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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

A New Favorite

My grandmother was kind enough to send me this recipe. It is on my new favorites list. Crisp-fresh grapes, tangy-creamy dressing, and a scrumptious-sweet-crunchy-nutty topping. You have to try it to believe it. I've convinced myself that this salad is incredibly healthy. Fruit, dairy, nuts (have to get your protein somehow!). I think we'll just have grape salad for dinner.

Grape Salad

3 pounds seedless grapes, (red, green or mixture, cleaned)

8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
l tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

Mix together these 4 ingredients with electric mixer and add to cleaned grapes. Pour into serving dish (long, flat dish like 9x13 works best to give some topping for each spoonful). (A full batch makes a very creamy salad. You can use as little as 1/2 the creamy mixture and still have a delicious salad!)

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)
2 Tbs melted butter or marg.

Mix together and spread on baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes at 350 degrees. Keep an eye on it as it burns very easily, stirring a couple times. When cool, crumble and spread over grapes and refrigerate overnight.

Warning: Do not, under any circumstances, be tempted to snitch some of the topping. Not even the tiniest bit. Believe me, in two minutes you will have no topping left to put on the grape salad. (Ask me how I know.) If possible, make a double (or triple) batch of topping. Snitch some, put extra on the salad, and save a bit for ice cream. I'll be making batch #3 today.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks delish!! You really put the topping on and refrigerate overnight?? It doesn't get soggy?

I will definately try it!

Heidi said...

I ate some before putting it in the fridge and the next day (just to experiment :)). The crunchy stuff is actually supposed to harden in the fridge. I didn't think there was a huge difference either way, but definitely not soggy. Mmmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

Hedidi-

I love your blog! It is refreshing, stimulating and beautiful all at once. Thanks for having such a high standard as a Mom and wife, and sharing it with us!

Maryanne

www.happyhelms.com

Joni said...

This looks very yummy. We're having a birthday party this weekend, so I'll give it a whirl. I'll let you know how it turns out! Thanks for sharing.

mama2drama said...

this sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Junie Moon said...

Oh my, this looks and sounds so delicious. Your recipe is going on my have-to-make list.

Jess said...

Oh, yum. I love sweet salads. Can't wait to give this one a try!

Renna said...

This recipe is definitely going into my recipe box! If only I had grapes in the fridge, I'd go make it right now, it appeals to me that much!

Heidi, you have a delightful, and creative, blog. Thank you so much for stopping by mine. :-)

Christine said...

Wow, that looks great!! Perfect for our potlucks, I'm thinkin'.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Sounds wonderful! I love cream cheese and sour cream mixed, so I know it will be delish!

Marilyn@A Mixed Bouquet said...

Oh, that's sounds and looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Hi Heidi!

This looks wonderful! I love anything with a crunchy sweet topping!

Thanks for visiting my blog.

You have beautiful boys!

XO

Thimbleanna said...

Holy Cow -- what's not to love here? Grapes and cream cheese just to start, and thanks for the outstanding advice on the topping -- I can definitely see getting carried away and eating it all before it makes it to the salad! THANKS for sharing!!!