The Cranberry, not just a relish

The cranberry. Because of it's nutrient and antioxidant qualities it is considered by food experts to be one of the "super fruits" yet for most people it brings to mind Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Generally it is served as fresh cranberry relish, or even more commonly as a relish from a can. Of course you can always find it in the juice form and in most stores as a dried berry in the same aisle that raisins and prunes are stored.

Until a couple years ago I never really gave this berry much thought outside these two holidays. So when I went hunting for a bag of fresh berries in February I was shocked to discover that stores only sell them in their fresh state for only two months of the year. (In my area from late October/early November until the end of December.) Apparently there is not enough demand for fresh berries outside of these two months so cranberry farmers put the majority of their produce into the form of canned berries, dried berries, and juice that can be bought 12 months a year.

Because of this I was left with the choice of canned berries or dried berries for my recipe. I was disappointed, but in the end the dried worked out fairly well. Still, I determined to buy up some extra bags the following November and freeze them for use later in the new year. The berries left in their bags freeze well and can be used later in all sorts of recipes or even as fresh cranberry relish.

The following are two recipes that call for fresh cranberries. (Note: you could substitute dried, but the fresh is preferred.) They are favorites in our home and I encourage you to pick up a couple bags of fresh berries now, even if you don't plan to try the recipes for a couple months. The berries will last up to (or even a little over) a year in your freezer.

Cranberry Orange Bread

I found this recipe at AllRecipes.com. Since it isn't my own and I've done little to adapt it I have linked the name to the recipe. Be sure to check it out and print off a copy for your own files.

My thoughts: Every Christmas I try to bake some sort of seasonal bread to share with our neighbors and friends. The last several years I have made a family favorite, Lemon Bread, but this year I decided to try something different. Since I still had two bags of cranberries in the freezer I went hunting for a cranberry bread recipe. There are several, but this one seemed the easiest. It turned out well and went fast, so I ended up making a second batch.

Notes regarding the recipe: The recipe calls for 1 cup of cranberries. Each bag of cranberries from the store contains approximately 4 cups, so to save time I just multiplied everything in the recipe by four. This required a large bowl, but ended up giving me 10 small loafs of bread, perfect for sharing. If you decide to double, triple or quadruple the recipe be sure to use a stand mixer, not a hand mixer or a spoon. The batter gets thick and sticky, which makes it difficult to stir. Although the batter is thick it cooks into a light, fluffy, sweet yet tart bread.

I omitted the walnuts, not so much because people aren't crazy about nuts (or have allergies), but because I didn't have any on hand. I noted that it is also possible to make this recipe gluten free so long as the cook substitutes gluten-free flour for the regular flour.


Braised Brisket with Cranberries

This is another favorite recipe of mine. It's such a delicious meal on a cold winter evening (or Sunday dinner), but since cranberries are not available past New Years it tends to be a recipe you can only make in November or December... Unless you freeze your berries! (This recipe is the reason I started buying up and freezing cranberries, it's that good.)It makes a lot of food, so it's perfect for serving when we entertain company. I love the mix of flavors - the tartness of the cranberries, the richness of the beef and the tang of the onions. I found this recipe a few years ago in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine.

My Thoughts: I do not have a big enough pot that can be used on the stove burner AND in the oven, so I had to move the meat from one pot to another, but otherwise this recipe was fairly simple. It takes a while to cook, but it smells so good and is so delicious that it is worth the wait.

Note: I prefer to use a bag of frozen pearl onions, but not all stores sell them -- or if they do, they sell them seasonally. Like the cranberries you may have to plan ahead and purchase the frozen onions earlier than when you plan to use the recipe. However, when frozen pearl onions are not available you should be able to find fresh pearl onions. The fresh require a little more work (i.e. pealing), but work just as well.

For those who prefer not to use drinking wine in their cooking you could substitute cooking wine, or vegetable/chicken broth (though this may slightly change the overall taste of the recipe).

Orange Chicken

I came up with this recipe and was told it was a Top Ten by my husband.

• 1 T olive oil

• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into small pieces

• 1/2 C Blood Orange Jam (available at World Market)*

• 2 T white wine (I use Charles Shaw chardonnay available at Trader Joes for 2.49) 

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

*Orange marmalade could work but I haven't tried it.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes on each side or until cooked thoroughly. Remove from pan. Add jam, wine, and garlic to pan; bring to a boil. Cook sauce 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and return chicken to pan, long enough to coat with sauce. Serve with rice. (I use brown basmati) Serves 4.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

I used to get Kraft Kitchens magazine when it was free. It was full of quick and simple recipes that used an awful lot of Kraft products, but many were easily modified to make great dinners and desserts. And of course, I didn't always use Kraft products!

This recipe is probably our favorite from the magazine. My carnivorous husband loves it, and I think you could add either some cooked Italian sausage to the cheese mix, tuck a meatball in each shell, or just serve it as a side with a grilled steak or chicken. But it is also great on its own!

Easy Cheesy Stuffed Shells

Prep time - 30 min - Total time - 60 min
Makes 5 servings

Ingredients:
1 container (16 oz.) 2% Milkfat Low Fat Cottage Cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained (I use a bag of fresh spinach)
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked, drained
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

DIRECTIONS

HEAT oven to 400°F. Mix cottage cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and seasoning; spoon into shells.

SPOON half the sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish. Add filled shells; top with remaining sauce and remaining mozzarella (and more Parmesan, if desired - I like it cheesy!).

BAKE uncovered 25 min. or until heated through.

Make Ahead
Assemble recipe as directed. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, bake, covered, at 400°F for 35 min. or until heated through.

Freeze Ahead
Reserve 1 and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella. Assemble recipe as directed, but do not top with the reserved mozzarella. Wrap casserole in foil; freeze. When ready to serve, heat oven to 400°F. Unwrap casserole; cover with foil. Bake 55 min. or until heated through, removing foil after 30 min. Top with reserved mozzarella; bake 10 min. or until melted.

Because I Made It For Lunch...

...and everyone loved it. It's hard to mess this up, and the carnivores in my life think it's super tasty. And I think it's fast and easy!

I give you Pioneer Woman's "Marlboro Man’s SECOND Favorite Sandwich."

It's an early recipe of hers and shockingly contains no butter!

Ingredients

* 4 chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness, 1 per person

* 12 slices bacon, pieces sliced in half, probably 4 slices per person

* 4 rolls or hamburger buns or bread, or none at all

* lemon pepper seasoning – I used Pappy’s.

* sliced cheese – I’ve used Havarti and Colby

Directions

1. Cook cut in half bacon strips as crispy as you like them. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all grease, except for about a tablespoon.

2. Liberally sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with lemon pepper.

3. Add chicken breasts to pan and cook covered about 4 minutes.

4. Flip chicken and lay desired amount of bacon strips across the breast; add sliced cheese over bacon. Cover pan and allow cheese to melt thoroughly.

5. Serve chicken on roll/bun, whatever bread you want. You can have it plain as an entrée or make it into a sandwich with a little mayonnaise.

Enjoy! I promise I use recipe sources other than The Pioneer Woman and will share them soon!

Chicken Caesar Lasagna

Hi, I'm Sally and I'm new here.

I love to cook, eat, and shop at Sur La Table. I'm a vegetarian but my husband and 18 month old son are not; healthy food is important but taste is paramount; and I'm kind of cheap but will splurge (see philosophy on taste, previous). Quick food is great, but sometimes a great meal will take time and that's ok too... on special occasions. I'm not a good photographer but I love to see what food looks like.

Alison asked me to join after traveling all the way to California and having dinner at my house. Since she liked it, I think I'll lead off with it here.

Chicken Caesar Lasagna
Better Homes & Gardens: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pasta/chicken-caesar-lasagna/

Prep: 35 minutes
Bake: 50 minutes
Stand: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 9 dried whole wheat or regular lasagna noodles [NB: I love no bake lasagna noodles!]
• 2 10-oz. containers refrigerated light Alfredo sauce [If you're cheap, jars work too!]
  
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
• 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast*[You can use leftovers, skip this, or use fake chicken, too]
  
• 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained [I used fresh]
  
• 1 cup bottled roasted red sweet peppers, drained and chopped
• 3/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese [You can just shred some mozzarella and Parmesan together - I used about a cup or so]
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water; drain again. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine Alfredo sauce, lemon juice, and black pepper. Stir in chicken, spinach, and red peppers.

2. Lightly coat a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or 3-quart rectangular casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles in bottom of dish. Top with one-third chicken mixture. Repeat layers twice. Cover; bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Makes 9 servings. [I just baked it uncovered for about 35-40 minutes]

3. *Note: For chopped cooked chicken, season 2 pounds raw skinless boneless chicken breast halves with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add chicken. Cook, uncovered, 8 to 12 minutes or until no longer pink, turning halfway through cooking. Cool chicken slightly before chopping.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 268, Total Fat (g) 10, Saturated Fat (g) 6, Cholesterol (mg) 68, Sodium (mg) 557, Carbohydrate (g) 20, Total sugar (g) 3, Fiber (g) 2, Protein (g) 24, Vitamin C (DV%) 83, Calcium (DV%) 21, Iron (DV%) 8.

I also made Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Rolls and Roasted Carrots (with rosemary instead of thyme, since I was already using rosemary) and some Fresh Express Caesar Supreme and Mediterranean Supreme salads (they were on sale!) I'll get into PW's recipes in later posts...

Yogurt-marinated Chicken Kebabs with Israeli couscous

I'm a vegetarian craving protein and so I've been adding a little more chicken to my diet. But since I don't actually like meat, I'm very particular. When I found Israeli couscous at Trader Joe's I had to try this recipe I found online (originally from Sunset magazine). The one correction I would make is to add 1 teaspoon of salt to the couscous instead of 1 tablespoon. It was way too salty.

Yogurt-marinated Chicken Kebabs with Israeli Couscous

* 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt, divided
* 2 teaspoons garam masala (see Notes)
* 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp. salt, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 pounds boned, skinned chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-in. pieces
* 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
* 3 tablespoons minced red onion
* 1 teaspoon finely shredded fresh lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, divided
* 1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous (see Notes)
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-in. pieces
* Four 8-in. skewers

1. Combine 1 cup yogurt, garam masala, curry powder, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, seal bag, and shake to coat. Let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature.

2. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1/2 cup yogurt, the feta, onion, lemon zest, and 1 tbsp. mint; set aside.

3. Bring 2 qts. water to a boil and add 1 tbsp. salt. Add couscous and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain, return to pot, and add olive oil. Cover to keep warm.

4. Thread chicken and bell pepper onto metal skewers and discard marinade. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 in. above cooking grate only 3 to 4 seconds). Grill kebabs, turning once, until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Pile couscous on a platter, sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp. mint, and arrange kebabs around it. Serve with yogurt-feta sauce.