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.

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.

Blueberry Sauced Waffles

Waffles are wonderful with butter and maple syrup, but they become really special when they are topped with a fruit topping like this blueberry topping and mounds of whipped cream. This is the kind of fare that is served on the brunch buffet at nice restaurants but, prepared at home, is a fraction of the expense and is not difficult to make at all. For this recipe either fresh or frozen berries can be used. This recipe comes from Sunset Ideas and Recipes for Breakfast and Brunch, a wonderful cookbook full of an excellent variety of recipes to help start your day off right. I can't imagine any kid not finding this breakfast very kid-friendly, at least it wouldn't be a problem in our family. The waffle recipe was posted on 4/23/2010. Blessings...

Recipe: 

1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed blueberries
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup water

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add the blueberries, lemon juice and water.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is thickened. Serve warm or cold, but for warm waffles set the sauce aside at room temperature while the waffles are being prepared. This sauce would also be wonderful as a topping on ice cream or other desserts.

Yield: about 2 cups

Nut Tree Marshmallow Sauce for Fruit

Years ago, in northern California, there was a restaurant at an airport in Vacaville called the "Nut Tree" that was a favorite place for travelers to stop. The food was wonderful and one of the best things on the menu was this fruit salad dressing served over a mound of fresh fruit, especially in the summer when California fruit is at it's very best. This dressing, or sauce, is very similar to white mountain icing that gets piled high on a birthday cake; it is absolutely delicious and worth every calorie. Besides, your eating a pile of fruit and antioxidants, right? Blessings...

Recipe: 

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
dash of salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. grated orange rind

1. Combine sugar, hot water and corn syrup. Heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Then boil, without stirring, to firm ball stage (244 to 248 degrees on candy thermometer). Remove from heat.
2. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly add hot syrup, beating on high speed until thick and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and salt. Gently fold in mayonnaise and orange rind.
4. If dressing is thicker than desired, fold in 1 or 2 tbsps. more mayonnaise or 1 or 2 tsps. water. I've never needed to add any extra mayo or water. Refrigerate until serving time.

Yield: 3 cups
per 1/4 cup serving: 152 calories

Delicious Barbecue Sauce

The weather has turned mild and beautiful here in Idaho; it's a perfect time to barbecue, and so last week I tried a recipe that my niece shared in our recipe group. This sauce is a delicious blend of sweet tang and smokiness. I have no idea who to give the credit to for creating this recipe, but I'm sure glad my niece found it shared it. After years of frustration with homemade sauces, I resorted to the bottled variety and found a few that we really liked. I will continue to use this recipe in the future. The sauce takes about five minutes to throw together in a small saucepan; it couldn't be simpler. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

2 tsps. Dijon mustard

1-1/2 tsps. Worcestershire

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (I used a hickory smoke)

1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. We brushed the sauce on chicken breasts the last few minutes of cooking time and served more alongside at the table.

Yield: about 1-1/2 cups

Dress Up Vegetables With This Simple Cheese Sauce

Serving cheese sauce with vegetables gives an ordinary vegetable a lift and a wonderful new taste and, it may even help you to get your family to eat some of those green good-for-you foods. I know that in my family growing up, not one of my three brothers liked anything green. Vegetables sometimes are an acquired taste that can take years and adding a sauce may just help that along. Generally, a cheese sauce is made by making a white sauce and adding cheese to it. This sauce takes minutes compared to the from-scratch version of a white sauce.

I adapted this recipe from a recipe I found in Family Circle Magazine many years ago that was way too high in fat and very weak in flavor for our taste. This recipe goes very well with steamed broccoli, asparagus and Brussels Sprouts. The  casserole pictured with the broccoli is Chicken and Green Bean Bake posted on 4/9/2013. I haven't posted the yam casserole yet; it's on it's way. Blessings...

Recipe:

1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half or milk
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, packed measuring cup
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste

Whisk together all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until cheese is melted and smooth.

Yield: 1 cup
Note: Recipe can easily be cut in half.

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Sparkling Cranberry Sauce

My husband and I thought we were going to be alone for Thanksgiving, so our neighbors invited us to join them. We were so grateful for the invitation.  Then last Monday morning I received a phone call from our son in which he told me that his wife, my mom, and he wanted to come for the holiday, if they could work out the details. I spoke with my mom Tuesday morning and found out that they would be arriving Thanksgiving morning. We were thrilled, but I had nothing purchased for a turkey dinner since we were not going to be home, so I did the "Christmas with the Krank's" thing Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to get all the things needed. I got one of the last fresh turkeys in the market. My goodness, things were picked over! I did have cranberries in the freezer from last year so I was able to make cranberry sauce Tuesday afternoon and I got my pie crusts made and in the refrigerator to be filled the next day.

If you have never made fresh cranberry sauce, and only know the sauce from a can, I would highly recommend trying fresh. This recipe is very easy to do and only takes about half-an-hour start to finish. Our family, including our two-year-old granddaughter, loves the stuff. Maybe your family will as well. Blessings...

Recipe:

3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 12-ounce pkg. fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda or ginger ale

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Add cranberries and bring back to a boil; lower heat to simmer.
3. Simmer sauce for about 10 minutes or until almost all of the berries have burst and the sauce has thickened. I smash any remaining whole berries with the back of a spoon because we aren't crazy about the, "blast of sour" from the fresh berries.
4. Remove pan from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Stir in soda and pour into a serving bowl. Cool completely.

Yield: 2-1/2 cups
1/4 cup = 98 calories
1 gm. fiber

Tip:  Cranberries splatter when they are cooking down so be sure to use a saucepan a little larger than the mixture. You will have less clean up.
Note: The traditional recipe does not have soda in it. That recipe is the one my mom has been making for years and is just as simple. It is simply 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Everything else is done the same.