It’s not too late…to make this cranberry sauce! I promise.

It is wonderful..super fresh, tart but sweet.  I found the recipe for this Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce last year on Williams Sonoma’s site.  I love that it has chunks of apples in it along with orange zest and juice.  And the best part is it will probably be the easiest thing you cook for Thanksgiving dinner.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I’m feeling super blessed and thankful for all the good things in my life…my wonderful husband and kids, our families, our friends and our health.  I’m also very thankful for all the wonderful opportunities that I have experienced this year thanks to this blog…I’m thankful for all of you who read it and who comment and who support me.  I’m thankful for all the great people I’ve met “virtually” and in person whether through blogging, Facebook or Twitter…

Life is Good. God Bless.

Future Food Blogger?  🙂

Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 bags fresh cranberries (about 6 cups), rinsed
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups sugar (original recipe calls for 2 1/2 so if you adjust to your liking)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine fresh squeezed orange juice, zest, apples, cranberries, water, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a slow boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Gently stir occasionally, until cranberries "pop", apple softens and sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Let cool completely before serving. Makes a large batch, perfect for leftovers.

Over the years, I've started to reduce the sugar gradually. If you have a sweeter tooth, stick to the two cups. If you are looking to cut back, try with 1 cup of sugar and you can always add more.

To help with adding more natural sweetness, I like to include the squeezed halves of oranges and the apple cores to the cooking process and then remove.

Recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma

 

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I’m in love with this salad.  Actually, I started out being in love with Jamie’s Spinach Salad recipe that I found on allrecipes.com, but after making it 3 or 4 times I wanted to turn into something a little more.  The kids and I were heading over to a friend’s house for a playdate with their classmates and their mommies and I wanted to bring over something healthy and yummy for the mommies to munch on for lunch.  I love using orzo in pasta salads, especially whole wheat orzo.  It has a nice punch of protein (7g) and fiber (9g) already in the pasta and turns the salad into more of a meal in itself.

The recipe for the dressing makes a good amount, so I’ve been actually keeping it in the fridge to dress pretty much anything and everything from leftover black beans and quinoa to a Spicy Slaw Salad that I’ll be posting later this week.  Enjoy!

Spinach and Orzo Salad with Cranberries and Almonds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat orzo, uncooked
• 3/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
• about 3/4 of a 6 oz bag of baby spinach, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 4 oz gorgonzola, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (I toast in a nonstick skillet over med heat for about 5 minutes)
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil, but canola or light olive oil will work)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook orzo according to instructions on package, set aside to cool.
2. In bowl, whisk together sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, vinegar, oil and pinches of salt and pepper.
3. In a large salad bowl combine orzo, almonds, spinach and cranberries. Gently toss ingredients with 1/3-1/2 amount of dressing, add more or less to your liking. I don't like my salad overdressed. Add gorgonzola and gently toss again. Serve immediately at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

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I love discovering new food blogs.  I must come across a dozen some days (especially since I started “channel surfing” with Stumble)…but it’s only once in a while that a new one really catches your interest and sucks you in.  You don’t realize it until you have clicked on numerous recipes or are reading each post in entirety.  And it’s usually at least 25 minutes later.  Are you following me?

I came across a new blog just the other day from reading the comments that were left on my cookbook giveaway post (which by the way is still going on until Thursday at 10pm!).  I like to visit any new reader who is nice enough to leave a comment…but I also admit, her name drew me in too.  Wonder Woman.  I have always loved Wonder Woman.

So happy I visited “Wonder Woman” because I instantly fell in love with this cookie.  For one, it’s a drop cookie and that is a HUGE plus.  But also, the combination of everything in it was just perfect.  Dried cranberries, white chocolate, oatmeal AND pecans.  Um, yea, my kind of cookie for sure.  AND she mentioned it was her newest favorite cookie.  I was sold.  Lucky for me I had everything I needed in my pantry, so I baked a batch of these babies this afternoon.  The kids loved them and so did I.  And with my new found spirit of baking and getting the sweets out of the house as soon as possible, I packed up a few cookies and will be leaving them with some friends tomorrow.

And don’t worry…I stashed a few aside for my cookie lovin’ kids..

Cranberry White Chocolate Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine butter and brown sugar in a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, beating until just barely combined. Then stir in the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle the tops with a few leftover cranberries or white chocolate chips if you want.
3. Bake for exactly 10 minutes. Remove from the oven - cookies will be slightly golden brown around the edges and the middles will look underdone. But trust me on this one - it will give you soft, chewy cookies once they cool. Or just slightly gooey cookies if you can't wait. Like me. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Recipe from Confessions of a Wannabe Wonder Woman

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I know I’ve mentioned my addiction to Facebook on this blog several times.  I almost think I can dedicate a whole category to “Facebook Inspired” recipes and creations…this one being one of them.

I saw this recipe posted on Facebook last week on Food Network’s fan page and I immediately bookmarked it.  I thought a festive sweet bread like this would make a nice addition to our Thanksgiving meal, and I was right.  The flavor combination of orange and cranberry is just perfect…and it couldn’t have been easier to bake up at almost the last minute – which is why I’m a huge fan of quickbreads.

When I first saw the recipe I didn’t realize that I would need a food processor to make this bread.  It wasn’t until after I got all my ingredients in order that I hit a road block.  I don’t have a food processor!  Actually, I have a mini one (that I purchased a couple of years ago when I was really into making purees)…but the mini one just doesn’t do the job for most recipes that call for a food processor.  So it’s official.  I am asking Santa for a food processor this year.  What kind should I get?  Help!

So how did I get past the “crap, I don’t have a food processor moment”?  Well, I improvised by using my hands.  Isn’t that what they probably did back in the day?  I basically used my fingers to cut up the cold butter and blend it with the flour.  Ann Burrell mentions in the recipe that the mixture should resemble “grated cheese”…and that’s the result I got as I was mixing with my hands so I went with it.  And it worked!

But I still want my food processor.

Cranberry Orange Quickbread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for loaf pan
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into pea size pieces, plus extra for loaf pan
• 1 orange, zested
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 orange, peeled, sections removed and diced
• 1 egg
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a food processor combine the flour, sugars, salt, baking soda and butter. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture resembles finely grated cheese. Add the orange zest, juice and the egg. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture is just combined. Remove to a bowl and stir in the diced orange and cranberries.
3. Grease and flour the loaf pan and add the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time to insure even cooking.
4. When done let cool for about 20 minutes and remove from loaf pan. Let cool completely before cutting.

Recipe from Anne Burrell, Food Network

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