St. Patrick's Day Fruit Tray/Dessert

This is something I make every St. Patrick's Day!  I make it at other times too because it is nutritious and delish!!!!

Following the ROYGBIV mnemonic device, I planned out what fruit I would purchase for each color. There actually were quite a few choices for a few color. I used the first fruit in each list because it was in season and that's what I wanted.

Red - Strawberries, apples, cherries, watermelon

Orange - Mandarin oranges, navel oranges, canteloupe

Yellow - Pineapple, banana, apples, pears, lemons

Green - Apples, pears, grapes, limes

Blue - Blueberries

Violet (Purple) - Plums, grapes, pears

Mini-marshmallows were used for the clouds on one side of the rainbow and bananas for the pot of gold. If you don't know this tip yet, it will change your life with fruit. I cut the apples and bananas over two hours before I served it and they weren't brown. How? Using a basting brush, spread lemon juice over the cut sides. EASY!!!

I also made an AMAZING FRUIT DIP to accompany the fruit dish. It could eat it in spoonfuls (without the fruit). That's a problem!!!

Here is the recipe:

8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened works best)

8 oz. Sour Cream

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 oz. package of instant vanilla pudding

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix it all together. Chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve. And DEVOUR!!!

You will be making this in the next week or two, won't you? Let me know how it goes. It would be a fun side dish for St. Patty's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner.