The Frugal Kitchen: My Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Cranberries are BOGO (buy one get one) at most grocery stores now and will be even cheaper after Thanksgiving.  Am I the only person that runs to the grocery store on Black Friday?  One year I found fresh turkey on sale for 23 cents a pound.  Needless to say, we ate a large amount of home canned turkey that year!

Cranberry sauce was often served as an accompaniment to game meats or with rich dishes.  It's great over ice cream and whipped up in smoothies.  Here is a recipe for my favorite cranberry sauce.


INGREDIENTS

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 orange
1/2 tsp. orange rind
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup white sugar

In a pot add the juice of one orange, 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange rind (use a micro grater/rasp) and cranberries.

Micro grater

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  When the berries have all popped add sugar and salt, bring up to medium heat,  and stir frequently until thickened (about 5 minutes).

Berries starting to pop

Place in a canning jar or other container.  Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.  Will keep for about a week in refrigerator.  This recipe can be doubled, triple or even quadrupled.  Enjoy!

God bless and Happy Thanksgiving,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Cranberry Sauce

When I was growing up my mom would serve a sad version of cranberry sauce that retained the shape of the can.  Fresh cranberries weren't available in many of the areas where we lived and in the 1950's - 1960's convenience food was considered fashionable.

Nooooooooo

Then, fresh cranberries became available and I was served a bitter, raw, ground cranberry hash that was not pleasant at all.  I was beginning to despair until I started hunting through old recipe books and found a recipe for a cranberry sauce that was more like a jam than a relish.

I played with the recipe and came up with a cranberry sauce that my family loves and it is amazingly easy.  It can be canned following the instructions on a jam recipe.  It is frugal because cranberries are BOGO at my grocery store this time of year, so I stock up.  If you don't like canning, fresh cranberries freeze well.

Easy Cranberry Sauce:

1 bag cranberries
1 orange
1 cup white sugar

Place the orange juice and cranberries into a pot.  Heat on low medium, covered until the berries burst.  Add 1 tablespoon, finely grated orange peel and sugar, then lower heat.  Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce reaches a jam consistency.

This sauce nicely complements any rich meal and is great on all kinds of sandwiches, not just turkey.  Once you have made your own cranberry sauce you won't want to eat the canned variety.

God bless,
Pam