Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Adapted from a recipe from Cooking Light. First stab at making this dish at home and this was super easy and delicious! It has a real nice orange taste (I love the blend of orange and cranberries).

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Orange juice
2 tbsp Orange rind, grated (from one large orange)
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
12 oz package Fresh Cranberries

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes (or when the cranberries pop).
3. Pour into a serving container and chill before serving (excellent to do the day before you need it).

Enjoy!

Red-Skinned & Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Red-Skinned & Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Getting these recipes that were from last Thanksgiving finally on my blog.  This was a recipe that was adapted from a few.  The primary inspiration came from the recipe for Red Skin Potato Mash from Food & Wine magazine.  We don't normally make mashed potatoes from scratch, but these were not that hard and came out great.  A great addition to any big holiday meal.

Ingredients (serves 12)
1 Garlic head, top sliced off
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt, divided
5 lbs Red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2" chunks.
1 2/3 sticks Unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups Skim milk
1/4 tsp Black pepper (adjust to taste)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Place the garlic head (with the top sliced off) in aluminum foil and drizzle with the olive oil and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt.  Close the foil over the garlic to create a pouch.  Place it in the oven for an hour and half.
3. After the garlic has been cooking for around an hour, add the potatoes and the remaining kosher salt in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook over moderately high heat for around 25-30 minutes.  Drain the potatoes and return to the pot off the heat.
4. Remove the garlic from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.  Squeeze the roasted garlic into the potatoes and then add the butter, skim milk, and black pepper.
5. Mash the potato mixture until well blended.  Add butter and milk as needed.

Enjoy!

Corey's Green Bean Casserole

Corey's Green Bean Casserole

This is my variation of the holiday favorite.  We made this last year for Thanksgiving and I am only finally posting it now.  I adapted this from the "official" recipes on the Campbell's Kitchen site and French's (the people that make the great French Fried onions.  This is simple and a great addition to any holiday meal.

Ingredients (serves 6 - The above picture is a double portion)

1 10 3/4 oz can Condensed cream of mushroom Soup
1/2 cup Skim milk
1/4 tsp Black pepper
4 cups Green beans, frozen
1 1/2 cup French fried onions

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix the soup, milk, black pepper, beans and half the fried onions in a casserole.
3. Bake for 40 minutes and then stir the bean mixture.
4. Sprinkle the remaining onions atop the mixture and cook for 5-10 minutes more (until golden brown).

Enjoy!

Sauteed Carrots with Sage

Sauteed Carrots with Sage

   

 This is another side that I am going to make a staple in our Thanksgiving dinner. This is a very easy side, but very tasty. It works great for any big meal, like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. This was adapted from a recipe from Cooking Light.

Ingredients (for 8 servings)
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 cups Carrot, sliced diagonally (or baby cut carrots cut in half longwise)
4 tbsp Water
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Sage, dried

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. 
2. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Then add carrots and water. Partially cover pan and cook 10 minutes or until carrots are almost tender. 
3. Add kosher salt, black pepper and dried sage to the pan.  Increase the heat to medium-high and cook 4-6 additional minutes or until carrots are tender and lightly browned, stirring frequently.

Enjoy as a great side with meals.

Salmon with Ginger-Soy Butter

Salmon with Ginger-Soy Butter  

 This is a really nice and very easy recipe for salmon that was adapted from one I found at Prevention. I have not done a lot with butter sauces - but I am hoping to do more in the future. I really loved the way this turned out. 

Ingredients (serves 3-4)
1 1/2 tbsp Unsalted butter, softened (try to get two hours at room temperature)
1 tsp Grated ginger
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp Olive oil
3-4 salmon fillets (4-6 oz each)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1 tbsp Olive oil

Directions
1. Mix the butter, ginger, lemon juice, and soy sauce until well blended. Set aside.
2. Preheat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. 
3. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and rub with the oil. 
4. Add salmon to the pan (skin side down) and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.  Turn the salmon and cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side.  
5. When the salmon is removed from the pan, place a spoonful of the flavored butter (along with any additional liquids that did not blend).

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes & Cranberries

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes & Cranberries


So this recipe has been sitting on my flickr photostream without a recipe for...well a full year.  So I wanted to get this down and shared because it was fantastic and super easy.  We are going make this again for Thanksgiving.  I love the fact that it takes just a few minutes to get rolling and it will cook all day without using a burner.  What a great meal that is perfect for Thanksgiving - but really nice with any winter meal.  Definitely will be a family favorite.  This was adapted from the recipe for Crock Pot Sweet Potatoes & Cranberries With Toasted Pecans from Food.com.

Ingredients
4 Sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" slices
3/4 cup Cranberries, fresh
1 Apple, peeled & cut into 1/4" slices
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
2/3 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Apple cider

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker in the order that they are listed in recipe.
2. Cook on LOW setting for 7-9 hours (until the sweet potatoes are tender).

Enjoy!