Name: How to Make Cranberry Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 2 1/4 cups
Ingredients: 1 12-ounce bag fresh or cranberries (I freeze bags of fresh cranberries, and you can just use them straight from the freezer); 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup water OR the juice of one large orange plus enough water to make a cup; zest of one orange, optional

How to Make Cranberry Sauce

November 12, 2018

What are your thoughts on cranberry sauce? Do you hate it? Or do you like the log of cranberry sauce that comes out of a can, complete with the lines from the can completely intact? If fresh, homemade cranberry sauce is your Thanksgiving style, then this tutorial on how to make cranberry sauce is perfect for you!

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When I was growing up, my grandmother always made cranberry relish for Thanksgiving dinner. Fresh cranberries, whole oranges, and sugar, all ground up together. No cooking. I liked it okay but the bitterness of the orange pith made it a little much for my young tastebuds.

We really never ate the cranberry sauce that came out of a can, and honestly, I can’t even remember when or where I first tried it. I do remember, though, that when I did try it, I realized that I had been missing out on the deliciousness that is cranberry sauce.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

And then I figured out how to make homemade cranberry sauce. I fell in love, hard, and realized that the canned stuff that you slice is just gateway cranberry sauce. I promise you, canned cranberry sauce in no way compares to homemade cranberry sauce.

Cranberries are a truly amazing little fruit. They have little pockets of air in them, and as you cook them they pop open. Full of their own natural pectin, they thicken their own sauce without the addition of packaged pectin or other thickeners. Literally, all you need to make a delicious cranberry sauce are three ingredients:

Fresh cranberries
Sugar
Water

Cranberry Orange Sauce

I love how the flavor of orange pairs with the flavor of cranberry, so I always use some orange juice and zest to give my homemade cranberry sauce a little zip. But, if you don’t like orange or have another reason not to use it in your sauce, then just leave it out!
Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest holiday cooking and sauce boards!

I call myself a cranberry hoarder because the second that cranberries show up in my grocery store, I start throwing a bag or two into my cart every week so that I can have frozen cranberries available all year. That way, I can have homemade cranberry sauce anytime I want it. Which means that year-round I can make my Instant Pot turkey breast and some cranberry sauce and have a Thanksgiving sandwich whenever. I. Want it.

And that, my friends, is a reason to be happy.

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite and The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

Mary

Yield: 2 1/4 cups

How to Make Cranberry Sauce

This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen , whose recipe is adapted from Ocean Spray .

5 minPrep Time:

15 minCook Time:

20 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

1 12-ounce bag fresh or cranberries (I freeze bags of fresh cranberries, and you can just use them straight from the freezer)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water OR the juice of one large orange plus enough water to make a cup
zest of one orange, optional

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except orange zest, if using, in a medium saucepan. Set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened and all berries have burst. I use the spoon to gently mash the berries against the side of the pan to make sure they all burst. This takes 10-15 minutes total.
Stir in the orange zest, if using. Place the sauce into a covered container or jar and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or up to two months in the freezer.

https://chattavore.com/how-to-make-cranberry-sauce/

Seasoned Skillet Pork Chops with Tangy Sauce

April 28, 2017

These seasoned skillet pork chops come together in less than half an hour for a delicious weeknight dinner! The tangy sauce is perfect on the side.

There’s something about a roast that just makes dinnertime seem so simple. Even though roasts have to cook for a really long time, they’re so easy…just season and roast. Boom. Even better if you can put it in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. You don’t even have to heat up your kitchen!

The thing is, if you only have two people living in your house, a roast isn’t always practical. I mean, pork shoulders and chuck roasts are great because you can shred them up and throw the leftovers in the freezer, then pull them out whenever you need a filling for a sandwich or a taco. But with a roast that you slice up, the freezer option doesn’t seem that appealing.

There was this roast that my grandmother used to make all the time when I was a kid. It was a pork loin, seasoned with a spice mixture that included chili powder, served with a sweet and tangy sauce made from apple jelly and ketchup. It was absolutely delicious and it was one of the things that stands out in my mind that she made. Pretty much a flawless meal.

But again…it’s kind of hard to find a pork loin that isn’t gigantic. But you know what isn’t gigantic? Pork chops. So, I took my grandmother’s pork loin roast and turned it into these seasoned skillet pork chops. Not only did they taste great, these skillet pork chops were such a quick dinner. The sauce only takes about 5 minutes to whisk up, and the pork chops come together from start to finish in less than 20 minutes. I served them with some Instant Pot mashed potatoes from A Calculated Whisk (?). Seasoned skillet pork chops are a fabulous weeknight dinner!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!

Mary

Yield: 4 pork chops, 1 cup sauce

Seasoned Skillet Pork Chops with Tangy Sauce

5 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

25 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the Sauce

1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder

For the Pork Chops

1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless pork chops, approximately 1/2 inch thick

Instructions

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir constantly until the apple jelly melts and the sauce is smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl if using immediately. If not using immediately, pour into a jar or lidded bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the chili powder, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a small bowl.
Place the olive oil in a medium oven-safe skillet and set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork chops on both sides with the spice mixture.
Place the pork chops in the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side to brown. Remove from heat and place in the oven. Bake for about 6-8 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the center reaches 145°. Serve immediately with warm sauce.

https://chattavore.com/seasoned-skillet-pork-chops-tangy-sauce/

This seasoned skillet pork chops are come together in less than half an hour for a delicious weeknight dinner! The tangy sauce is perfect on the side. | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Kale Pesto

April 24, 2017

This kale pesto with almonds is a quick and easy sauce that is great on pasta, breads, and sandwiches or mixed into vegetable dishes.

Real talk: is there anything tastier than pesto? If there is, I haven’t found it yet. I remember when I first discovered it, back when Philip and I were first married. A friend at work was talking about it (her girls called pasta with pesto “green noodles”) and I decided that I needed to try it. Armed with my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and a super cheap mini food processor that I bought from Target (seriously, some piece of plastic broke off of it every time I used it), I whipped up some amazing spinach pesto. Philip and I developed a serious pesto addiction.

We don’t eat pesto quite as much these days as we did way back then (almost 16 years ago!) but I still love a good pesto. And homemade is always, always better than store-bought. And why not? It takes about 10 minutes to make, aside from the toasting of the nuts.

Pesto is traditionally made with basil, but it takes a LOT of basil so I like to bulk it up with spinach. However, I had some kale that I bought at Earth Fare a couple of weeks ago and I really needed to use it up. Voilà: kale pesto. I have to say, it was fantastic. I made it with almonds instead of pine nuts, mostly because I didn’t have pine nuts but also because I recently read about something called pine mouth and I’m a little bit paranoid. It might be a minute before I am brave enough to eat pine nuts again.

Kale pesto isn’t just for pasta, you guys. I mean, of course it’s perfect on pasta. It’s also amazing slathered on a sandwich (hello, rotisserie chicken & ciabatta???) or just on a hot baguette, mixed with cream cheese to dip a cracker into, stirred into a vegetable side dish, or even whisked into a vinaigrette. No matter what, kale pesto is absolutely fabulous!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate!

Mary

Yield: 3/4 cup pesto

Kale Pesto

10 minPrep Time:

10 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

2 tightly packed cups of torn kale
1 cup torn basil
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

Pulse the kale, basil, almonds, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor until finely ground. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With the food processor running, pour the olive oil very slowly through the food processor chute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a week.

https://chattavore.com/kale-pesto/

This kale pesto with almonds is a quick and easy sauce that is great on pasta, breads, and sandwiches or mixed into vegetable dishes. | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Baked Brie with Jezebel Sauce

March 20, 2017

If you need an appetizer that is special but OH SO EASY and versatile, baked brie with Jezebel sauce is perfect and has a little Southern flair!

I recently did a kids’ cooking class where we made baked sesame chicken. It was delicious – panko crusted chunks of chicken thighs tossed in a sweet and sticky honey soy sauce. As I am typing this, I am wondering if I can find an excuse to make that for dinner tonight instead of the tacos I’m supposed to be taking pictures of.

Thing about it, though…one of the kids wanted his chicken unsauced. And this kid, according to his mom, is not a picky eater. He just. doesn’t. like. sauce. What is that? Like, I cannot even begin to wrap my head around this concept. No sauce? Does not compute. I can remember dipping my chicken McNuggets into ketchup as a babe then later becoming 100% obsessed with creamy honey mustard and finding new things I could dip into it.

This is why I have grown to love brie. Baked brie is the perfect vehicle for sauce…it goes just as well with sweet sauces as it does with savory. Need an appetizer? If you aren’t sure what to serve, pour some sauce over some baked brie and shazam. There you go. Whatcha gonna dip into it? Who cares!!! Crackers, vegetables, fruits…whatever you want.

This baked brie with Jezebel sauce is where it’s at. Have you ever had Jezebel sauce? With pineapple preserves, apple jelly, whole grain mustard, and horseradish, it’s sweet and a little bit tangy, and it’s great in so many applications. Can you imagine dipping fried chicken into this? Or maybe drizzling it on a sandwich (oh, wait, I’ve got that one covered – stay tuned for that later this week)? It’s absolutely fabulous, and served over baked brie it just POPS.

Serve this baked brie with Jezebel sauce the next time you need a great appetizer – you’ll be glad you did!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!

Mary

Baked Brie with Jezebel Sauce

5 minPrep Time:

15 minCook Time:

20 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the Jezebel Sauce

1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup pineapple preserves
1/4 cup whole grain brown mustard
2-4 tablespoons prepared horseradish

For the Baked Brie

1 wedge brie cheese
1/2 cup Jezebel sauce
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350º. Place the brie in a small baking pan. Place it in the oven for 8 minutes.
While the brie is baking, whisk together Jezebel sauce ingredients in a medium bowl. Remove the brie from the oven and pour the brie over. Place the walnuts on the side so that they will toast. Place the pan bake into the oven for 7 more minutes.
Remove the brie from the oven and serve immediately with crackers, crostini, vegetables, or fruit. I like to bake this in a dish/pan that is nice enough to serve it in.

https://chattavore.com/baked-brie-with-jezebel-sauce/

If you need an appetizer that is special but OH SO EASY and versatile, baked brie with Jezebel sauce is perfect and has a little Southern flair! | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Shrimp and Corn Fritters

February 20, 2017

Shrimp and corn fritters are like a delicious hush puppy stuffed with shrimp and corn. They’re a great snack and a perfect dinner!

I love a hush puppy. Don’t you love a good hush puppy? A major comfort food meal for me is fried fish, fries, and hush puppies. When I was in college, my roommate and I would take a study break to go to Captain D’s during exam week so we could gorge ourselves on fried food (we called it “having food with our fat”) doused with malt vinegar. We even got an extra order of crispies (there was some special name for them that I can’t remember now). I haven’t eaten at Captain D’s in years, but I still remember those trips fondly.

The appeal of a hush puppy is not just in its deep-fried crispiness but also in all the flavors…the cornmeal, the onion, and sometimes a little bit of jalapeño. Everything works together so nicely in one little browned, crispy package and, well, if you aren’t eating your hush puppies I’ll gladly eat them for you. I married a man who doesn’t care for hush puppies, so that works out well for me in restaurants.

The problem is that when there are approximately two foods (hush puppies and peas on their own) that your husband just really doesn’t like it’s kind of difficult to justify making those things at home. He’s so not fussy that I would feel bad making something that I know he doesn’t want to eat. So….I have to get creative. Like, you know, putting peas in a soup or fried rice. Or making something that’s super-close to being a hush puppy without actually being a hush puppy.

Enter shrimp and corn fritters. Since I’ve become a fanatical follower of Smitten Kitchen, I have turned lots of things into fritters. I have not regretted any of it. Bonus is that I love food that can be dipped into condiments (ranch dressing and honey mustard are my old standbys, but I these days I love a great remoulade or tartar sauce or comeback sauce just as much). And you can totally dip a fritter. So to make these shrimp and corn fritters, I put the fish (well, shrimp) into the hush puppies, dialed back the cornmeal, added some plant life, and skipped the deep frying for a simple shallow fry. They’re perfect with a simple remoulade and some baked fries.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever had a fried fish and hush puppy dinner that was more comforting than these shrimp and corn fritters!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!

Yield: 16 fritters

Shrimp and Corn Fritters

30 minPrep Time:

25 minCook Time:

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Ingredients

For the remoulade (adapted from Southern Living Off the Eaten Path: Second Helpings)

2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon capers, drained and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the fritters

1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, finely minced
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped into small pieces
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
canola or vegetable oil

Instructions

Stir together the remoulade ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Combine all of the fritter ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place a baking sheet lined with paper towels in the oven. Pour enough oil into a 10-inch skillet to cover the bottom. Preheat over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Measure 1/4 cup portions of the fritter mixture and flatten into a disc with your hands. Carefully place into the hot oil. Cook for 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Drain on the paper towel lined baking sheet in the oven and repeat in batches of 4 or 5 fritters until all bater has been used. Serve while hot.

Notes

The prep time includes inactive prep time to refrigerate the batter.

https://chattavore.com/shrimp-and-corn-fritters/