Cranberry Margaritas

Quick and easy today.  I'm not even out of bed yet! Hubs woke me up before he left for work,  but this breed is way warmer than the house.  We live in a big drafty house that we are slowly filing in the cracks and holes.  Yes holes!  But,  it was always a dream to live or crazy life somewhere the kids had room and the neighbors were in walking distance but not reach out and touch them.  So we sink everything into the property and bills and are thankful for it!

I won't say is our dream property,  that will come when kids are gone!  What are you thankful for?

Today's recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven.   So make sure you go visit them!

EASY CRANBERRY MARGARITAS
Sweet and tart cranberry juice makes for extra festive margaritas!

PREP: 5 MINS TOTAL: 5 MINS
INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau or Triple Sec
ice cubes
DIRECTIONS:

Stir all ingredients together until blended.  Serve over ice in sugar- or salt-rimmed glasses, garnished with fresh cranberries and lime wedges if desired.

Cranberry cream Cheese Dip

This was brought up at lunch a while back and I forgot about it!

It sounded so good and everyone was telling how this person brought it and it was ssooooo good. So I figured I better share. I found this one at Julie's Eats and Treats.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can jellied cranberry sauce
1/8 c. chopped cilantro
1/8 c. chopped green onion
1/4 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions

Spread cream cheese on bottom of pie plate.
In a small mixing bowl beat together cranberry sauce, cilantro, green onion, cumin and lemon juice. Spread on top of cream cheese.
Serve with crackers.

Sweet and Savory Meatballs

My hubs' Aunt made these for our family gathering and all of my Residents liked them! I can't wait to try them. I don't have her exact recipe but I found a similar one on the interweb  (hubs is an IT guy and that's what he calls it;).  If or when I get her recipe and permission I will update this!

This recipe comes from sparkpeople.com

Ingredients
3 pounds lean ground beef
2 packages dry onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs, soaked in 1 1/2 cups water
3 eggs
1 (16-ounce) package refrigerated sauerkraut, drained
1 (16-ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup water

Directions
In mixing bowl combine ground beef, soup mix, prepared bread crumbs and eggs. Mix well and form into 2-inch diameter meat balls. Place in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan
Meanwhile, combine sauerkraut, cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar and water in medium sauce pan; bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour sauerkraut mixture over meatballs and bake, uncovered, at 350*F (175*C) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Makes 12 servings.

Do you have a recipe to share with us as well? You can send it to ourasylum@outlook.com

Thanksgiving Week! Cranberry Edition

So are you ready for my Thanksgiving menu and my Cranberry recipe?


Here goes:
Turkey
Potatoes
Stuffing (recipe Wednesday)
Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Buns (Hawaiian Buns)
Apple Pie
Pecan Pie (cheating, bought filling ;)

Pumpkin Pie
Green Bean Casserole
Cracktastic Crackers
Relish tray
I am sure there will be more as I go, but so far that is where I am at!  it is going to be a busy week...


I have no idea where this came from!


Cranberry Sauce with Crystallized Ginger


2 12-ounce bags cranberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup orange juice

1 cup water

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 teaspoon ground ginger (will omit)

1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) minced crystallized ginger

Combine first 6 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Cool. Mix in crystallized ginger. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

I will be making mine in a small crockpot this year since I don't have to travel with it.

Cranberry Tea Cookies

So I have been talking to Saucy about how I would some day like to open my own tea shop.  I would love to have a place to share a cuppa and maybe even have little girls birthday tea parties!  So that is now added to my 10 year bucket list (am I truly crazier than I thought).  By then kids will be graduated and hubs will hopefully be out of the military.  So I have been doing a lot of research and looking for recipes that I could serve in a tea shop.  I found this one and remembered making it with my Aunt when I was little (probably where my tea obsession began).  So thank you Aunt Gladys for showing me the things girls should have been into instead of the mud and overalls I was...


Cranberry Tea Cookies
Makes 35-40 Cookies


2-4 oz sticks salted butter at room temperature (8 oz total)
1/2 cup sugar
2 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 c chopped pecans
3/4 c chopped dried cranberries
1/4 c extra sugar

Cream butter and sugar til fluffy. Add milk and vanilla - mix. Add flour and salt - mix well.  It might seem crumbly at this point but if you keep blending it will come together eventually.  Add the cranberries and pecans.


Roll into 2 logs about 8 x 1 1/2".  Wrap and chill for 2 hours in the fridge.  I've also put them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes and this works the same way.  You just want it to be firm enough to cut without misshaping the round cookie.


Slice cookies about 1/4" thick.  Roll edges of cookie in sugar (if you want.  But I highly recommend!)

Autumn Brittle

Todays recipe is perfect for those up coming chilly nights.  We keep talking about autumn and chilly nights and it was in the upper 80s today!  We are crazier than even I thought!  I found this recipe at Adventures in Cooking.  She is a lot like us and tries new things and shares them! 


Did you know that pumpkin seeds are also called pepitas?




Autumn Brittle

Ingredients: 1 Cup Almonds 1 Cup Cashews 3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds 2/3 Cup Dried Cranberries 2 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar  1/4 Cup Golden Brown Sugar 1/2 Cup Honey 1 Cup Water 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 1 Tablespoon Butter Heat the sugars, honey, water and salt in a large pot over a low-medium flame. Use a pot that is larger than you would think necessary because when the mixture begins to boil it will foam up and increase in size. Stir every five minutes or so. Using a candy thermometer, continue to heat the mixture until it reaches a temperature of exactly 302 degrees Fahrenheit. This is very important because this is the temperature at which sugar hardens into a rock-like state after it cools. Pay close attention not to go very far above 302, otherwise you will burn the sugar. It can take up to an hour for the mixture to reach that high of a temperature, so don't get too worried if 15 minutes go by and the thermometer is still at 175. While the sugar mixture is boiling, place a sheet of parchment paper on top of a shallow pan, about 9 x 13 inches in width and length, and grease the parchment paper. Set aside. Once the sugar mixture reaches 302, immediately remove it from heat and stir in the butter, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries until they're coated in the mixture. Immediately pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and spread it out into a large rectangle using a rubber spatula. Try to keep the surface relatively even and about 1 inch in height. Place the pan in the refrigerator and allow the brittle to cool for one hour. Once it has finished cooling, remove the sheet of brittle from the parchment paper and break the brittle into pieces using a meat tenderizer or clean hammer. Arrange the pieces on a serving platter and serve. Store excess brittle in a cool dry place.