Simple But Easy Cranberry Sauce (With No Pulp) for Thanksgiving

1 package cranberries

1 ½ cups of water

2 cups of sugar

Wash Cranberries and put in a large sauce pan, add 1 ½ cups of water.  Bring to a boil and boil until the cranberries are all popped open.  Then you mash it with a potato masher until they are all mashed while you are still cooking on medium heat. Once all mashed, remove from heat and use a strainer to seperate the juice from the pulp.  The juice will be thick. Push it all through the strainer so that all that is left is the skins (or the pulp is left--small amt). Put back in a sauce pan and add 2 cups of sugar to juice. Cook it without boiling until sugar is dissolved (medium-low heat) stirring continuously. When it almost looks like it is going to boil it is done (and there is a better chance of setting up).  Pour into containers and refrigerate.Can make it a week or more ahead of the holiday. 

One Hour Rolls (delicious)

2 T. yeast
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c.warm water
1/2 c. melted butter
4 1/2 c. flour sifted
2 eggs
combine yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add warm water and stir until dissolved. Add flour, butter and eggs. Let rise until double (about one hour). Form into rolls (I prefer cloverleaf) and place in a greased pan. Let rise 5 minutes more. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 425 degrees. (recipe from Erin Harding)

Avocado Rice Salad {from Emily's kitchen to yours}

Cook 2 boxes of Uncle Bens Long grain and wild rice with seasoning packets according to package directions.  Squeeze one lemon onto rice and cool. Make sure to keep covered while cooling, so rice doesn’t dry out.

Add:

3 cooked chicken breast, diced or approx. 3 cups

4 green onions, chopped

1 red pepper, diced

3 oz. Chinese or sugar snap pea pods, cut in half (I use 6 oz.)

1 c. pecans-coarsely chopped and toasted

2 medium avocados diced and added to salad or sliced on top

 

Dressing:  In blender combine:

½ c. vegetable oil

½ t. stone ground pepper

1 T. Dijon mustard

1/3 c. seasoned rice vinegar

½ t. salt

2 cloves garlic

Blend and add to rice

 

This salad is better overnight. (minus avocados)

Pico de Gallo

tomatoes (depends on size)  I use 2-3 large tomatoes

onion (1/2 - 1 whole)

Serrano pepper (remove seeds and add to taste) I use 1/2 to 1

cilantro (desire amt)

salt

fresh lemons

avocados

Cut up tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and serrano pepper (peppers vary in hotness- add to taste) Squeeze lemon from frest lemons (1-2) . Pour salt on mixture to taste (can use quite a bit).  Add 1-2 avocados.  Adjust everything on the amount of pico you desire

Twice Baked Butternut Squash

Simple and delicious... if you like butternut squash and blue cheese that is.

Twice Baked Butternut Squash (with quinoa
and gorgonzola)
Author: Erin Alderson Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 75 mins Total time: 1 hour 35 mins

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium shallots
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, plus extra for topping 
pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 ̊. Slice butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place each half cut side down in a 9x13 pan and pour 1/2" of water in the bottom. Place in oven and bake until tender, about 45­60 minutes. Once done, remove and set aside.
   
2. Rinse quinoa and set aside. In a medium pan heat olive oil over medium low heat. Dice shallots, add to oil, and saute until shallots are fragrant. Stir in quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer at let cook until water is absorbed, 12­15 minutes.
   
3. While quinoa cooks, scoop out butternut squash, leaving a 1/4"­1/2" on the sides and bottom. Drain water from pan and return butternut squash to the pan, cut side up.
   
4. Mash butternut squash and stir in gorgonzola cheese. Once quinoa is done, add it to the butternut squash. Taste and add salt if need be.
   
5. Scoop filling evenly into butternut squash halves. Sprinkle with gorgonzola cheese and return to oven. Let bake for 10­15 minutes or until cheese has melted and the tops begin to brown. Remove from oven, cut eat half in half, and serve.
   
6. Evenly spread filling back into butternut squash
   

Notes
​The butternut squash can be roasted the day before cutting out a good majority of the time it takes to make this!​ 

Crock Pot Refried Beans

In.Credible. Never buy canned refried beans again. Never. Promise? So cheap and so good. I want to make Mexican food just so I can make these as a side dish. This makes quite a bit, but you can freeze the beans in smaller portions (I have). And there is nothing "fried" here ... but there is butter :)

3 C dry pinto beans
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 TB garlic salt
1/2 medium sweet onion**
1/2 C (1 stick) butter

This is for a large 5 qt+ crock pot.

First, lay the beans out on a cookie sheet. Pick through to make sure there aren't any funky beans in there. Then rinse the beans.

Put beans in a crock pot and fill with at least 8 cups of water. You'll need to check the water level periodically to make sure the beans stay covered (although a few will start floating near the end).

Add bouillon cubes and garlic salt. You can either chop up the onion into big chunks, or leave it just one big chunk. I've done it both ways.

Cook on high for 4 hours (again, depends on your crock pot, beans need to be soft).

Strain beans, but keep the liquid! You'll want to save at least 1 Cup of "bean liquid".

Add 1/2 cup butter, and 1/2 cup of bean liquid. Use an immersion blender (or do this in batches) to blend the beans/butter/liquid. Gradually add more liquid until the beans are your desired consistency. I usually add 1 cup, maybe a little more. You don't want them too stiff, since they set up.

**If you leave the onion as a big chunk, you can just take all/most of the onion out before you blend. When I've cut it into chunks, I take out some, and blend the rest with the beans. I liked it both ways.

Fast Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts seriously might be my new favorite vegetable.  These are delicious!

Water to cover plus an inch more, well salted (allow 1/2 tablespoon table salt for 4 cups of water)
1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and gnarly outer leaves removed, Xs cut into the cores with the tip of a knife

1 tablespoon butter,
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I might have used 2... I like garlic)
Juice of half a lemon (about 1 tablespoon) (lime worked well too)
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop the sprouts in, cover and let cook for 3 to 5 minutes until mostly cooked. Drain. (If cooking ahead, drop the sprouts into ice water for a brief moment to stop the cooking and drain again.) Cut the sprouts in half lengthwise.

In a large skillet, heat the butter and garlic until shimmery on MEDIUM heat and let cook for about 3 minutes until the garlic flavor is infused into the butter (don't let the butter or garlic burn). Remove the garlic clove and discard and increase the heat to MEDIUM HIGH. Add the Brussels sprouts and stir to coat with fat. Cook the sprouts, turning only every so often for you want the flat edges to darken, taking on almost a little 'burn' and that won't happen when stirring often. (It takes patience to not stir often but you can do it!) When the edges are browned to the desired level, sprinkle with lemon juice. Season with additional salt (if needed) and pepper (if needed). Savor and enjoy!

Yummy Grape Salad

2 pounds red grapes
2 pounds green grapes

You can use seedless black grapes as well and do whatever mixture of grapes in whatever amounts you want. Wash grapes, de-stem, rinse and pat dry.

8 oz soften cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
Not quite 1/2 cup sugar

Mix together until cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and sugar until smooth and then fold into grapes. I usually do this in a separate bowl from the one I am going to serve in because it makes the bowl mess. I then transfer the mixture into the bowl I am going to serve in and top it with this topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecan
Sprinkle mixture on top when ready to serve.

Asian Slaw

(Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman, from the Food Network)

Note: I served this with Asian BBQ chicken and coconut rice and it was delicious and so EASY! It would also be outstanding on salmon tacos (maybe with a ginger pineapple glaze or something).

Ingredients

1 bunch (6 large) scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (greens and whites)

2 (16-ounce) bags coleslaw mix or 1 (16-ounce) bag each of shredded green and shredded red cabbage (I used bagged regular slaw, mixed it with julienned carrots, but you could also just mix your own with regular cabbage and napa cabbage)

½ cup cilantro, chopped (this is my own addition)

1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I used just two slices of red onion, rather than a full red onion... between this and the green onion it was plenty oniony)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (from about a 1-inch piece)

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (added more like 3-4 Tbl to add more sweetness)

2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, optional (left these out)

1 teaspoon salt

20 grinds black pepper

Directions

Rough up the scallion slices a little with your fingers so all the little layers of the scallion whites separate. Toss the coleslaw mix or both kinds of cabbage, the red onion and scallions together in a large bowl until everything is thoroughly mixed. You can make the slaw up to this point up to a day in advance as long as you keep it refrigerated. Before serving, simply bring the slaw back to room temperature, make the dressing and toss.

Stir the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl until blended, then pour over the vegetables. Serve within 1 hour of dressing or the cabbage will get wilty and sad. (I ate this for round two the next day, and while it was a little wilty, it was still super delicious.)

Coconut Rice

(From OurBestBites.com)

Note: I served this with Asian BBQ chicken and Asian slaw and it was terrific! Make this meal soon!

2 c. white or Jasmine rice (I used Jasmine)

1 can coconut milk (I used lite coconut milk and it was great)

2 c. water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture) (use it)

2-3 tsp. white sugar (I might have used a little more than this... who counts)

Handful of chopped green onions, plus chopped green onion tops for garnish (we're using the whole animal here...)

Black pepper to taste

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary. Serve with any Asian or tropical-inspired food.

(I also think this rice would be good if you stirred in shredded coconut or crushed pineapple or something after cooking. Btw, that's also when I stirred in the green onion.)

Charlies Roasted Corn Salsa

I've been making this all summer because I'm WILD about every ingredient. It's one of those dishes that is always a hit at a BBQ and there's millions of compliments! As expected from Charlie Crump... He's a good cook.

1 (16 oz) Bag Frozen Corn
6-8 Roma Tomatoes
1 Small Onion, Diced
1 can (15 oz) Black Beans, rinsed
1 clove of Garlic, minced
3 Avocados, diced
Juice of 3 Limes
1/4 c Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1/4 c Olive Oil
1 tsp. Cumin
1 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Thaw corn on cookie sheet and broil until it begins to brown. Saute onions. Mix all ingredients with corn and let the favors blend for several hours.

Serve with Tortilla Chips.

dinner rolls

It seems like everyone has "their" roll recipe. I'll add this one to the mix . . . Directions are for crescent-type rolls, but consider the dough a canvas. It easily turns into cinnamon rolls. Orange rolls. Whatever fits your fancy.

1 TB active dry yeast
1 1/2 C warm water
1/3 C plus 1 tsp sugar
1/2 C butter, melted
2 eggs
1/4 C instant nonfat dry milk
1 1/4 tsp salt
5 1/2-6 C all-purpose flour

Dissolve yest in water and sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar.
Add butter, eggs, dry milk, salt & 3 cups of flour.
Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until dough is smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth. Place in greased bowl & cover. Let rise until doubled in size; about 1.5 hours.
Punch down dough. Divide into 3 balls. Roll each ball into a 12" circle. Cut into 12 slices (pizza cutter works great!). Roll from the wide end of the dough section to the point (again, think crescent rolls). Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and let rise until doubled; about 45 minutes.
Bake @ 375 for 11-14 minutes, or until golden brown. Rub tops of rolls with melted butter when you take them out of the oven.

Yield: 36 rolls

Citrus Rice Salad

In case you haven't realized it yet, I'm a huge fan of Giada, of the Food Network. Here's another winner. The only thing I would change next time, is maybe reducing the olive oil to 1/3 cup instead... but that's really a minor thing. :) It's got a nice citrus kick (maybe serve it up with some orange glazed chicken, fish, or pork) and doesn't have too strong a cumin flavor for those who aren't as big of cumin fans as I.

Rice Salad:

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups brown basmati rice, rinsed
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 medium orange, zested
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the Rice Salad:

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly golden. Cool completely, about 15 minutes

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock, salt and oil to a boil over medium-high heat Stir in the rice. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat, and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Using a fork, fluff the rice and place in a large serving bowl. Add the parsley, orange zest, half of the lemon zest, green onions, and 1/4 cup of the almonds. Toss well.

For the Vinaigrette:

In a blender, combine the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the vinaigrette over the rice mixture and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with the remaining lemon zest and almonds.

Roasted Vegetables

I know this is kinda basic, but it's a good reminder of an easy and delicious side dish/main dish. :)

I generally roast sweet potato, yellow squash, asparagus, bell pepper, mushrooms, or cauliflower (usually some combo of the above), but you really could use any veggies you like. Keep in mind that some cook faster than others (mushrooms, bell pepper, etc.), and I find it helpful to give the sweet potato a head start with a couple minutes in the microwave before I chop it up.

Cut the veggies into larger than bite sized bits, keeping in mind that the smaller you cut them the faster they'll cook. Toss with olive or canola oil, chopped garlic, thyme, salt, garlic salt, season salt, lemon pepper, pepper, cumin, rosemary, or some combination of these (or others).

Spread out on cookie sheet and roast at 400-450 degrees until tender, tossing the vegetables around on the cookie sheet occasionally so they don't burn. Generally 20-ish minutes.

That's it. Something about roasting brings out the best in the flavors of the vegetables. Plus, you can mix it up so it's different every time. :)

Quinoa and Black Beans

For those of you who don't know... (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Quinoa originated in the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. Quinoa (pronounced /ˈkiːnoʊ.ə/ or /kwɨˈnoʊ.ə/, Spanish quinua, from Quechua kinwa), a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a grass.

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthy choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.^[4] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.^[4]


There you go folks... plus, it's delicious. You generally have to look for it near the "specialty" grains in a regular grocery store, but is much easier to come by in a health food store such as Whole Foods or Sunflower Market. It's my new thing. Since this recipe mixes well known foods (beans and corn) with the new food (quinoa), it's a good place to start in giving it a try. Really, it's like any other grain, in that it takes the flavor of whatever you've cooked it in. If you don't like cumin or cilantro... you won't like this recipe.

Ingredients

1 tsp. canola oil
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (rinsed)
I can low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels (optional)
2 cans (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro (or more)

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and sauté about five minutes.

Rinse quinoa with cold water for a few minutes. (Use a fine sieve).

Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir frozen corn into saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BUN3KIN.

Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes

Alright kids... get ready. This is a real winner. For. Real. Check out Food Network for the recipe.

Here's my two cents:

1) the sweet potatoes and chicken are delicious together, but would also be delicious apart (mashed sweet potatoes = YUM!), and for those of you who are unaware, sweet potato is pretty much top of the food chain when it comes to veggies... very, very good for you

2) the cilantro/garlic chimichurri sauce is VERY garlicy (and I love garlic), I would cut the garlic in half and use the food processor to finely chop the cilantro and garlic so it's more of a paste... but really, it's all good without this part of the recipe as well (one way to save a few steps)

Enjoy!

Potato and Roasted Veggie Salad

Alright ladies... I stumbled upon this today in looking online for a new salad to try. It is delicious! I assume you could use bottled roasted veggies, but I opted to take the 30 minutes and roast my own. The red onion ends up so sweet and delicious, and I'm not even an onion lover. I did make a few changes, summarized below:

1. I left the olives out of the salad and the dressing, because they are gross. Yuck!

2. I don't know what purple peruvian potatoes are and I had red potatoes on hand, so that's what I used.

3. In the dressing, I'm not sure what that special kind of mustard is, so I just used dijon mustard and it tasted great.

4. I heart cilantro! So I probably added closer to 1/8-1/4 cup instead of the teaspoon it called for.

5. I used olive oil instead of canola.

6. To increase the shelf life I didn't combine the potato veggie mix with the lettuce. I just reserved some of the dressing so that I could add a bit more when I served it with the lettuce over several days. But I'm sure it'd be good to mix it all together if you knew you'd be eating it all in one meal.

7. Lastly, I baked some salmon to serve in the salad as well. Yum!

Enjoy! Thank you Food Network!