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!