Orange Cranberry Bread

Me: Mom, I'm at the grocery store. Could you tell me the ingredients for that fabulous cranberry bread you make?
Mom: Oh! I just use the recipe on the back of the bag of cranberries.
Me: Oh. That's easy.

So here, my friends, is the Ocean Spray Orange Cranberry Bread!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup orange juice

1 T grated orange peel

2 T vegetable oil

1 egg, well beaten

1 1/2 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)



Preheat oven to 350*
Grease 9x5 loaf pan
Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Add orange juice, grated peel, vegetable oil and egg.  Mix well.
Add cranberries and optional nuts.
Spread into loaf pan.
Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.  Slice, serve and enjoy!

As a bonus, I got to use the Cuisinart to chop all those cranberries in record time!  I also got to see the look on Laura's face as she insisted on eating a raw cranberry.  They are tart!

Peanut Sauce

This is a great toddler-friendly dipping sauce, which I pair with Chicken Satay.  Just leave out the spicier ingredients in both recipes!

Ingredients:
3/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C peanut butter (smooth)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground ginger
4 T sugar
2 tsp white wine
1/2 C canola oil
1/2 C water
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly minced garlic

Blend all of the ingredients in saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
Boil for about 5 minutes.
Sauce will thicken slightly.
Sauce can store in air tight container in refrigerator for at least a week.

Serve over cooked noodles (about 3/4 of the sauce for 1 lb of pasta).
Makes a great dipping sauce for broccoli, sugar snap peas, snow peas, chicken or shrimp.

Corn Casserole

A friend made this for dinner on a recent visit.  It was absolutely delicious, toddler-friendly and easy to make.  I plan on making this again very soon.  And possibly as part of Thanksgiving dinner!

Preheat oven to 400*

2 cans corn (drained) or frozen (thawed)

1 can Campbell’s cream of celery soup

1 onion, chopped

A couple of sticks of celery, chopped up (optional)

1 small jar pimentos (drained)

1 or 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (depending on how much cheese you want!)

Mix all together.

Spray baking dish with cooking spray and then put mixed ingredients into dish.

Crush up Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top.

Pour some melted butter on the crackers.

Bake at 400* degrees for about 45 minutes.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but am eager to give it a chance!

Stir-fry on medium heat until chicken has color and onions are translucent:
4-6 boneless chicken thighs, cubed
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T butter
2 T oil

Transfer to crockpot and add:
15 green cardamom pods held in cheesecloth (um... could I just add some ground cardamom??)
2 tsp curry powder
1 T curry paste (mild for me!!)
1 tsp cayenne powder (optional)
2 tsp tandoori masala
1 tsp garam masala
1 can coconut milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 can tomato paste
Salt to taste

Mix gently and cook on high heat 4-6 hours or low heat 6-8 hours
Serve with basmati rice and warm naan bread.

Rose Sangria

We enjoyed some very tasty sangria at a wine festival recently.  The vineyard giving out the sangria wasn't that great, but they sure knew how to mask some flawed wines!

Rose Sangria
makes 1 gallon

Mix:
1 bottle rose wine
1 bottle sweet white wine (recipe calls for Traminette)
1 cup sugar

Add:
1 liter lemonade
1 liter gingerale
2 cups strawberries, diced

Keep an eye out for this at the upcoming BadBash!