Rosie Makes A Grape Salad.

 

  I'm not sure what I wanted.  Some kind of fruit cocktail or fruit salad?  I wanted the fruit - gotta have that health factor in there.  But I also wanted some crunch and lots of flavor and something sweet and something dessert-like, but not dessert.  So I checked out my fridge and pantry for what I had - it was the usual stuff - and I came up with this Grape Salad.

I'm giving you the basics of what I did, and, as per usual, you take the ABCs and run with it.  Make substitutes, add different fruits, make it yours.

 

 Rosie's Grape Salad 

1/2 package cream cheese  (4 oz.), softened

2 TB sour cream

2 TB brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

 

1 heaping cup green grapes 

1 heaping cup red grapes

1 apple, peeled, cored, diced, and doused in a few teaspoons lemon juice

1 stalk celery, finely sliced

1 cup pecans, toasted

 1 cup coconut, toasted

1 cup craisins

 

Rosie Note:  I kept the grapes whole so as not to water down the salad. 

Let cream cheese come to room temperature.  Stir in sour cream, brown sugar, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.

Mix in grapes, apple, celery, craisins, and cooled pecans and coconut. Mix until everything's nice and coated.  Chill.

 

When serving, I like to sprinkle a few extra toasted pecans and coconut on top, along with some turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw).  Oh, who am I kidding?  I never serve this stuff.  I just stand in front of the open refrigerator door and stuff it in my mouth. 

It's not really a dessert.  It's not really a side salad.  It's simply to scratch an itch.  Considered my itch well-scratched.