Easy Orange Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce

Gobble. Gobble. Folks! I've been a maniac these past few weeks but couldn't let my favorite foodie holiday slip away without sharing one of my tried and true recipes with you--Easy Orange Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce! I just love the combination of orange and cranberry and the addition of brown sugar gives it a warm molasses flavor that can't be beat.

Canned cranberry sauce be damned! Your guests will never look for the stuff again (unless they are my mother!). This recipe can be made up to a month in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge (too late for that but good to know for next year). The good news is, it only takes 15 minutes to make and it's so simple, you could make this the morning of Thanksgiving without even breaking a sweat.

Easy Orange Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce

Makes 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

Juice and zest of one orange

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 (12 ounce packages) fresh cranberries

Preparation:

1. Dump all of the ingredients into a medium sized saucepan, stir. Bring to a boil over high heat. Switch heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour sauce into a bowl and cool completely. Place cranberry sauce into airtight containers (I like to use Ball Mason Jars or empty jelly jars that I save) and refrigerate until ready to use. May be prepared and stored in the refrigerator up to one month in advance.

TIP:

Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger into the sauce for a little kick!

Apple Cider Granita

Every September we go apple and pumpkin picking in Bucks County, PA. It’s become a family tradition that I look forward to every year. I plan our trip 3 months in advance, that's how much I love it.

This year was even more fun because my son is two, which is definitely the age of exploration. He had a blast last year, but there is something about the way he sees things as a two year old that is very special and exciting. He can communicate verbally in a bigger way this year, and he can also run, jump and explore like a big boy now. It's really a site to behold.

Each year we look forward to enjoying a special frozen treat at the apple orchards-Cider Ice! It’s a super-delicious frosty treat made of frozen Cider. Genius! It may seem strange to sell a frozen treat during the fall, but it was 80 degrees when we went picking this year so, Cider Ice was a perfectly refreshing snack. After we ran around the orchards and picked ‘till our hearts content, my son, sat quietly, on a pumpkin and gleefully slurped down this delicious delight.

My son is a fan of all things frozen, so I knew I had to try and recreate a similar snack at home. I wanted to keep this recipe pure and healthy, using only cider and since I don't own a slushy machine or a Snoopy Snow Cone machine, the first thing that came to mind is Granita (I AM Italian after all!). It's barely a recipe, it's that simple to make. Only 1 ingredient! It's perfect for kids but elegant enough to entertain with (think-refreshingly light Thanksgiving dessert), topped with some fresh cinnamon whipped cream and served in a pretty glass.

This recipe is the perfect use for any cider you might have lying around the house. I give it to my son as an afternoon snack or as a dessert in lieu of ice cream.

Apple Cider Granita
Serves 4-6

Ingredient: (yes. just one!)

3-4 cups apple cider

Preparation:

1.Pour cider into a 9-inch glass deep-dish pie plate or any other freezer friendly, shallow container.

2. Place dish into freezer for 2 hours. Remove plate from the freezer and scrape the frozen cider with a fork (see images above). The idea is to shave the ice away with your fork, creating a snowy texture. Place the plate back into the freezer and continue to freeze for another hour. Repeat the scraping process until all of the frozen cider is scraped away, about 4 hours total. Scoop out the frozen cider and place into serving cups. Serve au naturale or topped with some cinnamon spiked fresh whipped cream.

Banana Bread

Photo: roygbivibgyor

Before I had a child, I always thought I would be OK with being a working mama. Heck, I thought I would be running for the door. Sadly, that was not the case. In fact, my son is 14 months now and that feeling of guilt still hasn’t gone away. I feel guilty every second of every day that I am not home with my babe but believe me, I know that stay at home parents don’t have it any easier.

We all do the best we can and take it day by day because; honestly, being a parent is tough. Life is full and we need to find creative ways to maximize the time we have with our family. Evenings and weekends should be filled with kisses and cuddles but let’s face it, laundry, cleaning, shopping and shuttling all have to fall in there somewhere too! Cooking together with your family is the best way to stay connected while accomplishing a task. No matter how little your “littles” are, they can still benefit from sitting in their bouncy seat or highchair alongside you as you prep a meal. So, go ahead, use the fall weather as an excuse to spend some time indoors baking with the fam. And don’t forget to give a little time to yourself because mamas and dadas really do hold up the world.


This recipe is for my friend Danielle. She’s a stay at home mama of count ‘em, THREE BOYS! One of her sons is a huge fan of the banana bread they buy at their local Florida Farmers market. This banana bread is a quick and easy recipe to make with the family. It's also perfect for all of those upcoming holiday bake sales.

Danielle- Here’s to hoping the kiddos approve.

Banana Bread
Serves 6-8 people


1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
2-3 very ripe, darkly speckled bananas
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt



1) For regular loaf pan, grease and flour bottom only; for nonstick, grease and flour bottom and sides. Preheat oven to 350.

2)- In a large bowl whisk together sour cream and baking soda. Add in mashed bananas, cooled melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

3)-In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and salt.

4)- Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into loaf pan. Bake 55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, transfer to wire rack.

Enjoy!

TIP: To keep the bread extra moist, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil as soon as it is fully cool.



FUN KITCHEN RELATED FINDS


-Create a cooking kit like Cookie Mags "babysitter in a box". It's the the perfect way to have even the littlest of the bunch "help" with dinner.











-Vintage Inspired Aprons for the Whole Family (the ones for the kiddos shown below are fab!) by Jessie Steele

-Rachael Ray's Tadpole Young Cooks Cutting set is a great gift for your budding chef. Plus a portion of the proceeds the Tadpole will be donated to RR's charity Yum-o! to empower kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking.









-Kids Central Kitchen is an awesome site that specializes in whole grain baking mixes, fun cooking utensils, baking kits and gift sets all geared towards family fun in the kitchen. Check out these cute baking sets (fun gift for a grandma to send her babies) and the super cute happy mixing spoon.

Super Duper Fruity Mini Muffins

I'm always on a quest to make nutritious and delicious snacks for my 11-month old son. Snacks that aren't junky, ones that we can eat together as a family and feel good about. Commercially prepared muffins seem healthy but eating one of those gigantor muffins for breakfast is basically like consuming a giant piece of birthday cake. Besides all of the sugar that they contain, there are always a ton of ingredients that I don't recognize and that's never a good thing. I created these muffins so that I could have freezable snack or quick breakfast on-hand when we are running out the door. 

What makes these muffins SUPER DUPER is the inclusion of Kefir (you can use plain yogurt too) wheat germ  and ground flax seeds. Kefir is an amazing probiotic which you've heard me rave about before. Flax and wheat germ are wonderful additions to any baked good because both are great sources of essential vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Make your next breakfast SUPER DUPER by sprinkling some wheat germ or ground flax seeds onto yogurt or on top of oatmeal. Just remember that both contain healthy fats and fats can go rancid quickly if not kept in the refrigerator. 

Mini but Mighty Fruity Muffins

Makes 32 mini muffins or 16 regular sized muffins

3/4c Whole Wheat Flour

3/4c White Flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4c wheat germ

2 tbsps ground flax seeds

1 egg

1 c yogurt (I used whole milk Kefir)

1/2c agave syrup

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 large banana, mashed

1 large apple, peeled and shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a mini muffin tin (or regular muffin tin) with paper liners. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, white flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, wheat germ and ground flax seeds until combined.

In another large bowl whisk together egg, yogurt, melter butter,  mashed banana, shredded apple, and agave syrup until well combined. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Do not over-mix, batter will seem thick and slightly lumpy due to the banana and apple.

If using a mini muffin tin, fill each muffin cup with 1 heaping teaspoon of batter.

If using a regular sized muffin tin, fill each muffin cup with a heaping tablespoon of batter.

Bake for 15 minutes if using mini muffin tin and 25 minutes if using regular muffin tin or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

FREEZING TIP:

Make sure muffins are completely cooled. wrap each muffin individually in a piece of aluminum foil and store muffins all together in a large freezer storage bag. Pop it in your purse or diaper bag and in 10 minutes it will be thawed and ready for munchin'.

SWAP OUT:

Use pear instead of apple.

Dessert for a crowd: Blueberry and Peach Grilled Cobbler

I looove dessert. I will eat something sweet over something savory any day of the week. I have also been known to ask to see the dessert menu first. SICK! I definitely have an addiction. However, desserts don't always have to be over-the-top sweet. Fruit desserts are always a good compromise. This dessert is perfect because it's simple and can be made in the oven or on your outdoor grill. No muss no fuss and it feeds a crowd. It can be tossed on your grill while everyone is eating their hot dogs and hamburgers. Perfect for that 4th of July BBQ.
Note: I used frozen fruit here because I always have some on-hand in my freezer. But since the summer is almost here, please take advantage of all of the wonderful in season fruit. Any berry or stone fruit combo will work perfect.

Blueberry and Peach Grilled Cobbler
Serves 6

2 bags frozen blueberries (or 3 pints of fresh)
1 bag of frozen peaches (or 4 peaches, pitted and quartered)
1/3c granulated sugar plus 2 tbsps for mixing into fruit
zest of 1 orange
2 c flour, plus 3 tbsps (for mixing with fruit)
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted plus a little more for greasing cast-iron pan.
1 1/4 c buttermilk



Preheat oven to 375 degrees (if using an outdoor grill, heat to medium-high). Grease a 10-inch cast-iron frying pan (or any other oven/grill friendly baking dish).

In medium bowl, combine all of the fruit and toss with 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and orange zest. Dump fruit mixture into cast-iron skillet.

In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar and baking powder. Whisk together to combine dry ingredients. Add in the melted butter and buttermilk and stir until just combined.

Evenly distribute 1/4c size dollops of the cobbler mixture on top of the fruit.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until top is golden.


Cooking for a smaller group? Cut the recipe in half.

Cooking on an outdoor grill? Cover the cobbler with heavy duty aluminum foil for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to allow the cobbler to brown.

Organic Cherry Kefir Frozen Pops

Kefir is a creamy, cultured, probiotic drink. It's similar to yogurt but slightly more tart. I serve Kefir to my 9 month old son on top of his oatmeal every morning. You can find Kefir in many fruit flavors but I prefer to serve the plain version to my son. Since he hasn't gotten used to those overly sweet "fruit" flavored yogurts and Kefirs, he LOVES the tangy taste of plain version which makes a mama happy. Kefir is a great for smoothies.

I came up with this treat for my little boy who has not yet gotten his first tooth. These pops are a wonderful way to soothe sore gums. This recipe is one that both kids and parents will love. They are so nutritious, you can even serve them for breakfast on a hot summer morning.


Please Remember: If you plan on serving these treats to a young child, make sure you are with them while they are eating. As with any treat on a stick, there is always a chance of choking. You also want to be careful that your little one doesn't bite off a big piece. Since Griffin is still an itty bitty, we share. I rub a bit of this frozen treat on his gums and I munch on the rest. He loves sharing big people food with mommy.


Organic Cherry Kefir Frozen Pops
Makes 8-3oz popsicles


1 10oz bag organic frozen cherries
2 cups organic whole milk Kefir (our fave is Lifeway Organic but you could use plain 'ol yogurt if you can't find Kefir)

**2 tablespoons agave syrup or sugar if you feel you need more sweetness. Please taste first as the cherries should be sweet enough.

Put the Kefir and the cherries into a food processor and process until the cherries have broken down and the Kefir turns a light pink color.

Pour into molds (like these super cute silicone ones I used) and freeze over night.

TIPS:

Swap out the cherries for your favorite frozen fruit . Any kind of berry would be amazing !

Skip the freezer and drink the mixture as a smoothie instead.