Vintage Fruit Salad - Somewhere in Middle America...

                

Lake Pueblo in January...No Ice!

Winter finally decided to show up this week where I live.  Prior to this week, the weather was so mild, warm, and dry that we found ourselves outside hiking, biking, and playing tennis.   My trees were even starting to bud out. 

Due to snow days from school, I ended up with loads of extra fruit that I had purchased as a snack for the after school chess club.  Fearful that I would have a freezer full of bananas and a countertop full of rotting fruit, I turned to a new fruit salad recipe that was given to me by a friend.  This salad is a great mix of canned and fresh fruit with a creamy sauce made from instant vanilla pudding.  Yes, you read correctly, Jell-O Instant Pudding.  It is a bit out of character for me to recommend it, but sometimes it feels good to buy something from the mainstream.  Typically, pudding mix is off limits for a dairy allergy because it requires cow milk if you use it as intended.  The mix itself is dairy free and is dissolved into the fruit juices to make a creamy fruit sauce.  I think this would be a great treat for any occasion.

SAGE Art Academy Painting Plus a Cup of Vintage Fruit Salad

Vintage Fruit Salad

1    15-ounce can of peach slices, drained, reserving juice

1    20-ounce can of pineapple chunks, drained, reserving juice

1    3 1/8 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding

2    bananas, sliced

½   cup of blueberries

1½ cups of halved grapes

Add fruit like a cup of quartered strawberries, grapefruit, mango, apples, or orange slices.

• Combine fruit juices and pudding with a whisk until dissolved.
• Add the canned fruit to the fresh fruit and pour the pudding mixture over fruit and stir gently to combine.
• Chill and serve.