Apple, Pear and Orange Cranberry Sauce

I am not a huge fan of the cranberry crap in a can, and yes that is exactly what I call it. I will eat a piece to be nice if you put it in front of me but something about the way it remains in the can shape with the ridges in it really just weird me out. With that being said, every year my husband insists that we have this molded jiggly red thing that resembles a can. Even though I try to mash it up so that I am not reminded of what it is, I still cannot eat more than a bite. So this year I decided that since we are going to a friend of ours who is also in the military, the cooking responsibility would be split and I could take the extra time needed to make cranberry sauce from scratch.


I really thought that it was going to be a long and hard process. I really had no idea what to expect. The closest I have come to cranberries are either cranberry juice or craisins. So like the fool that I am I decided to pop a cranberry in my mouth to see what they taste like. I mean, surely they cannot be that bad, right? WRONG! I high tailed it so fast to the trash can with a disgusted sour look on my face and spit that sucker out. Rule number one to anyone who has never had a fresh cranberry... don't do it! They are sour and bitter and unlike a sour patch kid it does not get sweet after it is sour, not even a little bit. Now don't get frighted, just because these little guys are gross raw doesn't mean that they are not delicious cooked. I found a recipe online and tweaked it to what I had on hand. With the added fruit and orange juice they not only lend extra flavor but their sweetness as well. It definitely balances out that raw sour flavor. I like it so much that I think that I will make a dip with the leftovers. Placing some softened low fat cream cheese in the bottom of a dish and spreading the cranberry on top. That just sounds really good. This is definitely replacing the cranberry crap in a can from not on. It only took about 45 minutes to make which included preparing the fruit. I made it a couple of days in advance so that there would be one less thing to fuss over on Thanksgiving day.

• 1 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 12 oz. fresh cranberries
• 1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. arrowroot

1. In a medium sauce pot, boil water and sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to simmer and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool at room temperature. Serve hot or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

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