Autumn Fruit Salad - Guest Post

Well, well.  Look what we have here.  A guest poster!  Meet Laura Jeanne from A Healthy Jalapeno.  I'm sure the majority of you already know Laura Jeanne.  If not, well, sit back, grab a cuppa Joe and a muffin and settle in your lounger for a nice little read.  She is sharing her Autumn Fruit Salad that I want a big 'ole bowl of like right this minute!

If you're looking for me, well I can be found on her blog!  Yes, we are guest posting on each others blogs on the same day.  Isn't that just the cutest thing you have ever heard of? 

Take it away, Laura Jeanne!

What a crazy, crazy week it has been.

Hi everyone, my name is Laura Jeanne and I am the girl behind A Healthy Jalapeño . Thinking back, I am pretty sure I have been following Dee's blog ever since I started blogging. I met her originally through our facebook pages and after seeing her adorable design button and deeelicious recipes, what was a girl to do but stalk her every post.

I started blogging almost a year ago, not because I am a good writer and not because I was a good cook... actually it was quite the opposite. I had moved in with my boyfriend about 2 years ago and Mr Italian was such a great guy that he cooked for me all the time. I haven't exactly had the best track record for fabulous dishes so when I started 'trying' it was quite comical. Come check out the full story of how this little lady brought a little spice into her life.

So back to this crazy week. The boy and I were on vacation in Vermont over a week ago, a beautiful trip... only to come home to a Noreaster in CONNECTICUT. Our town got hit with over 17" of snow, tree's and powerline damage as far as the eyes could see and power out for over 6 days {brrr}. Not all too exciting to come home to after a nice little vaca away. So after finally getting our power back, 4 loads of laundy, 3 dishwasher runs and lots and lots of garbage from cleaning out our fridge, I was finally able to sit down, relax and have a little fun writing up my guest post with this amazing Autumn Fruit Salad.

Today I am sharing with you a fruit salad that more than caught my eye when I saw it. A few weeks back I was playing through all my cooking app's on my iphone when I found this salad. It had fruit, with all fruits in season for the fall, and it looked moderately easy to throw together... that's a winner for me. The dressing on this salad was delicious but to not drown out the salad I eyeballed how much I was going to add to the fruit so feel free to take my tip and lighten the dressing if you so choose.

The taste was fantastic. I actually made this salad for our friends while in Vermont and they loved it as well. Perfect for a brunch and also would be a fabulous side to a nice grilled or baked chicken. The crunch of the fresh autumn fruits paired with the sweetness in the dressing was a delicious combination.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and please feel free to poke around my page for tons of other deeeelicious dishes just like this.

Thanks Dee for having me!!!

xoxo

Laura

Autumn Fruit Salad 

Photos by  A Healthy Jalapeño   

Recipe adopted by Taste Of Home

Ingredients 

1-1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

1-1/2 cups cold water 

1 teaspoon butter 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

6 cups cubed apples 

2 cups halved red seedless grapes 

1 cup diced celery 

1 cup walnut halves 

In a large saucepan, combine sugar and flour. Stir in water until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, grapes, celery and walnuts. Add the dressing and toss gently. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

Here's me :)