Joan’s Country Kitchen



Cranberries are in season over the fall holidays so why not try a new cranberry recipe? This Cranberry Pudding is festive and colorful enough for any holiday party.

Ingredients

1/1/3 c flour
1/2 c molasses, mild flavor
2 c whole raw cranberries
1/4 c chopped nuts
2 tsp baking soda
1/3 c hot water

Directions for Cranberry Pudding

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, molasses, cranberries and nuts.

Add baking soda to hot water and pour into the bowl with the beet mixture.

Mix lightly.

Pour into greased 1 qt mold. Cover tightly with foil.

Steam over boiling water for 1 1/2 hours.

Serve warm with vanilla sauce.

To double recipe for larger mold, add one more hour of steaming.

Vanilla Sauce Topping Recipe

Ingredients

1 c sugar
2 tsp flour
1/2 c butter
1/2 c light cream

Combine ingredients and bring to a boil over low heat.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add 1/4 tsp vanilla.

Serve hot.

Here is one of my favorite Holiday Spiced Tea Recipes

Ingredients for Spiced Tea

4 cups water
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
4 tea bags – green or black
2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions for Spiced Tea

Bring water to a boil and add cinnamon and cloves.

Remove from the heat and add tea bags. Let them steep for 5 minutes.

Remove tea bags and add orange juice and brown sugar.

Re-heat on low until sugar is dissolved and spiced tea is desired temperature to drink.

To serve, pour spiced tea through a wire strainer and into mugs.

Yield 6 cups

The cherry pie filling makes this fruit salad so rich and luscious, you could use it as a dessert too. Perfect for holiday dinner guests or for any special occasion.

This cherry fruit salad literally will take you minutes to make. Just mix the following ingredients and refrigerate - You’re done!

Ingredients

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
white grapes
nuts
1 c miniature marshmallows

Mix cherry salad ingredients and refrigerate to chill prior to serving.

Cranberries are plentiful around the holidays and they’ll give your immune system a boost too! This cranberry salad recipe has the added health benefit of nuts and apples, as well.

Try this delicious, easy cranberry salad recipe for your next holiday dinner.

Ingredients

1 package cranberries
2 c water
1 c sugar
1 package lemon jello
1 c chopped apples
1 c chopped nuts
15 cut up marshmallows

Directions for Cranberry Apple Salad Recipe

IN a medium saucepan, combine the water, cranberries and sugar, boiling for 5 minutes.

Add lemon jello, mix until jello is dissolved. Cool.

Add apples, nuts and marshmallows and combine.

Put in refrigerator until jello is set, about 2 hours.

Pink Pineapple Frozen Fruit Salad

This tropical frozen fruit salad recipe is a favorite in our house on holidays. It’s an easy frozen salad and kids especially love it! You can even make it the night before to save time.

Ingredients

1 (15oz) can crushed pineapple (don’t drain)
1 (3oz) package strawberry jello
1 1/2 c miniature marshmallows
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/4 c milk
1 package Dream Whip whipped topping

Directions for Tropical Frozen Fruit Salad

In  medium saucepan, combine pineapple, jello and marshmallows. He on low heat until jello and marshmallows are melted. 

Allow pineapple mixture to cool.

Cream cream cheese and milk until smooth.

Make Cream Whip according to package directions. Fold into cream cheese mixture.

Add cream cheese mixture to jello/pineapple, blend thoroughly and pour into mold or 9×9 pan and freeze.

Make it the night before to save you time with your holiday cooking. Take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before serving so it’s easier to cut.

Cooking Tip: I like to double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan so it feeds our large family.

Variations to Frozen Pineapple Fruit Salad Recipe:

Add a can of cherry pie filling for a totally different and luscious flavor. Just add the pie filling to the pineapple/jello mixture.

Basic Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is a favorite holiday dish and is very easy to make. Cranberries are packed with nutrients and good for boosting the immune system in cold winter months.

Ingredients

1 c. sugar - use organic, raw sugar if you prefer
1 c. water
4 c (one 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions for Cranberry Sauce

Put cranberries into large bowl and rinse. Check for any with flaws or bad spots and discard.
Bring one cup water to a boil in medium saucepan. Slowly add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add cranberries to water.

Reduce heat, simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until cranberries burst.

For variations to this cranberry sauce recipe, one cup of raisins or chopped oranges can be added, or 1/2 cup nuts.

Remove cranberry sauce from the heat. Cool it to room temperature and then it can be chilled in the refrigerator. As it cools, your cranberry sauce will thicken.

The Cranberry sauce base recipe yields about 2 1/4 cups.

Let cool and serve.

Try these optional ingredients for your Cranberry Sauce Recipe.

• ½ pecans
• ½ c walnuts
• ½ c orange peeled and chopped. If you use orange, replace water in recipe with orange juice.
• Substitute 1c raspberry vinegar for water
• Substitute 1 c pomegranate juice for water
• Add 1 tsp fresh minced ginger
• 1 c raisins
• 1 c currants
• 1 c dried blueberries
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp allspice

Your family will love this festive Sausage Turkey Stuffing with Apples.

Ingredients for Sausage Turkey Stuffing Recipe

12 oz bulk mild pork sausage
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 c onion chopped
1 c celery chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped –about 1 cup
6 c. dried bread cubes or 1 package prepared dressing crumb mix
1 c water
2 tbs powdered chicken gravy mix
1 tbsp Poultry Seasoning

To Cook the Turkey:

You’ll need a 10 to 12 lb turkey
1 tbsp Poultry Seasoning

Sausage Turkey Stuffing Recipe Directions

Stuffing:

In a medium skillet, sauté sausage and bacon. Stir until sausage crumbles. Break bacon up into crumbles as well.

Drain off liquid, keeping 2 tbs of the drippings in the skillet.

Put sausage and bacon into a large bowl.

Sauté onion, celery and apple in the drippings over medium high heat, for about 5 minutes, stir frequently. Take off of heat.

Add onions, celery and apple to the meat mixture, then add in the bread cubes, water, soup power and the Poultry Seasoning, combining well.

Set this aside to prepare turkey.

Turkey Cooking Instructions:

Remove the package with the giblets and neck from turkey. You can save these to sauté later and add to your turkey gravy.
Rinse turkey thoroughly with cold water; pat dry.
Put the turkey breast side up in roasting pan.
Rub turkey inside and out with Poultry Seasoning.
Stuff the turkey loosely with Sausage-Apple Stuffing. Put the rest of the stuffing in a casserole dish to bake separately
Bake the turkey, uncovered, at 325°F for about 4 to 4-1/2 hours. Baste it about every hour with the juice in the pan.

When cooked the meat thermometer should read 185 degrees. Remaining sausage stuffing in casserole dish should cook for about one hour and can be added to the oven with your turkey.

If turkey gets too brown on top, cover loosely with tin foil.

Remove turkey when done and let it stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Place casserole with remaining stuffing in the oven the last hour before serving. Toss stuffing from turkey with that in casserole.

Makes 12 servings.

Note from Joan’s Kitchen:

Sausage stuffing can be baked entirely in the casserole dish, instead of stuffing it into the turkey. Just add a little more water or drippings from the turkey, if a moist stuffing is desired.

Optional ingredients: 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Add this to the stuffing as the last ingredient. and mix well before cooking.

Sausage Turkey Stuffing with Apples Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Information per Serving:

Calories 670
Protein 84 g
Carbohydrates 15 g
Sodium 1020 mg
Fat 27 g
Saturated Fat 9 g
Cholesterol 220 mg
Dietary Fiber 1 g

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