Simple Frozen Fruit Salad

Today I'm so excited to introduce you to my friend Christina!  She and I were in college together and I've really enjoyed getting to know her better through her blog, The Frugal Homemaker.  It was so super sweet of her to cover for me here on my blog since I'm up in Pennsylvania spending some time with family this week!  Take it away Christina.....

Hi! My name is Christina and I blog over at The Frugal Homemaker.com. I started my blog last year because I have a passion for making my home beautiful . . . on a yard sale budget! I share my yard sale and thrift store finds each week and how I incorporate them (most of the time after a little spray paint makeover) into my home. And I share lots of DIY projects, crafts, and frugal ways you can decorate your home too.

I am honored to be guest posting for Laine on her blog. Today, I want to share with you a simple, summer recipe. It is the perfect treat for a party, a baby or bridal shower, and did I mention, EASY? and YUMMY! (Thanks to my friend, Judy, for sharing this recipe with me!) It is a Frozen Creamy Fruit Salad!
  Here’s what you need:

Frozen Fruit Salad

8 ounces cream cheese

20 ounces crushed pineapple (undrained)

10 ounces (or more) frozen strawberries (allow to partially thaw)

2-3 bananas

13 ounces cool whip

1 cup chopped nuts

¾ cup sugar

Mix cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. (You know anything with cream cheese is going to be good!) Then add in the mashed bananas, strawberries, and crushed pineapple including juice. Then fold in the cool whip and nuts. And that is it. You are done except to pour it into something and let it freeze . . I told you this was simple! There a couple ways you can freeze this. You can freeze it in a a glass baking dish and then serve it by cutting it into squares. I chose to pour half of mine into this Tupperware mold. The other half of the mixture I scooped into foil muffin cups. (These muffin cups have foil on the outside and white paper inside liners. They were 88¢ for 24 cups at Kroger.) Then freeze! Once the cups are frozen you can remove them from the pan and store in large Ziploc bags or a large container. These can be be made days (even weeks!) ahead of time waiting for you to pull out at the last minute for your party! I served the Frozen Fruit Salad ring for Mother’s Day. If strawberries would have been on sale at Aldi I would have gotten some fresh strawberries to garnish the top, but they weren’t on sale. =(  So I just saved a little bit of the frozen strawberries to garnish the top. You could garnish it with some nuts, some mint or parsley, or some slices of banana. You will want it to sit out and defrost for about 10 minutes before serving. (The cups melt faster so those only need to defrost just a few minutes.) Here’s the Frozen Fruit Salad cups - these are so pretty for a party or a shower. Again you could garnish them with bits of fruit, serve as is, or even freeze with some cute picks in them for a shower or special occasion. They are a perfect individual serving size and so simple and easy! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have! The fruit and nuts mixed with the creaminess of the cream cheese and cool whip are just soooo good! They are light and delicious! These are also the perfect treat for your family too. If you freeze them in the muffin cups, you can just take however many you need for your family and have an instant snack or treat. Simple Frozen Fruit Salad – a perfect treat for summer! Thanks for having me, Laine! {cj}

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Wow, doesn't that look fabulous?  I am definitely going to have to try this soon!  Those little muffin cups sound like a perfect snack to stash in the freezer for my kiddos or to make for our monthly Sunday School Breakfast we have at church.  

And seriously, you need to go check out her blog, I know you'll be inspired! =) Thanks SO much Christina! 

P.S...We are heading South tomorrow but making a stop to hang with some awesome friends before going the rest of the way on Thursday.  (Definitely hoping our trip home is as uneventful as our trip up!) I probably won't be around so I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week! =)

Sometimes I link up to: Serenity Now, Raising 4 Princesses, 5 days 5 ways, Today's Creative Blog, Skip to My Lou, Home Stories A to Z, House of Hepworths, 36th Avenue, Kitchen Fun, DIY Dreamer, {Primp}, Sassafras Salvation, Shabby Creek Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Creation Corner, The Shabby Nest, Finding Fabulous, CSI Project, Trendy Treehouse, Uncommon Design, Happy Home, Imparting Grace, Metamorphosis Monday