Spicy Cranberry Sauce

December 12, 2014 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

I think cranberry sauce might be one of the most debated dishes at holiday meals. Do you make it from scratch or get in the can? Leave it tart or add copious amounts of sugar? Eat it on it’s own or use it as a turkey topping? Each family has their own preference and it’s usually steeped in tradition. We’ve always done it this way so we’re going to keep doing it this way.

Delicious canned cranberries. Look at those rings!

Well my cranberry palate has changed over the years. When I was younger, I was all about the canned cranberries. Nothing was better than opening the can and shaking it back and forth until the glob of cranberries, shaped exactly like the can rings and all, slid out onto the plate. I loved slicing rings off of that glob and gobbling them up. I’m sure the crazy amounts of high fructose syrup had nothing to do with that… Then as I got older I really started to like the cranberry relish that my mom made every year. It was a mix of cranberries, apples, oranges, and spices. I liked the tartness of the cranberries with the sweet of the apple and I liked the simplicity of the dish.

Then my mother in law brought a new cranberry sauce to Thanksgiving this year and it was amazing. It was a Guy Fieri recipe and it was a sweet and spicy sauce that was just awesome. I had to control myself so I didn’t eat the whole container! Luckily, I was able to snag some leftovers and got to enjoy the cranberries for a little longer. But once they were gone, I knew that I needed to make some more. So I looked up the recipe and realized that I had none of the ingredients other than the cranberries. Since I didn’t want to make a trip to the store just to get the ingredients for one dish, I decided to see if I could make my own version.

With a minimal amount of ingredients, I was able to recreate the sweet and spicy sauce that I had fallen in love with. This is a really easy dish to make and you can use this sauce for numerous other dishes. I’ve mixed it into oatmeal, used it as a topping for fish, tried it on some cookies, and even just eaten it with a spoon. It’s that versatile. Ok, enough talking about cranberry sauce time to go make some!

Spicy Cranberry Sauce

*adapted from Guy Fieri’s Red Devil Cranberries

1 cup whole cranberries
1 cup water
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (less if you don’t want it as spicy)
1/4 tsp salt

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water and 2 tbsp honey to a boil and then immediately lower to a simmer. Add in the cranberries and stir occasionally. Keep stirring until the cranberries start to burst.

2. Add in all the seasonings and stir to combine. Keep the heat on low and cook until the sauce has reduced and started to thicken.

3. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your taste. Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool. As it cools it will thicken even more. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

That’s it! It’s a fairly simple process and the sauce keeps for awhile in the fridge. Because cranberries are so abundant and cheap right now, you can make big batches and then freeze so you can have a delicious sauce for weeks to come. I hope that you enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!

3 Ingredient Pumpkin Dip

December 5, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Necessity is the mother of invention right? Well that’s how this simple recipe came to be. I decided that I wanted a snack of celery and hummus and I was absolutely positive that I had some homemade hummus sitting in my fridge. Sadly, I was mistaken and there was no delicious hummus for me to eat my celery. So was left with two choices. I could eat my celery plain, but what kind of crazy person eats plain celery? Or I could find some substitute for my non-existent hummus. I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand to make a new batch of hummus but I did have a few things that I was able to throw together in less than 5 minutes and make a tasty dip. I bet that you probably have most of these things on hand now, so if you have some plain celery you have a hankering for go make this super easy dip!

3 Ingredient Pumpkin Dip

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tbsp tahini
1-2 tsp mustard (I used hot mustard, but you can use whatever you have on hand)

1. Ready? Mix this all together in a bowl and eat. That’s it!

You can adjust the amounts to your taste and the amount of dip that you need to make. This was a single snack size serving for me. This would be a really great dip for a crudite plate for a holiday gathering. I also used it as a topping for my lentil loaf last night and it added a really great flavor. So whip this up and enjoy!

Stuffing Casserole

November 28, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I don’t know if you remember, but a few weeks back I mentioned that I was going to start writing a health column for a magazine. Well my first article was published in the Nov/Dec issue that came out at the beginning of the month. It’s pretty exciting to see my name in the byline and see my recipes in a magazine. One of my recipes was even made the cover shot, so that was pretty awesome! The other recipe that I put out was this one. I wanted to make a dish that would be easy to make and bring to holiday gatherings. This is dairy, soy, meat, and gluten-free so it is a good dish to serve if you have guests over who have and food issues. It’s also a great dish to make ahead and then just warm up in the oven before you serve. I brought it to Thanksgiving in Indiana yesterday and I’ll be bringing it to my second Thanksgiving on Saturday. I hope that you all had a great day and if you are just getting back from black Friday shopping, I hope you get a nice big nap!

Stuffing Casserole

Polenta Layer

1 cup cornmeal
3 cups water
1-2 tsp salt
3 tsp Italian seasoning

Cashew Cream Layer

1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 30 minutes
1/2 cup water
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

Stuffing Layer

1 cup walnuts (can also use cashews or pecans but walnuts work best)
8 oz package of mushrooms
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste.

1. Start with your polenta. Bring 3 cups of water and salt to a boil. Whisk in the 1 cup of cornmeal and cook on low until the polenta is nice and thick and starting to pull away from the sides of the pot. Stir in the Italian seasonings and pour into an oiled casserole dish. Place in the fridge while you make the rest of your layers

2. Place your soaked and rinsed cashews into a blender or food processor with the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside.

3. Place walnuts and mushrooms into a food processor and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat and saute onions, celery, and garlic for 5 to 7 minutes until soft. Add in the mushroom walnut mixture and seasonings and cook for about 10 minutes until the mixture starts to brown a little.

4. Get your casserole dish out of the fridge and make sure the polenta is set. Spread a thick layer of the cashew cream over the polenta, making sure it’s covered. Then spread the mushroom.walnut mixture over the cream. If you’re going to eat it right away, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Otherwise when you’re ready to eat, place in oven at 350 for 25 minutes uncovered. Slice and enjoy!

Look at those yummy layers!

This also makes a really good breakfast dish if you have to feed a crowd. Whenever you eat it, it’s sure to please! I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend and see you on Monday!

Friday Link Love

November 21, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I am in the middle of testing a few different recipes right now, so sadly I don’t have a new one for you today. Don’t worry though, the rest of the blogging world has some delicious things for you to try! Here are a few of the recipes and blogs that are catching my attention.

Eating Bird Food

Brussels sprouts often get a bad rap, but they are delicious and tasty especially when you prepare them like this!

Kath Eats Real Food

This is a really unique way to use grits and sushi. I love grits and this just looks tasty!

The Lean Green Bean

Need to feed a lot of people for breakfast? Then this is your dish! With family visiting for the holidays this is a great meal to keep on hand.

PaleOMG

I love pumpkin and eggnog and brownies. Good thing PaleOMG made this brownie eggnog pumpkin pie!

Purely Twins

I really like that one of the layers in this cake is made with kabocha squash. The oreo cake is pretty good too….

The Gracious Pantry

And finally if you are looking for a quick and healthy side for your Thanksgiving table, check out these sweet potato biscuits!

These are just a few samples of all the great, delicious, and healthy recipes that are out there. I can’t wait to try all of these and hopefully these give you some ideas on what to serve for the upcoming holiday. Have a great weekend and I will see you back on Monday!

Reader feedback: What are some of your favorite holiday meals? What dish are you most looking forward to?

Slow Cooker Applesauce

November 14, 2014 / ktbuchs87

A while back, I went to an apple orchard with my family. I came back with a whole bushel of apples, which is way more than two people can eat because they start to go bad. There are so many things that you can do with apples, like pies, crumbles, apple butter, baked apples, apple donuts, the list goes on and on. While those are all fine and dandy one of my favorite, and easiest, ways to use up apples is to make applesauce. There are many ways that you can make applesauce, but I find the simplest way is to make it in my slow cooker. I can barely call this a “recipe” as it really doesn’t take much to make, but here is how I make my applesauce!

Slow Cooker Applesauce

2 to 3 pounds of apples (really as many as your crockpot can hold)
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 to 4 sticks of cinnamon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
water

1. Wash and cut your apples into slices, making sure you get rid of the core and seeds. You can peel your apples, but I like to keep the skin on for extra fiber

2. Place apples in your slow cooker and add in lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add in 1/2 to 3/4 cups water depending on how many apples you have. You don’t want to cover the apples with water, just enough to add a little bit of steam while cooking.

3. Cover and cook the apples on low for about 6 hours. Remove cinnamon sticks and either using a hand blender (the easiest way) or blender/food processor, blend the apples to desired consistency. I like them smooth but you can leave in a few chunks if you like.

4. Let the applesauce cool completely and then move to a mason jar or other container and store in the fridge.

I like to use my applesauce to make baked goods like muffins, bread, or cookies. It also is a great topping for pork chops or even as a delicious and quick snack! Now go and cook up those apples!