Pie Filling Fruit Salad

This is the easiest fruit salad to put together yet it is so rich and sweet and yummy! To be honest, it is more of a dessert than a salad but I say serve it up as a fruit salad and have something even sweeter and richer for dessert, but that is just my humble, dessert loving opinion. If you need a last minute side dish for your Easter meal, this would be a good one.

Pie Filling Fruit Salad

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple
1 large container Cool Whip Light
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk
4 large bananas
2 to 3 cups mini marshmallows

Combine Cool Whip and sweetened condensed milk, add pie filling, crushed pineapple and marshmallows. Stir until combined. Chill until serving. Slice bananas and combine just before serving.

You can also add fruit cocktail and/or mandarin oranges if you like them. Adapt it to your taste.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I made the Paula Deen version of this salad about a year ago and it was so good. We had a family Christmas party and my cousin brought it and reminded me just how much I love it. This version is adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com and it is my favorite one I have made. It is much more like dessert than fruit salad. When I put mine in the fridge to set it was lopsided so the piece pictured has an extra thick layer of the jello. You have to trust me that it tastes much better than this picture makes it look.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
5 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 (16 ounce) package frozen sweetened strawberries

Mix pretzels, brown sugar and butter and press on the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Allow crust to cool completely.

In a medium bowl mix the cream cheese and white sugar until smooth. Fold in cool whip and spread on cooled crust. Put in fridge for about 30 minutes to allow it to set.

Boil water, add to jello and then add frozen strawberries. Stir to defrost strawberries then pour over cream cheese layer. Allow to set in fridge, about 1 hour.

Fruit Dip

This is so simple and so delicious. Everytime I make this people ask for the recipe and can't stay out of it.

1 small jar marshmallow cream

1 8 ounce block cream cheese ( I always use low fat or fat free)

the rind of one medium sized orange

Combine marshmallow cream and cream cheese then grate the rind of the orange into it with a fine grater and mix.

Enjoy!