Have You Exploded Yet?

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

























Let's all play a game, shall we? 
It's an easy one, I promise.

I'm going to pretend that I haven't posted in a month, ON PURPOSE, so I can build suspense.  It has nothing at all to do with the fact that life just seems to keep getting in the way... nope... just building suspense.   Lots and lots of suspense.

Then you, my lovely friends, will smile and nod and COMPLETELY AGREE with me that you knew it all along and are now so suspense-filled that you're ready to explode if you don't get a new recipe soon.  Smile and nod.  Smile and nod.

See how much fun that is?  

It's not that I haven't been cooking and baking.  It's just that life, in all its odd glory, always seems to have a way of mixing up even the best-laid plans when it comes to posting.   Not to mention the fact that it's I-didn't-sign-up-for-this cold out up here in Minnesota, which tends to lend itself to the desire to hibernate rather than get things done.   And let's be honest (because we're friends, and that's totally what friends do) here, I wanted to wait until I could post a recipe that involved sprinkles.  

Except I forgot something. 

It's January/February, the months of good intentions.   The time of year when everyone and their second cousin decide to swear off sugar and sweets and SPRINKLES and opt into low-carb, low-fat, low-gluten, low- <insert supposedly bad thing here> food to go with their new gym membership and bright, shiny resolution to lose ten pounds before July.    Which means that the cookies and bars I've baked (and foisted off on Reuben and his office) aren't as warmly received as they should be, and I'll be darned if I'm going to have two dozen sprinkle-loaded cookies sitting around the house calling my name.   So in lieu of the sprinkle fest that I wanted to post, I'm sharing a new recipe with you instead that is more appropriate for the bitterly cold weather we're having.    It's bright and colorful, easy enough to make (you can prep it ahead of time, and make it in the slow cooker during the day), and the sugars can be swapped out with Splenda or honey or whatever the heck the newest diet fad allows.    It also makes your house smell like sweet, spiced cinnamon apple heaven, which earns it extra brownie points in my book.    Try it on its own, as a side dish, or slathered onto warm homemade rolls or bread.   Or put it in a jar and bribe give it to your friends.    You really can't go wrong with it!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go order more sprinkles.  Because I give the diets another two weeks - enough time to let 99% of people fall off of the wagon - then will commence SPRINKLE-PALOOZA 2014.  

See what I did there?
Suspense, people.  Suspense. 


Slow Cooker Cranberry-Apple Spiced Chutney
Prep Time:  15 min.

Ingredients
  • 2 lbs fresh cranberries
  • ½ c sugar
  • 1 c brown sugar
  • 1 c raisins
  • 4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp cloves
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • 1 c apple juice
  • 2 c chopped onion
  • 2 c chopped apples
  • 1c chopped celery
Slow Cooker Instructions:
  1. Rinse the cranberries and sort through, discarding any overripe ones.
  2. Combine everything in a slow cooker. Set to low for 5-6 hours. Stir once an hour.  (Note: Cooking time may vary depending on how hot your slow cooker gets)
  3. Let cool and transfer to an airtight container and chill completely in refrigerator. It will set up more as it chills.
 
No slow cooker?  No worries! You can still get in on the love:
  1. Bring the first 9 ingredients to a boil, then simmer for 15 min.  Add last 3 ingredients. 
  2. Cook for another 15 min, or until cranberries are soft.
  3. Let cool and transfer to an airtight container and chill completely in refrigerator. It will set up more as it chills.
Notes
This can be served either chilled, room temp or warmed back up.  It's also great in Bento lunches or lunchboxes!

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3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Have You Exploded Yet?”

  1. Love your blog. Cant wait to try your Chutney recipe. Looking to more post. Jenna told me about your awesome baking skills. Duke

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Duke! Do you have a regular blog? I'd imagine the photographs on yours would make the amateur ones on mine look like a half-drunk monkey took them. :) So great to hear from you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sorry for the delay I didn't see your reply until recently. Thanks for the complement and you photos are great. Keep the great work. Cant wait to see more post. My blog is www.capturedmomentsbyduke.com Im sure you will recognize some of the photos from a beautiful wedding last year. : )

    Your photos are very good by the way. You should give yourself more credit and thank you for the complement.

    ReplyDelete