Tag Archives: cranberry

Comfort food, Healthy, Main Dishes, Salads

Cranberry Cashew Chicken Salad

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Ever get really tired of a certain kind of lunch?  Like say you always take a roast beef sandwich with cheddar and mustard.  Or a tuna salad pita pocket.  Or a certain type or brand of soup.  When you eat the same thing several days in a row, you can get bored easily.  But then you also want more ‘grown-up’ options sometimes than just peanut butter and jelly, or maybe you don’t have any leftovers to choose from at the moment.

This is a super simple recipe for a great tasting and healthy chicken salad sandwich mix.  It is designed to make just enough for one large sandwich or wrap, but you can easily increase the quantities to feed a family of four or a luncheon buffet for fifty.  It has a tiny bit of sweetness, which helps kids love it too, and a nice bit of crunch to make it interesting.  No one needs to know that you snuck in an extra serving of fruits & veggies.

For maximum healthy, use plain Greek yogurt to bind it, and serve as a lettuce wrap or on whole grain bread or tortilla with extra veggie toppings.  This is a great way to use up extra chicken meat from a whole bird, and is very frugal and versatile.  Try this the next time you need lunchtime inspiration, a quick after-school snack, or a buzz-worthy picnic dish.

Ingredients for Cranberry Cashew chicken salad

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1/2 tbsp dried cranberry
  • 1/2 tbsp cashews or peanuts
  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise or Miracle Whip or plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp mustard

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Step 1: Use meat from a cooked chicken (such as rotisserie) to save time, or poach 1 boneless skinless chicken breast in water or broth until no longer pink.  Shred with two forks, and use about 1/2 cup per serving you intend to make.

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Step 2: In a bowl, mix all ingredients together well.  This tastes even better if you let it sit overnight in the refrigerator, and will keep up to a week.  Feel free to add in your own flavorings like lemon or lime juice, use raisins instead of cranberries, or add spinach rather than celery.  If you have nut allergies, omit the cashews/peanuts, and if you still want crunch add a tbsp large breadcrumbs, fried onions, or Chinese noodles.

 

 

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Dessert, Dips and Sauces, Holidays, Side dishes, Vegetarian

Mom’s Special Cranberry Sauce

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With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I am getting ready for cooking up all the associated goodies.  If you are lucky enough to have a mom, aunt, grandmother, etc who has special family recipes that have been passed down over generations, do yourself a favor and start to learn those recipes.  Instead of watching cartoons or football, get into the kitchen and help out.  You never know when it will be your turn to feed yourself, your family, or your whole neighborhood.

This recipe is passed down from my fiancee’s mother.  It is hands-down his favorite Thanksgiving dish, so much so that his mom usually makes a double recipe just so he can have one whole batch to himself.  I also doubled the recipe, and it was still all gone within two days.  You can easily multiply this recipe to make as much as you need, this makes about 10 cups of sauce.

It is a perfect blend of tangy cranberry and sweet from the sugar.  The orange juice and orange peel gives it a nice depth of flavor, and you can adjust the other spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, etc to your own liking.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 can crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 16 oz bag cranberries
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup grated orange peel
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon

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Step 1: Put the orange juice in a pan and bring it to a boil.  Rinse the cranberries and add them to the pot.

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Step 2: Add the sugars and the entire can of crushed pineapple.

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Step 3: Then add the spices.  You might want to make sure you use a pot that will be big enough to hold everything…

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Step 4: Grate the orange peel.  Try not to get any white pith in there. Add it to the pot,  mix well.

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Step 5: Simmer for at least 1 hour, until the cranberries begin to burst and liquefy.  It will thicken as you cook it down, and will thicken even more upon cooling.

This stuff is so good, I don’t even have a picture of the finished product! The recipe is great for doubling or tripling, and freezes well.  This can easily be made up to a month ahead of time, and simply reheated the day of, for an easy time-saver.

Breads, Breakfast, Dessert, Healthy, Snacks

Cranberry Orange Muffins

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One of the best things about fall is all the wonderful scents and flavors that come into season.  Of course the powerhouse is Pumpkin Spice, undisputed king of the fall flavors.  But I’m more of a fan of the littler-known seasonal delights, like nutmeg, fall squash, citrus, and cranberries.

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And of course, cranberries & oranges go together like peanut butter and jelly in the fall. Cranberry & orange tastes great on chicken, pork, or fish, they go together in relish for your Thanksgiving turkey, or baked into bread, cookies, and of course muffins!

These muffins are light and moist, with a lovely sweet tang from the juice and the berries. Perfect for snacking, quick breakfasts, or midday snacks. These muffins can also be frozen in single layers and popped into baggies for an on-the-go treat later. Simply microwave or pop in a toaster oven for a warm fluffy breakfast.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 large orange
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 cup fresh, dried, or frozen cranberries
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda

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Step 1: In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder & soda, ) and in another bowl mix all the wet ingredients (egg, oil, juice). You can juice an actual orange for the juice if you have the ability.

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Step 2: Grate the peel of one orange, and mix it into the wet ingredients. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients, and fold together until moist. Add in the cranberries. If you’re using frozen cranberries, thaw and drain them first so your batter doesn’t get too watery.

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Step 3: Either spray muffin tins with cooking oil or line them with muffin papers. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into each opening. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are browning on the top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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Remove your lovely muffins and let them cool enough to take out of the pan. Then enjoy at least one (or three, I won’t tell!) while they’re still warm.  MMMM MMM! So delicious with coffee, hot tea, or some fresh hot chocolate.

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