lazy daisy fruit salad

"A fresh start."  Those are the words that come to mind when I see this picture.

I actually made this fruit salad on New Year's Day to go along with our gingerbread waffles and bacon.  It's nothing fancy whatsoever, but it's much better than canned and a step up from just a bunch of cut fruit stirred together.  I wanted to come up with some kind of thickened sauce, but I didn't want to take away from the nutritional value of the fresh ingredients by adding in a bunch of sweeteners.  This was the result, and I think you'll like it!

I know Mondays are tough, but I try to think of them as a new beginning, taking what inspired me during Sunday worship and working to put it into practice.  It's a chance to try again... wipe the slate clean... rethink what might have seemed impossible the week before.

So here's to Monday.  A new day to a new week.  One more beginning to work towards a great ending.    

A fresh start...

Make the best of it!

Lazy Daisy Fruit Salad - makes 4 servings
Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, sliced
• 1 cup red grapes, halved
• 2 cups fresh (or canned, drained) pineapple chunks
• 1 15 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. powdered sugar

~ Prepare and mix together all fruit in large bowl and set aside.

~ Whisk together orange juice, cornstarch, lemon juice and sugar in measuring bowl.  
~ Microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring between each until thickened.

~ Chill mixture until cool.

~ Pour mixture over the fruit and stir.  

Tips and Tricks:

• I can definitely see this with fresh or frozen strawberries, peaches, mangoes... it would be beautiful with pomegranate seeds and garnished with fresh mint.  Experiment to your heart's desire!
• To speed up the chilling process of the juice mixture, place the bowl in the freezer about 15 minutes.  Stir before pouring over the fruit.