Thanksgiving is right around the corner or for many of us Thanksgivukkuh.  So here come some great recipes and ideas for our favorite two holidays!!

 

Every Thanksgiving my sisters and I like to create a new signatiure drink befitting of the season.  Susan found a recipe for cranberry simple syrup, picked up some pomegranate vodka and we were set.  As a granish we skewered whole cranberries on a drink pick and froze them.  It was a great extra touch and it really did make a good stirrer that kept our drinks cool. 

 

 

Cranberry Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (8 ounces)      

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

 

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, bring cranberries, sugar, and water to a simmer over medium. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until cranberries are tender but haven't burst, 10 minutes. Let cool, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard cranberries.  Pour simple syrup in a small pitcher and reserve in the refrigerator until cocktail time.

 

Cranberry Pomegranate Martini

Ingredients:

1 oz Cranberry Simple Syrup

4 oz Pomegranate Vodka

ice

whole fresh cranberries skewered on a tooth pick or short skewer

 

Preparation:

Fill a cocktail shaker or anther container with ice.  Pour in 1oz of premade cranberry simple syrup and 4oz of pomegranate vodka.  Put on lid and shake for 15 seconds until nice and chilled.  Pour alcohol mixture without ice into a glass and add cranberry skewer for garnish.

 

 

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I have been dying to make my own granola ever since watching Ina Garten do it on the Food Network. The beauty of making homemade granola is that you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand. It was a snap to make and its a great healthy snack to have around the house. 
*Side note: The house smells amazing during baking.

Ingedients:
1 1/2 C. old fashioned oats
1 C. chopped hazelnuts
1 C. sliced almonds
1/2 C. sunflower seeds
1/2 C. dried cranberries
3 T. vegetable oil
3 T. honey
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine all ingredients and mix thouroughly. Pour out onto a silpat or foil lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until nicely browned. Turn and stir halfway through baking.

Cool completely and store in an air tight container.

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We have had this jello mold at every Thanksgiving meal since I can remember. We are not sure where it originated but I am guessing my Mom or one of her friends found it in a Women's magazine sometime in the 70s. it has become one of those traditional side dishes that everyone looks forward to once a year on Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

1 box of red jello 6 oz. or 2 3 oz. boxes

1 C cranberry juice cocktail

2 C boiling water

1 1/2-2 C peeled diced apples

1/2 C whole berry cranberry sauce

1/2 C chopped walnuts

1 C mandarine orange slices

Preparation :

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add cranberry juice. Add 3/4 C jello mixture to bottom of mold. Place in refrigerator to chill with bowl of jello for 1/2 hour.

Place oranges in the mold and put back in refrigerator and check jello in 1 to 1 1/2 hours to see if jello is slightly firm.

Add mixture of apples, cranberry sauce and chopped walnuts to the bowl of jello and pour into mold. Place back into refrigerator until set.

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You can't have Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce.  This is my version.  I use strawberries to help sweeten it up a little more and add extra texture.  This year I decided to add a little lemon juice and cinnamon and it really came out delicious.

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 quart strawberries, diced
1 cup sugar
1 cup  water
Lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Place cranberries, water and sugar in a medium saucepan and cook on med/hi until cranberries start to burst.  Stir cranberry mixture and add in diced strawberries.  Let cook on med - med/hi heat stirring occasionally until fruit is cooked down but still a little chunky about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and cinnamon and cook for an additional minute or two.   Remove from stove and transfer hot mixture into a heat proof bowl and chill in refrigerator until cold, about 1-2 hrs or overnight.
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I needed to make something "international" for a potluck luncheon that I was invited to at my former job.  I also needed to make something that I could totally complete the day before because I wouldn't have anytime the morning of the luncheon.  I opened my cabinets and saw cranberries, almonds and dark chcocolate and thought BISCOTTI.  It's Italian and delicious would also taste perfect the following day.  So here we have Chocolate Dipped, Cranberry Almond Biscotti.  Now the trick was to make sure my husband didn't eat it all before the next day.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup margarine
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teasoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips, melted for dipping

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with a silpat or grease baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  In a large bowl cream together margarine and sugar, add eggs and almond extract and mix until combined well.  In a med bowl using a wire whisk, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time.  This makes a very stiff dough, you may need to use your hands to mix at the end.  Add cranberries and almonds and incorporate with an electric mixer or your hands.   Divide dough in half and using your hands form dough into a long thin, flat loaf on lined baking sheet.  You should be able to make two 10-12 inch loaves that are about 4 inches wide and 1 inch in thick.  Bake in the oven for 25 minute or until the edges of the loaves are lightly brown.  Remove from oven and slice each loaf into 1/2 inch slices.  Lay slices down on baking sheet and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove biscotti from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
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I just got this recipe from a friend of mine and when I read the recipe I thought it sounded delicious and it is!  It's also so super easy to make with only a few ingredients that most people always have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 lb boneless, skinless thin chicken breast fillets
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked fresh pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Preparation:

Combine cranberries, apple juice and chicken stock in a small bowl. Set aside.  In a gallon-sized plastic bag with zip top, mix flour, salt and pepper. Toss chicken breasts into bag and shake well until each breast is coated evenly with flour. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot add chicken and cook for 5 minutes each side. Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm.
Pour soaked cranberries with juice and stock into the hot pan, reduce heat to low and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in mustard and add chicken back into pan.
Cook for another 6-8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and sauce has thickened. Serve chicken with sauce atop.

Linked to Everyday Moms Meals
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