Christmas Cheer | Tasty Tuesday

Dec 19th, 2009No Comments

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I know, I know. Its not Tuesday,but I totally forgot to post this week with all of the hectic preparations for Christmas going on around here! I happened to remember tonight as I was making some food for our Yeater Family Christmas tomorrow.

One of the things I was making was my Vanilla Fruit Salad. It is a fairly new recipe that I found to add to my recipe basket, but I had tried something very similar to it many years ago while visiting one of my good friends grandparents up in Michigan at their lake home. I couldn’t help but think of my good friends and their Grandma Hoopie, who is no longer with them. I only had the pleasure of meeting her a couple of times, but she was such a sweet lady and I will always remember my trip to their home when I make this recipe.

I thought this would be a good recipe to share with you all because it is a very easy and light side dish or even dessert that can be put together in no time. It’s a nice alternative to take with you for holiday get togethers that isn’t so heavy.

Recipe: Vanilla Fruit Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh strawberries, quartered
1 1/2 c. seedless red and/or green grapes, halved
2 medium bananas, sliced
2 kiwi fruit, peeled, sliced and quartered
1 c. cubed fresh pineapple
1 can (21 oz.) peach pie filling
3 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, grapes, bananas, kiwi and pineapple.
Fold in pie filling and vanilla.
Chill until serving.

Quick Notes

I use a little extra of each fruit so that it is not overpowering with the syrup of the pie filling and vanilla. Also, if you I am trying to work with a tight grocery budget, I will use canned pineapple instead of fresh. If you want to save yourself some extra time, I like to cut up all of the fruit in advance, with the exception of the bananas, and place them in individual containers. Also mix the peach pie filling and vanilla and store. Then all you have to do is dump everything into your serving bowl and add the bananas.

Instead of having a bunch of pop or other options for gatherings, I generally like to serve punch. This is a super easy one to put together and a little bit goes a long way with its tangy, citrus flavor. For some color and festive flair, I made up an ice ring in my silicone bundt pan with cranberries in it. You could also float lemon and orange slices if you don’t want to use an ice ring and serve with ice chipped ice.

Recipe: Sweet Citrus Punch

Ingredients

1 Can (12 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 can (12 oz.) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 c. grenadine syrup
2 liters ginger ale, chilled

Instructions

Just before serving, combine all the ingredients in a punch bowl and mix.
Add ice ring.

One last thing that I thought I would share with you all is an idea a found for homemade luminaries using mason jars, which I happen to have in excess. I thought I would share some pictures of how my little project turned out (I think they look pretty good). They added the perfect homemade touch to our outdoor decorations and look so pretty lit up at night.