Cranberry Waldorf Salad

Sweetened, dried cranberries added to a Waldorf salad, in place of raisins, adds a whole new and wonderful change of flavor. This easy, kid-friendly recipe has no strong flavors, is dressed in a slightly sweet, low-fat dressing for all to enjoy, and the recipe can easily be doubled, or tripled, for larger families. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 medium apple, cored and chopped (1-2/3 cups)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp. light mayonnaise
2 tbsp. plain low-fat yogurt or mayonnaise (increase the calorie count if mayo is used)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. fresh lemon or lime juice (I love the addition of lime juice to this salad)
2 tbsp. broken pecan pieces

1. In a serving bowl, combine the apple, celery and cranberries.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, sugar and juice.
3. Stir the dressing and pecans into the salad until the ingredients are well combined.

Yield: 2-1/3 cups
3 servings = 2/3 cup each
144 calories
4 gms. fiber
2 servings = just over 1 cup each
216 calories
6 gms. fiber

Cranberry Orange Dip or Spread

This easy dip recipe makes a great snack with slices of apple, or it doubles wonderfully well as a spread on a toasted bagel for breakfast. The original recipe was far too thick for us and lacked enough flavor to stand up to the flavor of the apple. The addition of honey, toasting the pecans, and doubling the amount of cinnamon originally called for in the recipe gave the dip new life. If the dip/spread isn't loose enough or creamy enough for you, by all means add more honey until it's a consistency that appeals to you and your family. We really enjoyed this flavorful mixture on toasted bagels for a simple breakfast.
Blessings...

Recipe:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) low-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped, dried cranberries
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1/2 tsp. orange zest
3 tbsp. orange juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. honey or more to taste

1. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.

Serve as a dip with slices of apple or as a spread on toasted bagels. Might also be good on crackers.

Yield: 1-1/2 cups
80 calories per 2 tbsp. serving
.5 gms. fiber

This recipe was adapted from a recipe found in a spice catalog.

Curried Cranberry Chicken Salad

This recipe is a bit different from traditional chicken/turkey salad recipes because of the addition of lime juice and curry powder. The combination of these two flavors works
beautifully with the sweet apple chunks and dried cranberries. Serve this salad alone or with a green salad, and maybe a tasty bread for a simple meal. Blessings...

Recipe:

3/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lime juice
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups diced apple
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

1. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, lime juice and curry powder.
2. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients. Cover and chill. This salad is best served within 8 hours.

Yield: 5 cups
1 cup prepared with chicken breast = 260 calories
1 cup prepared with mixed white and dark turkey = 277 calories
3 gms. fiber

This recipe was adapted from a "Taste of Home Cooking School" magazine.

Sour Cream Cranberry Bars

Tis the season for cranberries and cookies. This festive recipe combines dried cranberries and sour cream between a rich, buttery, brown sugar and oatmeal base, and crumb topping. The recipe goes together easily, and the cookies store very well for a week, or more, in the refrigerator. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided use
2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup light sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar.
2. Combine oats and 1-1/2 cups flour; add to creamed mixture until blended. Set aside 1-1/2 cups for topping.
3. Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 13" x 9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack.
4. Meanwhile, in another bowl combine the sour cream, yogurt, sugar, egg, lemon zest, vanilla and remaining flour with an electric mixer until blended. Stir in cranberries and pour evenly over crust.
5. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and return to oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies
152 calories each
1 gm. fiber

This wonderful recipe come from a "Taste of Home" cookbook.

Festive Mincemeat Pie

For some, like my mom and my husband, it is not the holiday season without mincemeat pie. They love this pie! For those who don't know much about mincemeat pie, there no longer is meat in the pie, like there was years ago when my mom was a little girl. So, really, it should be called mince pie to be accurate. A jar of mincemeat is spiced raisins and apples, to which I add brandy, more apple, and dried cranberries. This fragrant and spicy pie is then topped off with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Yummy! Blessings...

Recipe:

Pastry for a double-crust pie
1 (27- to 29-ounce) jar of mincemeat
1 apple, such as Jonathon, Golden Delicious or Jonagold, cored and diced
1/3 cup dried cranberries
4 tbsp. brandy
2 tbsp. sugar mixed with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon for topping

1. Combine mincemeat, apples, cranberries and brandy in a large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, or longer, to develop flavors.
2. Roll out pastry to about 12 inches around. Place in 9-inch pie plate. Pile mincemeat mixture in the crust. Cover with top crust and cut several slits in it for vents, or cut into strips and place across the top in a lattice pattern. Brush lightly with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
3. Place in a 375 degree oven and bake about 30 minutes, or until crust is brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Yield: 6 to 8 pieces

This recipe was adapted from a recipe that I clipped out of my hometown newspaper many years ago.

Cranberry Conserve

This fruity cranberry recipe is my husband's absolute favorite for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. It is definitely a family tradition and thankfully others like it, as well. He never tires of it. I really appreciate the fact that the recipe makes a large batch and is easily frozen for up to 3 months.

Have a wonderful time cooking and preparing for your family's Christmas season. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cups water

2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 pkgs. (12 oz. each) cranberries (6 cups), picked over and rinsed

2 tbsps. grated orange peel

4 oranges, peeled and chopped

2 apples, peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped nuts

1. Mix water and brown sugar in Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; boil 1 minute.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts. Heat to boiling; lower heat and boil rapidly until cranberries pop and mixture thickens, about 20 minutes. Watch very carefully and stir often as the sugar will burn, especially the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

3. Remove pot from heat and stir in the nuts. Set aside to cool and then store in containers in the refrigerator or put into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Yield: 9-3/4 cups
90 calories per 1/4 cup serving
2 gms. fiber per serving

This favorite recipe comes from Betty Crocker's "Christmas Cookbook".

Ruby Cranberry Sauce

The first time I read this recipe in Marcia Adam's cookbook, "New Recipes from Quilt Country", I was intrigued with the idea of a baked cranberry sauce. After trying the recipe, I was hooked. It is so easy and mess-free with none of the spattering that happens when cranberries are cooked down in a saucepan on the stove. I adapted the recipe a bit to fit our tastes by changing the cinnamon to nutmeg, and by decreasing the orange zest from three tablespoons to one tablespoon. Blessings...


Recipe:                                                                         
3-1/4 cups sugar
2 cups hot water
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 12-ounce bags cranberries, washed, drained, and looked over
1 tbsp. grated orange zest

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sugar, water, and nutmeg in a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Add the cranberries and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes without stirring.
2. Remove from the oven and stir in the orange zest. Let the mixture stand until cooled, without stirring. If you think the sauce is a bit too thick, and this will vary, add a bit of orange juice. Ladle into jars and refrigerate until needed. The sauce can be frozen for later use, as well.

Yield: about 5 cups sauce
183 calories per 1/3 cup
2 gms. fiber
Note: Click on picture to enlarge.

Cranberry Fluff

This is a very rich salad, or dessert, whichever you would like it to be. I've always served it as a festive salad, but it could certainly be a fruity, fun dessert. This kid-friendly salad/dessert will keep in the refrigerator for several days, if there is any left after your meal. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cups raw cranberries, ground
3 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups unpeeled, diced apple
1/2 cup halved, seedless grapes
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff or 2 cups whipped topping

1. Combine first three ingredients, cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Add apples, grapes, pecans and salt; stir well.
3. Fold in whipped cream, or topping, and stir well.

Yield: 6-3/4 cups or 9 3/4-cup servings
264 calories per serving using whipped cream
202 calories per serving using whipped topping
2 gms. fiber

This recipe comes from a cookbook created by the ladies of the church I attended when growing up. Wonderful cooks!!

Berry Yogurt Scones

Different kinds of breads for breakfast, whether served with fruit and tea on an early workday morning, or alongside an egg dish being enjoyed with guests on the weekend, are such a wonderful change of pace. This recipe is adapted from one that I cut out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine years ago. The original recipe was made with fruit yogurt and was difficult to work with because the dough was very sticky. Greek yogurt is thick and causes the dough to be much denser and sturdier. The addition of dried fruit adds great flavor and a bit of fiber. Fresh fruit, unless it is a hard fruit like apple, would not stand up to the kneading of the dough.  Blessings...

Recipe:

2-1/2 cups biscuit mix such as Bisquick

1/4 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling on top

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup vanilla 2% Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dried blueberries or cranberries

1. Combine biscuit mix and 1/4 cup sugar.

2. Stir together egg, yogurt, berries and butter.

3. Combine the two just until mixture comes together.

4. Scrape dough out of bowl onto smooth work surface. Dough will be very thick and dense. Knead 8-10 times so that dough is well combined and forms a smooth mass.

5. Gather dough up and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Pat into a 6" circle and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cut into 6 wedges.

6. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes rotating pan halfway through baking time. If the scones are already browning, cover them with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.

Yield: 6 servings
317 calories each
2 gms. fiber
Note: I have found that the best way to tell if a scone is done is to use a sharp knife and cut through one horizontally. If it still appears sticky or doughy, give it another minute or two.

Cranberry-Pecan Pound Cake

Fall is here and with it comes fresh, seasonal, delicious cranberries in the produce department of the market. This lovely, buttery-rich pound cake is studded with toasted pecan pieces and chopped cranberries; perfect for the upcoming holidays or, for my family, anytime.

This recipe comes from the January 1990 edition of "Bon Appetit" magazine, with a few adaptions from me. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup chopped pecans (broken into small pieces, not finely chopped, 3-1/2 ounces)
1-1/2 cup cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
5 large eggs
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup orange juice or brandy (calorie count is done with orange juice)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Powdered sugar for dusting, if desired

1. Grease and flour a 2-1/2 quart tube cake pan or two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pans.
2. Place pecans on cookie sheet and bake until lightly colored and fragrant in a 350 degree oven, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.
3. Coarsely chop cranberries.
4. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl once. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream, then orange juice or brandy, vanilla and orange peel.
5. Sift unbleached flour, cake flour and salt together. With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stop when all flour has been added. Mix by hand until just combined.
6. Fold in pecans and cranberries. Pour batter into prepared cake pan(s). Tap pan on counter to release any air bubbles.
7. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, rotating pan(s) halfway through baking time, about 50 to 55 minutes for loaf pans and about 1 hour for tube pan.
8. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Cake can be frozen up to 1 month. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving.

Yield: 20 servings
262 calories per serving
1 gm. fiber
Note: The flavor of the cake is best the day after baking.

Autumn Tossed Salad

Dinner salads can get so boring, so when I come across one that is loaded with cheese, nuts and fruit, I gladly give it a try. This combination of cashews, Swiss cheese, cranberries, pear, and apple in a lightly-sweetened poppy seed dressing is wonderful. This is a reader-contributed recipe from a "Taste of Home" cookbook. Blessings...

Recipe:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. finely chopped onion
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp. poppy seed
1 bunch romaine, torn
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup cashews
1 medium apple, chopped
1 medium pear, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, sugar, onion, mustard and salt. While processing on low speed, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Stir in poppy seed. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.
2. In a large salad bowl, combine the romaine, cheese, cashews, apple, pear and cranberries. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.

Yield: 10 servings
Note: I cut the dressing recipe in half and the yield is 3/4 cup. For two of us, I used 1/4 cup cheese, 1/4 cup cashews, 1/4 apple, 1/4 pear, 2 tbsp. cranberries and a few lettuce leaves. There will be plenty of dressing for two more salads. You might use this as a guide for your family's needs.
Note: The addition of cubed, cooked ham makes this a wonderful main dish salad.

Cranberry-Cabbage Slaw

This recipe came from a moment of need when fixing dinner one evening, and I didn't have the foggiest idea what I wanted to put on the table. This isn't normal for me; the keeper of lists and pre-planned menus, but this was one of THOSE days. The recipe is based on the idea of an Asian coleslaw recipe that has been popular with our family for years, find that recipe posted on 5/20/2013, but, I didn't have those ingredients in my pantry, so I used what I did have. The salad needs to be prepared two hours before serving to blend the flavors, so do plan in advance. Blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups shredded cabbage
2 green onion, sliced
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
2 tsps. sesame seed, toasted lightly in a frying pan
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsps. Best Blend Oil or oil of choice
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsps. sliced Butter Toffee Glazed Almonds or Honey Roasted Almonds

1. Combine first four ingredients in a salad bowl.
2. Measure vinegar into a small bowl; slowly drip in oil while whisking to thoroughly combine.
3. Stir dressing into salad. Taste, and add salt and pepper, if needed.
4. Refrigerate for two hours to blend flavors before serving.
5. At serving time, stir salad and sprinkle with almonds.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Note: I didn't figure out the calorie count because most of the dressing will be poured down the drain after serving the salad with a slotted spoon. Basically, the cabbage marinates for two hours producing a wonderfully sweet flavor from the cranberries without added sugar.

Gingered Cranberry-Carrot Slaw

This recipe uses some very interesting and simple ingredients to make for a very bright tasting, no-fat carrot salad. Carrot salad is usually made with crushed pineapple, but in this recipe the pineapple flavor comes from juice. The dressing is liquid rather than thick because there is no fat, so serve the salad with a slotted spoon to remove excess dressing. This delicious recipe is a reader contribution in a Taste of Home Cookbook.  Blessings...

Recipe:

1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tbsps. honey
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 to 2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger root (see note)
3 cups shredded carrots, large shreds
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. In a large bowl, whisk the juices, honey, vinegar and ginger together until smooth.
2. Add the carrots and cranberries; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate slaw until serving time.

Yield: 4 servings
Note: I use 1/8 tsp. powdered ginger for us. The amount of fresh ginger called for in the recipe is very strong, so taste as you go.

3/4 cup equals 133 calories
3 gms. fiber

Cashew Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing

I love main dish salads, especially those that have an Asian flair. One day, about a month ago, when I wanted to prepare a salad of this type for dinner but didn't have my favorite bottled dressing on hand, this low calorie dressing was created to meet the need. It has a very subtle sesame flavor that comes from a bit of sesame oil and the wonderful flavor of Chinese Five Spice Powder. Blessings...

Recipe:

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

2 tbsps. rice vinegar

2 tbsps. soy sauce

2 tbsps. honey

1/4 tsp. Chinese Five Spice Powder

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Serve dressing over a salad of:

Mixed greens or cabbage

Mandarin orange slices

Sliced green onion

Sliced celery

Dried sweetened cranberries

Cashew halves and pieces

Chopped cooked chicken

And of course, anything else that you and your family love in an Asian salad.

Savoy Slaw with Raspberry Dressing

I found this delicious coleslaw recipe in a spice catalog and couldn't wait to give it a try. I don't use Savoy cabbage so I don't know how it would taste, but regular cabbage in this recipe is delicious. Blessings...

Recipe: 

2 cups finely shredded savoy cabbage or regular cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 crisp red apple, chopped (I used a Gala apple)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I used cashews)

Dressing:

1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt (I used Greek vanilla yogurt)
1-1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. raspberry jam
1/2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. French Tarragon, crushed
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt or to taste

1. Several hours before serving, prepare the dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients and whisking until smooth. Refrigerate.
2. One hour before serving, combine the cabbage, carrots, apple and cranberries. Stir in dressing to combine. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Just before serving, add the nuts and stir to combine.

Yield: 5 servings
70 calories per 1/2 cup using the ingredients original to the recipe.
Note: This recipe can easily be doubled to serve ten people.

Cranberry Cake

This wonderful recipe was a reader-contributed winning recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens holiday contest back in November 2004. The cranberry-pecan topping is a crunchy layer on top of a delicate white cake when the cake is turned out of the pan to serve. Topped with whipped cream, this is absolutely a winning recipe for the holiday season. Blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsps. milk
Sweetened whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Spread cranberries and pecans over bottom of dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the sugar.
2. In a medium mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Add remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, melted butter, and milk; beat on low speed just until combined (batter will be thick). Carefully spread batter over cranberries and nuts.
3. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until top is brown and wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes.
4. To serve, spoon warm cake into dessert dishes, cranberry side up. If desired, top with sweetened whipped cream.

Yield: 8-9 servings

Frozen Cranberry Salad

This lovely salad is an absolute favorite of ours and has won rave reviews from the friends that have shared meals with us when this was on the menu. One friend was going to bypass it because he thought it was a dessert for later, until I corrected him. The salad is frozen, but it isn't hard. It is easily eaten after setting out at room temperature for about 20 minutes, so don't let the "frozen" part deter you from trying the recipe for your family. I was blessed to win a cookbook for this recipe as an entry in a contest. The one and only time I've ever attempted such a thing; maybe the last as it is a lot of work. Blessings...

Recipe: 

1 16-oz can jellied cranberry sauce
3 tbsps. orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff
2 tbsps. low-fat mayonnaise
2 tbsps. sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional for garnish

1. Remove cranberry sauce from the can with a fork, breaking it up and mashing it as you go. Add orange juice and zest. Mix until smooth. You may need to use an electric mixer to accomplish this. Pour into a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan.
2. Add mayonnaise and sugar to whipped cream; beat about 30 seconds until smooth. Spread over cranberry and then sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
3. Remove the salad from the freezer about 20 minutes before serving time. Cut into squares and remove from the pan with a small spatula.

Yield: 8 servings
187 calories
Prep time: 15 minutes plus freezing time.

White Chocolate Cranberry Bread

Last year when my mom came for Thanksgiving, she brought a loaf of this delicious tea bread with her. We gobbled the bread for breakfast one morning with our eggs and fruit. The combination of whole cranberries, white chocolate and toasted pecans in each slice makes for a lovely and festive presentation for any holiday table. Blessings...

Recipe: 

6 oz. good quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or chips
2-1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
8 tbsps. (1 stick) salted butter, at room temp.
3 large eggs, at room temp.
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries, not thawed or chopped
1 cup toasted, coarsely broken pecans (mom used macadamia nuts)
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and tap out excess flour.
2. Melt and cool the chopped white chocolate.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking soda.
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer set on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition, and scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Beat in the buttermilk, followed by the tepid white chocolate, orange zest and juice, and vanilla. The mixture will look curdled. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture, and beat just until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Stir in the cranberries, nuts and white chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1-1/2 hours. After 45 minutes, turn loaf pan in the oven and cover the loaf with foil if it's browning too fast. I need to do this in my oven for such a lengthy baking time.
8. When bread is done, remove to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing the bread from the pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 12 slices
1.7 gms. fiber per slice

Note: Toast pecans in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. They should smell fragrant and be lightly browned.
Note: This loaf freezes beautifully

Recipe adapted from "Tate's Bake Shop Baking for Friends," by Kathleen King

Cinnamon-Apple Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving is coming and most dinner tables will have some form of cranberry sauce, gelatin salad or a taste-tempting dessert made with these tart little gems. Our family loves them, so we have had many varieties of salads and sauces over the years. Last week I did a variation of a recipe I found and tried last year in Relish Magazine that my husband wasn't crazy about. I thought I could possibly change his mind with a few changes to the recipe. Success was achieved with this recipe. Hope you might try it for your holiday meal. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 12-oz. pkg. cranberries, washed and picked over (3-1/2 to 3-3/4 cups)
1 cup honey
1 cup apple juice
1 medium apple, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch dice (1-1/3 to 1-1/2 cups)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/16 tsp. ground cloves

1. Combine cranberries, honey and apple juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes or until cranberries burst and sauce is thick and chunky.
2. Remove pan from heat and stir in apple, pecans, cinnamon and cloves. Chill sauce until cold. This is best if served the second day and will hold in the refrigerator for several days. Cranberry sauce freezes beautifully.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups
14 - 1/4 cup servings
114 calories
1.6 gms. fiber

Note: A sweet apple like Gala, Jonathan or Golden Delicious is wonderful in this sauce.

Cranberry-Apple Crisp

A few weeks back I was able to purchase some of the first-of-the-season cranberries for a wonderful price and I couldn't wait to make this favorite dessert. This easy to make crisp only takes about 30 minutes to put together and about 40 minutes to bake, so it works great for a weekday meal, as well as for a holiday meal.

I created this variation of an old favorite using Honeycrisp or Gala apples because they are sweeter than the traditional cooking apples, but don't cook down to mush. As a result, less sugar can be used. I also love the addition of apple pie spice in place of the traditional cinnamon. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cups fresh or frozen thawed cranberries, rinsed and picked over
3 cups unpeeled, cored and coarsely chopped Honeycrisp or Gala apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Topping:

1 1/2 cups dry oatmeal, not instant
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup flour
1 1/4 tsps. apple pie spice
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In an 8" x 8" ungreased baking pan, combine cranberries, apples and granulated sugar. Set aside while preparing topping.
3. Combine topping ingredients in a medium - sized bowl.
4. Stir filling ingredients again to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling and gently press down.
5. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are fork - tender. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm, plain or with vanilla ice cream.

6 servings = 347 calories without ice cream and 5 gms. fiber
8 servings = 260 calories without ice cream and 4 gms. fiber