Jeweled Grape Salad

Every once in a while, I'm able to talk my kiddo into joining me in the kitchen and helping with some recipes. There are a few items she's getting to the point of taking over - prepping our manicotti/stuffed shells, orange salad, and now we can add Jeweled Grape Salad. I actually didn't FIND this recipe to try on Pinterest. My mom made this several years ago and has made it a few times since, and my daughter LOVES it. But I couldn't find the recipe in my recipes, so I searched on Pinterest and found this one for Grape Salad. My daughter helped me with this last weekend for my mom's birthday party. I love when the kid joins me. It's so easy to make, and makes a nice addition to a dinner party.

2 lbs red grapes

2 lbs green grapes

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup pecans or walnuts

First thing you have to do is separate the grapes. We used a colander to hold them. Wash them thoroughly.

We let them drip dry while she mixed up the creamy mixture. Initially, we just put all the main ingredients - cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla - together. Lesson learned... for a creamier mixture, use an electric mixer and cream the cream cheese. Then add the sour cream, vanilla and sugar, mix completely.

Once the mixture is prepared, take some paper towels and carefully dry the grapes and put in a bowl large enough to hold the grapes and allows room to stir them.

Add the cream mixture to the grapes and stir them gently, but completely, making sure all grapes are covered.

Finally, mix the topping together - brown sugar and the nuts. We transferred in layers the grape mixture with a thin layer of the topping to a bowl that we could seal, finishing with a slightly thicker layer on the top. Chill for an hour or two and serve!