Creamy Berry Pecan Salad

I love summer BBQs, and it's the sides that I most look forward to--watermelon, sweet corn on the cob, creamy salads, crunchy salads, pasta salads, etc.  I don't think I could ever have a summer with too many salads.

At a recent church potluck BBQ a friend brought a creamy strawberry salad.  It was quite tasty and a nice contrast to the other sides.  I asked her what was in it and it turns out she just mixed a carton of Cool Whip Cream Cheese Frosting with sliced strawberries.  What a smart idea!  I decided to try a homemade version of the cream and decided to add blueberries and pecans.  While this most definitely is not a health salad, it's a tasty way to indulge in summer berries.

Creamy Berry Pecan Salad
Note: I thought the berries/cream ratio in the salad pictured above was off.  In the recipe I decided to cut the cream ingredients in half so next time I make this there will be more berries to go along with the cream.
Ingredients:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar, to taste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans, plus more for sprinkling on top

Directions:
1. Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. 

2. Add the cream and whip until thick and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.  Gently stir in the berries and pecans.  Garnish with additional berries and pecans, if desired.

Source: inspired by a salad made by my friend, Kristen, cream mixture from melskitchencafe.com