Ed Murray's Mom’s 5 Cup Cranberry Salad

1 cup seedless red grapes
1 cup cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup white sugar
1 cup cool whip

Very simple...probably the reason it’s the only holiday recipe I prepare. You will need a LARGE mixing bowl and a food processor will cut down on the preparation time. Halve the grapes. Stir in crushed cranberries. Stir in chopped pecans. Stir in sugar. Stir in cool whip. Stir until all ingredients are blended together. I usually double the recipe for large family gatherings. I have also cut down on the amount of sugar over the years in order not to overpower the tartness of the cranberries. I usually use about half the sugar in the recipe.

My mother made this “salad” every Thanksgiving that I can remember because it was the only way she could get us to eat cranberries during the holidays. We gobbled it up which always brought a huge smile to her face. I loved it because it counted as a “salad” even though it tastes much more like a dessert. So, I could put it on my plate with the turkey and all the veggies and still have pumpkin pie at the end of the meal! My mother died during the week of Christmas when my children were still pretty young. We enjoy this cranberry salad recipe every Thanksgiving and Christmas as one way to remember grandma.