em’s Holiday Cooking 2012

The Holiday Season– Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year’s– we did a lot of cooking in Auntie Em’s family! Since the posts have been scattered over several weeks, I thought it would be good to put them in one place so you can get your hands on them quickly. (Click on the post name, not the picture.)

 

Herb-Roasted Holiday Turkey                              Auntie Em’s Cornbread Dressing

                    

Auntie Em’s Homemade Pie Crust (VIDEO TUTORIAL)  Auntie Em’s Grandma Ballard’s Caramel Pie

 

Auntie Em’s Holiday Green Beans                         Auntie Em’s Really Complicated Fruit Salad

 

Auntie Em’s DIET Rolo-Pretzel Snacks                 Auntie Em’s Broccoli Salad

 

Auntie Em’s Really Complicated Recipe for Fruit Salad

GOTCHA! This is actually the easiest one you’ll find, but it’s my favorite!

Start with cans (or home canned if you have them) of pineapple (chunked or crushed), peaches, pears, and mandarin oranges, a jar of maraschino cherries, and an apple. I like to use fruit in juice only (except the cherries!), but you can use whatever kind you like.

Open and drain all the cans. Cut the peaches and pears into bite-sized pieces. I sometimes do this in the strainer while they are draining, or right in the can.  Dump them in a large bowl.

Spoon some cherries in. Add some more! If your kids are like mine were, they fight over the cherries.  For heaven’s sake, don’t drain THIS juice! You can actually pour a little in the salad, to give it a pink rosy color and extra sweet taste.

Wash, then chop the apple. I like to leave the peel for a bit more color. Here’s how I do it. Quarter the apple.

Turn the quarter at an angle and cut off the core.

Slice each quarter lengthwise into 3 pieces. Cut these slices crossways into 4 pieces, for a total of 12 bites per quarter.

Then dump the apple in.

Stir it all up! If you have a while for it to marinate, put it in a ziplock bag, and turn it occasionally so the juices will soak up. Serve it in a pretty bowl.

You can add chopped pecans, Cool Whip (I usually use real whipped cream but somehow that doesn’t seem good for this), coconut, a honey-lime dressing, or anything else extra that sounds good to you– or leave it just like this!