Every year of my life I have had cranberry slush at Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition from my mom’s side of the family that we all faithfully stand by year after year, and with good reason. This stuff is delicious! Every year I put cranberry slush on my Thanksgiving menu, hoping some people reading will adopt it as one of their own holiday traditions. I think I’ve converted a few of you over the years!

Cranberry slush is a great drink to serve when entertaining for the holidays. Cranberry-flavored anything reminds me of the holidays, and this recipe can be easily scaled up to serve lots of people. This year I’ve added a twist to the recipe, creating cranberry orange slush. Orange is another one of those holiday flavors that I love, so I figured throwing it in with cranberry would be a good thing. I was right! The cranberry orange slush is just as good as the original, just less tart with a sweet and fresh hint of orange flavor. I sort of feel like I’m betraying Great-Grandma Blomquist a bit by changing things up, but I’m sure she would approve of this tasty concoction!

{Thanksgiving Prep} Cranberry Orange Slush

 

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From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Thanksgiving, Beverage

Ingredients

• 2 cans whole cranberry sauce
• 4 cups orange juice
• 2¼ cups cranberry juice
• 2¼ cups ginger ale

Instructions

1. Run whole cranberry sauce through a colander (pictured here) or press through a fine sieve with a large spoon (pictured here) over a large bowl. Keep pressing until you just have skins left in the colander/sieve. Add the orange juice, mix well, then freeze until hardened (I always make this part of the slush at least a day or two before Thanksgiving). I freeze the juice in a flat, plastic container so it’s easy to break up later (this recipe fit in an 8½ cup flat tupperware, pictured).
2. When ready to serve, mash up the frozen juice in a large bowl. I break it up with a butter knife and then smash it with my pastry blender. Add cranberry juice and ginger ale until it’s the consistency you like. I like to keep it on the slushier side and let it melt in the glasses, but feel free to add a bit more than the recipe calls for. Serve immediately! (Mixing the slush is the last thing I do before we sit down to the Thanksgiving table!)
3. Makes about 12 servings.

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I used Tropicana’s Pure Premium orange juice, which is 100% pure Florida orange juice. I love that it is made with fresh oranges. It tastes mighty fine. In fact, I may have taken a few swigs straight from the bottle on occasion. I kind of can’t resist. Connect with the folks at Tropicana at Facebook.com/Tropicana.

This giveaway is now closed. But if you’re looking for a yummy mocktail, keep reading!

Time for my second Sierra Mist Natural mocktail post, just in time for New Year’s Eve!

As you know, my first post featured the Frost Bite Mocktail, a recipe I received from Sierra Mist Natural. This time around I was asked to come up with my own recipe using Sierra Mist Natural. So, I thought, and I thought, and I thought some more…and all of that thinking actually worked. I’m happy to introduce you to the Cranberry Cutie! Or, if you live on the East Coast, The Cranberry Clementine! But ‘Cutie’ is, well, cuter. 😉

Nothing quite says the holidays like cranberries and cuties, and I thought both of those flavors would be mighty delicious combined with a little lemon-lime. And I was right. Yum yum!

I’ll share my recipe for the Cranberry Cutie, but first a giveaway! One of you lucky people will win a Sierra Mist Natural holiday gift pack (shaker set, sugar garnishes, party glasses) and a $50 AMEX Gift Card! That’s right, $50 just for you to spend how you like…and a cute set to get you mixing up drinks to your heart’s content!

To enter the giveaway:

• Share your favorite mocktail or cocktail drink in the comments…and the drink’s recipe if you have it!
• For an additional entry, get those creative juices (and drinks!) flowing! Share your most creative Sierra Mist Natural mocktail or cocktail recipe on the Sierra Mist Facebook page.
• Be sure to leave TWO separate comments on this post if you do both of the above to get your extra entry!

Comments must be posted by Midnight PT on Monday, January 2. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, January 3.

Good luck with the giveaway and I can’t wait to see all your creative cocktail and mocktail ideas!

The Cranberry Cutie Mocktail

 

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From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Beverage

Ingredients

• 3 ounces Sierra Mist Natural
• 3 ounces Cranberry Juice
• Juice from 1 cutie/clementine orange
• 1 ounce lime juice
• Cutie slice and cranberry sugar for garnish

Instructions

1. In a shaker filled with ice, mix cranberry juice, cutie juice and lime juice. Add Sierra Mist Natural and stir. Strain into two martini glasses with edges that have been dipped in cranberry sugar (sugar optional). Garnish with a cutie slice.

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Note: This post is part of a sponsored campaign that I am participating in. My opinions are my own and the drink I created is DARN GOOD.

Today I want to simply share a great flavor combination I recently discovered (just like the apple bacon pizza).

We’ve all had the classic turkey and cranberry sandwich so you may be thinking I’ve got nothing new for you today. But I do. Bear with me. We’ve been eating at Cafe Borrone fairly regularly lately, and right now tomatoes are in season, which means that I order their amazing basil melt every time I go. But the other day I finally got a little tired of it. (I didn’t think that was possible!)

One of the “regulars” on their menu is a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, sprouts and cream cheese on a sweet baguette. I was kind of in the mood so I ordered it. And…it’s my new favorite. I really like the addition of sprouts. But what I really love is the cream cheese combined with the turkey and cranberry sauce. SO good.

So, here’s the “recipe.” And, unlike the basil melt and many other items at Cafe Borrone that I will forever be trying to replicate, this is one you can easily recreate at home!

New Sandwich Flavor: Turkey Sandwich with Cranberry and Cream Cheese

 

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Cafe Borrone knock-off

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Sandwich

Ingredients

• Baguette (or other bread you like better – I love the baguette)
• Sliced turkey breast
• Jellied cranberry sauce, sliced or spread on the sandwich
• Cream cheese (big ole slices of it, no less)
• Sprouts

Instructions

1. Slap it all together and eat! YUM!

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I know I already shared this Cranberry Orange Sauce recipe within the last week, but I finally took a picture of the final product and it’s just too pretty not to share again! Besides, I don’t think cranberries are only relegated to Thanksgiving, right?

I also know that I already posted a photo of this pie, but I just love the leaves on top. The picture has been BEGGING to make an appearance on the blog. I have acquiesced. I promise to stop putting fall-ish pictures up now that Thanksgiving is over and we are all roasting chestnuts on an open fire.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

 

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A recipe I found online somewhere, easy to make and very very yummy alternative to normal cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving

Author: Jane Maynard

Cuisine: Side Dish, Thanksgiving

Ingredients

• ½ pound cranberries
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup orange juice
• zest of 1 orange
• 4 oranges separated, pith and membranes removed

Instructions

1. Bring ½ C water to simmer. Add cranberries, sugar, OJ and zest. Simmer & stir until sugar dissolved and berries begin to pop, ~15 mins. Remove from heat – add orange segments

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My friend Melissa invited the girls and me over for lunch last Friday. It was wonderful! The table was set beautifully and the food, oh the food. I suppose pretty much anything is a step above my usual PB & honey sandwich. But this lunch was probably a million steps above that. It was a real treat. Cate gobbled up the salad. That’s really saying something when a 3-year-old will eat SALAD.

Melissa was kind enough to share the recipes with me. Enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa

 

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Beautiful and delicious!

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Lunch, Salad

Serves: 3 cups

Ingredients

• 12 ounce package cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 medium jalapeño
• 1 bunch green onions
• 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• juice and zest of a lemon

Instructions

1. Blend in food processor and chill for a couple of hours to allow flavors to marinade. For a twist, serve salsa over cream cheese and top with fresh cilantro.

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Bookclub Chicken Salad

 

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From “Favorites” by Grace Ivory Rock & Jane Ivory Metcalf

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Salad

Ingredients

• 6-8 chicken breasts
• 8 ounces slivered almonds
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 bags European blend salad mix
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces
• 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup raisins or craisins
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (or Feta and/or Apricot Stilton)

Instructions

1. Cook chicken breasts for 30 minutes at 350 degrees (or in the microwave on high 4-6 mins, or until done). Cool and cut into small pieces. In a small skillet sprinkle sugar over almonds and cook over medium heat until almonds are coated and sugar has dissolved. Cool.
2. Mix all ingredients together and top with sweet red onion dressing.

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Sweet Red Onion Dressing

 

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Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• ½ red onion, or less if onion is large
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Finely chop red onion in food processor (or blender). Add sugar, dry mustard, salt and vinegar and blend until frothy. Slowly add oil. Toss with salad.

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