Fruit Salad

My boyfriend would be the first to tell you that I'm no cook, but I can make a few edible things every now and then. What I have a hard time re-creating, however, are the foods I grew up with, in which case my repertoire is limited to about a couple of things; the fruit salad described here is one of them.

I make this for picnics and parties, and it's usually the first to disappear of all the table offerings, so I'd say it's worth trying if you've never made anything like this before. It's very easy. You're free to elaborate on the basic recipe, as I sometimes do, and if you come up with a spectacular rendition of it, by all means, please share it with me.

One warning: this dessert is particularly sweet and probably very terrible for your health.

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Ingredients

one 8 oz box of cream cheese
one 14 oz can of condensed milk.
one 6 lb can of fruit cocktail (close to 100 oz)
one jar of coconut gel* (optional)
[Note: You can also add other fruits and sweets in there. I've known people to even add almond slivers.]

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Preparation

Drain the fruit cocktail and the jar of coconut gel in a colander.

Mix the cream cheese with the condensed milk in a large bowl until you get a nice thick syrup with a consistency like pancake batter. You shouldn't have any lumps in the mix; use an electric mixer to get it smooth and creamy.

Pour the drained fruit into the cream cheese mix, and stir so that the syrup is evenly distributed.

Chill the fruit salad, and serve.

See? Wasn't that easy?