Cranberry Time

Sugared Cranberries

 

Cranberry Sauce with Apple Cider

Welcome Thanksgiving! It is my favorite holiday, surprise, surprise. I love going by myself to the store and buying food treasures for the holidays. One of the most fun things to buy are bags of cranberries. Oh how I love cranberries, and I love making cranberry sauce. A few years ago I made my own for the first time. I guess I never did before because I really do like that jellied stuff in the can, but the recipe in this post has more texture because of the bits of berries, and it’s sweeter too. And it’s so fun to make, watching the cranberries pop and the mixture congeal. I get so excited, like I’m watching a movie waiting for the plot to thicken, except I’m watching my cranberry mixture thicken.  Alright, I’m easily amused, but I promise it’s fun to watch.

Then there are sugared cranberries. Oh, you are going to love me for sharing this one with you. First of all, they are beautiful, like little Christmas ornaments. With its encrusted shell of sugar, the outside sparkles like twinkling lights. When you bite into the cranberry you taste the sweet, crispy outside, then on then POP!  The inside gives a tangy bite  — they work perfectly together to make a absolutely addicting combination. Anna has helped me make these the past few years, and this year Katelyn (my two-year-old) gets to help. So, while expect my usually perfect sugared cranberries to have some clumping going on because of Katelyn, (you should see what she does to green beans while snapping — yikes) I think it will be fun to share making these with both my daughters this year.

I am really excited to share these Cooking Light cranberry recipes with you! I’ll be posting more fun holiday recipes as the days go on. Hurray for Thanksgiving!

Cranberry Sauce with Apple Cider

Cooking Light

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally. Chill.

Sugared Cranberries

Cooking Light

• 2  cups  granulated sugar
• 2  cups  water
• 2  cups  fresh cranberries
• 3/4  cup  superfine sugar

Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring mixture until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat. (Do not boil or the cranberries may pop when added.) Stir in cranberries; pour mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain cranberries in a colander over a bowl, reserving steeping liquid, if desired. Place superfine sugar in a shallow dish. Add the cranberries, rolling to coat with sugar. Spread sugared cranberries in a single layer on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature 1 hour or until dry.

Note: The steeping liquid clings to the berries and helps the sugar adhere. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week.

Let’s talk about dried beans/Crockpot recipe

I was looking for a budget-friendly recipe and found one that uses beans – - canned beans. I did the math and realized that if I bought four cans of beans at $1.20 each I could instead have a pound of shrimp on sale. Beans are so good for you and my kids love them, so I decided to beat the system and cook dried beans and divide them for the freezer.

Cooking dried beans is easy, and you can control the sodium and flavorings. Add chipotle, garlic and cumin to some dried black or pinto beans if you want. Cook chickpeas and have them ready for a quick hummus – - in fact I have some in my freezer right now.   You can get dried beans for 99 cents a pound at the dollar store and elsewhere. At some places if you buy two pounds at a time you might even be able to get them for 50 cents a pound. I have before. One pound of dried beans cooked up equals about three cans of beans. One can of beans is 1 1/2 cups, so divide them into those portions for recipes. Or, you could always flash-freeze them, which involves spreading them out on a cookie sheet evenly and freezing them. They will not freeze together this way, so you can throw them all in one gallon bag and take out what you want as needed.

One caution about dried beans — they often do have rocks. I almost always find one little pebble. Spread the beans out on a cookie sheet and inspect for rocks, wash the beans and proceed with directions on the bag. When I cook beans I add big slices of onion and whole cloves of garlic. And for sure, salt. Probably more salt than you feel comfortable with. At least a tablespoon, maybe more. Don’t cringe because you have probably been ingesting more than that eating canned beans. Experiment and see what you think. Next time you are tempted to get canned beans in the store, think of me saying into your ear in a little, sarcastic voice, “What, are you rich or something? Put down that can of beans, fancy-pants, and reach for the dried.”  Then, go buy some shrimp on sale.

Here is a recipe for refried beans in the crockpot, except there is no fat involved. We make these constantly at my house. I get tortillas from Costco – - 24 for $2.50 – - and use these beans for the filling. Now that is an inexpensive main dish! Freezes well too.

Crockpot Refried Beans

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 3 cups dry pinto or black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped or 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 5 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 9 cups water

1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.