Blog Food Expo - Fruit Salad and Fruit Punch

Jen and Melanie are having a Blog Food Expo. I am republishing my favorite summer receipe to participate. (days late, very sorry to say)

I am always looking for the easy way out of getting around for these summer gatherings. Everyone makes so much good food, I wanted to be relaxed and ready to visit, not ragged from cooking all morning. Here's an "even single males can make it" fruit salad I love to take to gatherings. It also makes about 3 lieters of zinging punch so you get 2fers.

It takes longer to shop for it than it does to make and can be made the night before.

2 cans each:
mixed fruit
peach slices
pineapple chunks
mandarin oranges
1 8 oz. jar marachino cherries
1 # of assorted precut melon balls
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 bag of coconut
1 bag chopped walnuts
1 box rasins
1 large pkg Cool Whip
1- 2 leiter bottle of Squirt ( 7up or Sprite)

Get out the biggest pan or bowl you own. Find a one gallon cooler jug or pitcher.
Open all the canned fruit and drain the juice into a 1 gallon pitcher. All of it, (DON'T drink the cherry juice, you'll spoil the punch!)

Put the canned fruit and cherries in the large bowl.
Add half the bag of nuts, half the box of raisins and stir gently to blend.
Add the Cool Whip and blend gently till fruit is covered.
Sprinkle a good layer of coconut on top.
Rinse the strawberries, put around the edge of the bowl. green side up.
Pour the left over coconut on a paper plate, roll a few of the melon balls in it. Scatter around the center. Use the plain melon balls to fill in the blanks. Isn't that PRETTY!

Add the soda/pop to the juice in the gallon pitcher or jug for a great punch.
Cover salad with plastic wrap and put it all in the fridge for tomorrow.

To get really fancy - take a plastic bowl that is smaller than the mouth of the pitcher or half a soda bottle and add a dribble of the cherry juice, 7 cherries cut in half and 7 pineapple chunks, add water to fill to a half an inch below the edge and freeze over night for a fancy giant ice cube in the punch.

Throw away all the cans, the paper plate, fruit containers and the jar, rinse your spoon and the cool whip bowl, eat the left over walnuts, coconut and raisins like trail mix, wipe off the counter and you are all done!