Cranberry Orange Relish

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the crisp, cool air in the mornings and the warm afternoons.  Of course, my thoughts turn toward Thanksgiving and the menu for this year.  I love cranberries, but as a child, we only had them at Thanksgiving.  There are so many other uses for them.  Check out my Crockpot Cranberry Chicken & Rice.  You can buy bags of cranberries cheaply when they are in season and freeze them for later use.  So, now is a good time to stock up!

This is a quick relish that you can make ahead of time so that it's ready for Thanksgiving or any special meal.

Cranberry Orange Relish

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups raw cranberries 
• 2 oranges, quartered and seeded

Put raw cranberries and oranges through food chopper. Add sugar, cinnamon and mix well. Chill in refrigerator a few hours before serving. Makes one quart relish. This relish will keep well in the refrigerator for several weeks.  You could also substitute an apple for one of the oranges.  And, your favorite chopped nuts would be a great addition.

 

 

 

 

Holiday Baking & Gifts

Have you started planning your Holiday baking?  October is usually the time I start making lists.  The key is remembering to bring those lists to the store!  If you use a lot of candy in your baking, Halloween sales are a great time to pick up some extra bags.  As I’m shopping for others, I am always tempted to pick up something new for myself.  And, I’m a slave to kitchen gadgets.

I remember the year I purchased my KitchenAid stand mixer.  I hovered around the store for weeks until it finally went on sale.  It’s so much easier to shop online now.  On thing to always remember when you are purchasing a new product is to check out the accessories and replacement parts.  You don’t have to buy all kitchenaid food processor parts in one order.  Buy the ones you need most and then space out the other purchases so you stay within your budget.  Keep those accessories in mind when you are gift shopping this year.  Almost everyone has a secret ‘gourmet’ cook in their circle of friends.  You could make up a basket of kitchen goodies and add a couple of unique accessories.  I can’t think of anything I’d like better for Christmas!  What’s on your wish list this year?

Oven Fried Chicken Tenders and Honey Mustard Sauce

I've never tried to make fried chicken tenders in the oven.  I've made the uncoated kind covered in spices and sauce.  But, I truly doubted a crispy chicken tender could come from the oven.  Then I saw Paula Deen make them on Dr. Oz!  If Paula can do it, so can I.  Of course, it all passed too quickly and I didn't write down the recipe.  So, I did a quick search on the web and found Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders at Betty Crocker.  I used the plain panko bread crumbs and added some Mrs. Dash.  They turned out yummy and crispy.  But, they definitely needed a dipping sauce.  Here's the quick and easy recipe for my Honey Mustard Sauce.

Honey Mustard Sauce

1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce

Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fall Mornings

One of the best parts about Fall is relaxing on the porch and enjoying all the colorful trees.  I love the idea of enjoying a steaming hot cup of coffee on a chilly Fall morning.  After the lazy days of summer, the patio furniture could use some sprucing up.  I'm always on the look for new ideas - especially when I can search on the Internet.  I searched for patio furniture cleaning austin.  Lots of great sites popped up. 

While I found exactly what I needed at  http://www.thesteamteam.com/, I also found a lot of useful information about air duct cleaning.  Have you ever had this done?  Since Fall is usually when I have my heating unit serviced, I was especially interested in having the ducts cleaned.  Isn't that always the way it works? You start searching for one idea and end up with something even better!

Now I'm thinking I should just take my laptop to the porch with my morning coffee instead of the newspaper!  How about you?  Where's the first place you look for information?