Fruit Salad

Our church is having a special celebration this week called, "Thanksgiving in July". When I think of Thanksgiving and getting together with my family, it bring so many very special memories to mind. My large family gets together every Thanksgiving and Christmas and a few other various times during the year. Out of all of the holidays, Thanksgiving is my favorite. To me Thanksgiving means family. Gathering around the table, catching on everyone's lives, and celebrating our time together. No gifts, no expectations except some great food and even greater company. And speaking of great food, our Thanksgiving meal would not be the same without our fruit salad. It has been a tradition in our family for more years than I can remember. Just a few pieces of fruit and some topping...but those simple things immediately bring out the feelings of love and comfort from our years together every Thanksgiving Day.

I hope that in your family, you have some special something you make that means as much to you as this simple dish means to us.

Fruit Salad

We feed a crowd, but I am scaling the recipe back so it will feed a family of 4. You may adjust the ingredients to suit your own sized family.

2 apples (green or red depending on your preference)

2 navel oranges

1 c grapes (green or red; your choice)

1 c mini-marshmallows

2 bananas

1 tub whipped topping

lemon juice

We normally prepare this dish a few hours ahead of time and store it in the fridge in a container with a lid. If preparing ahead, do not add the bananas or whipped topping until just before serving.

After washing the apples, oranges, and grapes, dry them off. On a cutting board, slice the apples into small bite-sized pieces. We leave the skin on for more texture. Then place the apple pieces into a serving bowl. Next peel and slice the oranges into small bite-sized pieces. Add them to the apples. Then we cut the grapes in half length wise and add them to the bowl. If serving immediately, peel and slice the bananas into small bite-sized pieces and then add them to the bowl. Pour the marshmallows into the bowl. Mix gently. Sprinkle some lemon juice over the fruit and stir. It does not take much juice, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon, then mix the fruit again. Then comes the fun part...add in some large dollops of whipped topping (we use the frozen variety which we thawed earlier). Gently fold the whipped topping into the fruit. Keep adding more dollops of topping until the fruit has a nice white covering. 

Serve immediately. We try not to make too much. The bananas do not keep well for more than a day. Of course we love this simple dish so much that we rarely have leftovers. 

Enjoy!

Steak Fajitas

Stead Fajitas....Will's way!

Yes, my son has sent me another one of his recipes he likes to prepare. I tried this recently, and I must admit, it is delicious!

Will likes to use steak for his fajitas, but you could certainly substitute chicken or pork in place of the beef. He also takes a shortcut and uses the ready to eat grilled steak slices in the deli section of your grocery store. They also have grilled chicken if you wish to try that one. I used a piece of flank steak that I found on sale and gave it a quick grilling until it was medium-rare. That only took 10 minutes or so to do. Then I let it rest for 5 minutes to help the juices reabsorb into the meat so I would not end up with dried meat when I sliced it up into small bite-sized pieces. 

Steak Fajitas

1 pkg soft 8" taco/burrito shells

steak (cut into small bite-sized pieces)

2 large cans mushrooms, drained (or 2 8 oz tubs of fresh mushrooms)

1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped

6 Tbl butter, divided in half

salt and pepper to taste

Provolone cheese (optional, I like a little with mine)

Sauce

1 Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl lime juice

1-2 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

If the steak is raw, grill it for 8-10 minutes over medium-high heat until the steak is medium-rare. If the steak is cooked, slice into small bite-sized pieces and set aside. 

Heat 3 Tbl of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted, then add in the mushrooms. Saute and stir until golden brown. Once browned, turn the heat down to warm.

While you are cooking the mushrooms, heat 3 Tbl of butter in another large skillet. (I cook the onions separately from the mushrooms to give my family a choice...some do not eat onions). Add the onions and saute until golden brown. Once browned, turn the heat down to warm. 

In a third skillet, add in the cooked steak and all of the sauce ingredients and heat over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes. 

Once the meat and the veggies are ready, I heat the tortillas shells. You can heat them for just a few seconds in the microwave on a paper towel. Or, you can use a non-stick pan over high heat and  'pan fry' them for just a second or two per side (be careful NOT to burn them). Then I pile on the steak, mushrooms, onions, and some cheese and enjoy.