Fruit Salad

I thought that I had posted this recipe already but evidently I was wrong; so here it is.

I picked this recipe up in a snail mail recipe swap several years ago from a friend of a friend whose name I don't know. The recipe is simply titled "Fruit Salad from McGraw-Hill". Beyond this, I have no idea which McGraw-Hill book this might be from or who came up with the recipe. What I do know is that this recipe makes a huge salad. Even a half recipe is plenty to take to a potluck. I also know that this salad gets rave reviews at every potluck to which I have taken it and people constantly ask me for the recipe. So I thought I might post it here to save time and effort in sharing.

I would love to know from which cookbook this recipe originated. If anyone out there has such information, please let me know ASAP so I can edit this post to more thoroughly credit the author/editor/publisher.

Note this is the full recipe, as I received it. I always make a half recipe. I also do a lot of substituting. I have never made this salad the same way twice.

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Fruit Salad from McGraw-Hill

2 cans peach pie filling
4 to 5 bananas, sliced
3 large cans Mandarin oranges, drained
3 large cans chunk pineapple, drained
1 bunch seedless red grapes, halved
2 bags frozen strawberries, quartered
2 boxes sugar-free strawberry jello, not diluted

Cut frozen strawberries into bowl. Mix in peach pie filling. Wash, slice grapes, and add. Mix in drained oranges and pineapple. Sprinkle both boxes of jello over the fruit mixture and stir until uniform. Add sliced bananas right before serving.

Best if refrigerated over night.
Will last 1 week in the fridge.
May use cherry pie filling, or 1 can cherry pie filling and 1 can peach pie filling.

Blogger's note: I like using 1 can cherry pie filling and 1 can sliced peaches, drained when I make a half recipe.

Tuna Burgers

I am always looking for a way to get my hubby to eat fish without making that face he makes or mumbling things like, "now that I am 40 I don't get to eat good food any more, only things that are good for me." The man likes fishing but not eating fish-go figure. So as I quest to find a way to fix the beautiful, hubby-caught Northern Pike that perpetually graces our family freezer, I try to mix it up with the few fish recipes that I know he likes. These involve tuna and his favorite by far is Tuna Burger.

The tuna burger recipe I started with is not the recipe that I make today. The original recipe, "Tangy Tuna Burgers", is found on page 125 of Where's Dad Now That I Need Him? by B.R. Frandsen, K.J. Frandsen, and K.P. Frandsen. However, over the years, I have modified this recipe enough that the version I make is uniquely mine.

These are good on or off a hamburger bun, with catsup, and with mustard. We like them garnished like a hamburger with lettuce, tomato, pickle and cheese. I would not say that this is a healthy recipe due to the fat content per serving, but it is certainly tasty.

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Mama Hynek's Tuna Burgers

2 - 4.5 oz. cans of water packed tuna, drained
2 eggs
2 celery stalks, diced small
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/3 cup dill relish
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tubes of Ritz crackers, crushed into fine crumbs

Stir until mixture is uniform. Form into patties and fry in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat until each side is brown. Serve and garnish as you would a hamburger. Makes six patties.

Monkadoodle's Stocking Hat

This article has been migrated to the Hynek's Handmade blog site.