Sometimes Even Grapes Need A Few Good Accessories...

Like most everyone else right now, our budget is tight.  Even though we make a lot of lifestyle choices to keep our monthly expenses down, one of the main areas that drains us is food and groceries.  In the past few years, we have greatly cut back on eating out which saves us lots of money...but I also spend a grand fortune at the grocery store every time I go!  Sometimes I want to cry when they give me the final total, and stare at my receipt in disbelief when I get in the car to go home! (Anyone else been there?)


Groceries aren't getting any cheaper so I am trying to do better at using up what I have...admittedly, I am one to sometimes buy things with good intentions and then have to throw them away when they go bad before I used them, or make a good, large meal and eat it for a day or two, then let the rest go to waste.  Trying to work on these bad habits....


I was browsing through my new favorite cookbook (Cooking With Grace by Point of Grace, who many of you know as favorite Christian recording artists) and found a recipe for a grape salad that looked interesting.  I happened to have a little bit of everything left in my refrigerator and pantry that the recipe called for so I was able to use up some things in a creative way that turned out to be delicious!!  I was a bit short on pecans, so I used what I had then used some walnuts I had on hand also - nothing wrong with extra nuts in my opinion.  The more the merrier, especially when served with fruit!


I'll share the recipe, and I highly recommend you go out to your local Christian bookstore and buy this cookbook. It is awesome.  And ya'll, this salad is so good I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch!!  It's basically grapes with some really good accessories. Yum.  Here goes...

"Karri's Great Grape Salad"


Mix together 4 oz softened cream cheese, 4 oz sour cream, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add 2 cups of halved red and green grapes and mix well.  Pour into 8 x 8 dish (I used a round Corningware dish).  Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or in my case about 1/4 cup pecans and 1/2 cup walnuts) and cover entire grape mixture.  Chill for at least an hour, then serve.



I put mine in a teacup, and let's just say I had a few "refills."  This salad would be PERFECT for a bridal or baby shower, or any ladies luncheon or women's event.  The recipe said you could double it and serve in a 9 x 13 dish, and judging from the amount I ate,  I'm thinking that would be a good idea.

Thanks Point of Grace cookbook for the recipe!  What a great find, all from trying to use up what I had and not be wasteful! Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did, and if you find time to whip up a batch, as you savor the flavor meditate on this...


Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man (or woman) who trusts in Him."