Apple, Cranberry, and Nut Salad

I love friends like this . . .

"Hey! What are you doing for dinner tonight?"

"I don't know . . .what are y'all doing?"

"I have no idea! I've got chicken."

"O.K! I've got bacon."

"I can bring some chips and ice cream."

"O.K! I've got caramel sauce and tea!"

"Great!"

"Perfect! Y'all come down about 6."

I looked in the cabinets to see what else I could bring to the table; literally!

I had a couple of apples.

I thought an apple slaw, or apple salad, or something with an apple sounded good.

I went pilfering and here's the result!

I just guessed at the measurements and went by sight on the cranberries and nuts.

You can make adjustments where you need and according to your taste and the number of people you are serving!

We did not have too much left over from our impromptu dinner with friends, but my girl cherub and I had the wee bit of left over apple salad the next day for dessert and it was still very tasty!

Apple, Cranberry, and Nut Salad

2 tart, crisp apples, chopped into bite-sized pieces
dried cranberries
walnuts or pecans, chopped. *
mayonnaise
sour cream
sugar

In a large bowl, add the chopped apples. I used jazz apples. However, granny smith would be tasty also!

Add in the dried cranberries. I went by color ratio of the white apple flesh to red cranberries. I wanted it to look pretty! Maybe 1/2 a cup or more.

Add the chopped pecans. Again, I went by preference. I wanted to be able to have a fair representation of ingredients on the spoon!

In a small bowl, mix 2 heaping** tablespoons of mayonnaise, 2 heaping*( tablespoons of sour cream, and 1-2 heaping tablespoons of sugar. Mix well. Taste and make any adjustments as necessary. You do not want to be able to taste the mayonnaise or the sour cream. You are going for a homogeneous flavor here!

Pour the dressing over the fruit and nuts and toss well until everything is well coated.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. A good hour or so is perfect so that the flavors can meld just a bit!

*I sugared the pecans I used for this salad, but you don't have to do that. You can use plain nuts, make your own sugared nuts, or use the package candied nuts you find on the baking aisle.

** By heaping, I mean h.e.a.p.i.n.g! Don't skimp! You don't want an excess of sauce, but you need enough to coat and flavor the salad.

Comments

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