Easy Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board

A charcuterie board has never been so fun to make! Everything you get in a traditional charcuterie board shaped into a festive Christmas tree!

It's simple to assemble, it just takes a little bit of chopping and some basic artistic planning.

This is a family friendly charcuterie board and it's adaptable to swapping out some of the things I've shown here for things you may already have. The idea is just to stick to that simple red, green, and white/yellow theme for those classic Christmas colors. Then of course just keep the "Christmas tree" shape as you go.

A delicious holiday project that may just become a new family tradition at each yearly holiday gathering!

The Best Fruit Salad Recipe

I first shared this recipe 5 years ago but it's one of my favorite recipes, so for new readers or in case you missed it I thought it needs to be revisited. Plus I thought this exactly what mom's want on Mother's Day for brunch paired with waffles, crepes or Eggs Benedict!

I know Skittles are good, but I'm thinking this has got to be the right way to get a taste of the rainbow. This blend of colorful fruits all come together to make a gorgeous rainbow, made with healthy ingredients!

Kids will love this this fruit salad and it is an easy way to get them to eat plenty of fruit at once.

Watch the Video!

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A Fruit Salad Dressing without Cream or Pudding

Plus this version is so much butter than those frozen whipped topping fruit salads.

This recipe shows you how to make fruit salad without the heavy, creamy fruit salad dressing that you're used to seeing. It leaves plenty of room for all the flavors of the fruit to shine without drenching it in sugar and other random flavors.

Plus it doesn't use any of those packaged pudding mixes. Why should we coat all the vibrant and incredible flavors of the fruit with an artificial flavor from a pudding mix?

Let's not ruin a good thing like fresh fruit by coating it with packaged ingredients where we can't even pronounce the ingredients on the label.

All it takes is a little honey and lime to really make that fresh fruit sing. 100% natural honey and lime make this fruit salad shine (literally and figuratively).

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fisher. The opinions and text are all mine.

Curry Chicken Salad with a Homemade Spice Blend

With most of the curry chicken salad Recipes out there, you'll find that they call for "curry powder." I'm actually not a big fan of pre-blended curry powders for a number of reasons.

They are all different among each brand, so if I tell you to use curry powder but my curry powder had 4 different ingredients, then yours it's not going to taste the same. I also prefer to add as much heat as I like (because my kids don't tolerate it well), and most curry powders are SPICY!

So a homemade blend it is, and it's perfectly fitting for this homemade chicken salad recipe. This blend uses coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, cardamom and/or nutmeg, and cayenne.

I love eating this curry chicken salad as a sandwich or as lettuce wraps. If you are looking to cut carbs, go for the lettuce wraps. It still makes such a filling lunch with fewer carbs and calories. Either way though, you'll end up with a perfectly tasty and satisfying lunch!

The Perfect Way to Use Farro

I'm loving all the summer salads lately! This Kale Grape and Farro Salad is so refreshing and it's packed with healthy ingredients.

I love that it uses tender baby kale leaves rather than the tougher, heavier curly kale which has a rougher, stronger flavor.

Pair the kale with fresh crisp grapes, salty feta, crunchy walnuts, a zesty dressing, and hearty farro and you've got a salad worth remembering!

Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This year I've been allll about those pasta salads! I didn't fully appreciate them until the last few years so I guess I'm just catching up.

And now I'm thinking of fun pasta salad flavors I've never tried before, like this perfectly delicious Poppy Seed Chicken and Grape Pasta Salad!

I'll always go for a good poppy seed dressing when it's an option so I knew it would be good added to a pasta salad, I also really love this Poppy Seed Chicken Salad recipe of mine.

So I combined those two ideas together and here you are left with a perfectly summery super tasty pasta salad! It's such a great side dish to serve at all your summer cookouts.

Don't Leave Out the Almonds!

For this recipe I used Fisher Sliced Almonds and they are a key ingredient here. I love that they are preservative free and I also love the resealable packaging that helps them stay fresh!

My family likes to snack on them plus we add them to so many things.

My husbands favorite way to use them is in his protein smoothies, they blend up easily and they give it a creamy texture and make it more filling. And one of my favorite way to use them is in salads, like so.

I love that they are thinly sliced so you get that perfect thin bite with each piece for multiple layers of crunch!

How do I Make this Poppy Seed Chicken Pasta Salad?

• Cook pasta, drain and rinse then set aside to cool.
• Whisk together dressing ingredients in a bowl.
• To a salad bowl add drained pasta, chicken, grapes, celery, almonds, green onions and cranberries.
• Pour dressing over and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper.
• Chill at least 30 minutes.

Allow Time for the Pasta Salad to Rest

Once you add the dressing there will seem like there's too much, there's not, it just needs time to rest and allow the pasta to absorb some of the dressing. So be sure to give it at least 30 minutes to rest.

Can I Reduce the Sugar?

If you aren't generally a big fan of the sweetness of poppy seed dressing then you can reduce the sugar or even omit it in this recipe. But I liked the unique sweetness it gave this pasta salad, plus it gives it that traditional flavor of poppy seed dressing.

Can I Make it Ahead of Time?

You can make this a day an advance and it's still so delicious. That's one of the great things about most pasta salads is that they can be made ahead.

More Summer Recipes You'll Love

• Strawberry Lemonade
• Slow Cooker Ribs
• Potato Salad

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fisher nuts. The opinions and text are all mine.

The Best Grape Salad Recipe!

While I do enjoy winter, I'm totally happy to be moving along into spring and summer.

I love all the spring blossoms everywhere (the smell of the lilacs is making me want to live outside lately) and I just can't get enough of those warm sunny rays.

Oh and the baby ducks at the park (er, proper word ducklings but since when was I proper?)

Another thing I really love about spring and summer is the abundance of delicious, fresh, cheap produce that comes with it (you know i'll be buying up blueberries and raspberries by the dozen when they go on sale.)

Lately, grapes have finally been a decent price so I bought a bunch of them and used them to make this fruit salad that I absolutely love.

I first had a version of this Creamy Grape Fruit Salad many years ago at a party and fell in love at first bite. I mean how could I not? Anything with cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese and I'm sold!

Ingredients You'll Need for This Recipe

• Red and green grapes
• Neufchatel cheese
• Light sour cream
• Honey
• White and brown sugar
• Vanilla
• Pecans

As usual I used my favorite brand of nuts here - I used Fisher Pecans for this recipe. Fisher is a brand I've long trusted and I love knowing they are preservative free! They are one of my go-to snacks and recipe ingredients and this salad just wouldn't be the same without them.

How to Make Grape Salad

• Whip Neufchatel cheese in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
• Add in sour cream, honey, granulated sugar and vanilla and mix well.
• Add grapes, cream cheese mixture and 3/4 of the pecans to a bowl and toss.
• Sprinkle over brown sugar and remaining pecans.
• Keep chilled, serve within a couple of hours.

How I Made it Lighter

The classic version of this salad calls for cream cheese and sour cream but to make it a little lighter I like to use Neufchatel cheese and light sour cream.

I also like to decrease the amount of sugar added (some similar recipes call for 4 times the sugar) but I like the sweetness to come from the fruit, no need to have them swimming in sugar for a fruit salad. Let's save that for cake :).

More Changes I Made to the Original

I also swapped out some of the sugar for honey.

And usually it's listed to use equal parts red and green grapes but I definitely like red better so I use 2/3 to 1/3 (and be sure not to use sour green grapes - I hate when I get a batch of those).

And of course I like to add a fair amount of nuts because I love the crunch and flavor they add to this fruit salad.

A Refreshing Summer Salad

Make it for yourself and you'll see what I mean! All those sweet juicy grapes, along with some crunchy pecans for contrast, all paired with luscious dressing to finish it off.

And when served nice and cold it's amazingly refreshing on a hot summer day.

Add it to your menu this weekend, and definitely save the recipe for upcoming get togethers and holidays!

More Fruit Salad Recipes You'll Love

• Rainbow Fruit Salad
• Winter Fruit Salad
• Berry Cheesecake Fruit Salad
• Cinnamon Apple Fruit Salad
• Melon Fruit Salad

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fisher nuts. The opinions and text are all mine.

Almond Poppy Seed Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Summer is practically here so that means you'll need to be ready with plenty of chicken salad recipes, right?

I love chicken salad for lunch on a hot summer day because it's served cold, I also love it because it's perfect for picnics and get togethers plus it's something my whole family loves. Another thing about it is that always leaves me craving more with all the different flavors and textures.

Here you get the nutty, crunchy goodness from the almonds, the creaminess of the dressing (which has a wonderful blend of sweet, salty and tangy), a juicy sweet bite from the grapes, and of course the delicious hearty goodness of tender chicken breasts.

Salad is one of my go-to meals lately. When you add a protein like chicken it makes it filling enough to count as the main course and no longer just a side dish or appetizer. Plus they are generally really easy to throw together, as long as you don't mind a little chopping.

This salad is definitely one of my new favorites and I'm sure I will make it countless times this spring and summer. I had two plates of it then still was left wanting more! It has such a delicious blend of flavors that all pair incredibly well together. Grapes and goat cheese are the perfect match, then you get this rich toasted flavor from the pecans, a little bite from the onions, a wonderful herbed flavor from the thyme and rosemary grilled chicken (which of course use fresh herbs if you have them this summer), and the perfect base to start the salad with a mix of baby spring lettuces. And of course, let's not forget that honey balsamic dressing that finishes it all off, it really is exactly what this salad needs and there couldn't be a dressing that could compliment it better! Its hint of honey and a fair amount of richly tart balsamic vinegar just makes this salad sing.