Cranberry Sauce in the CrockPot

 

 

I borrowed this picture of my son, the plumber, when he was about six years old, from his Facebook page.  He probably will not be pleased to hear that Mom has put it on her blog but I figure that if it is on Facebook, it is fair game.  He still hasn't forgiven me for the hair style.
 

Miss MoneyPenny has been taken out of the game by a mean pain in the back that has not responded to chiropractor or massage.  I have not slept in my bed for the last 11 nights and I'm getting pretty grumpy about sleeping in the recliner.  My only relief has been double doses of Advil and the heating pad.  In fact, I'm beginning to worry that my back is getting cooked.  I'm not even sure what I did to bring this on, but I suspect it had to do with a 42 pound box of cat litter that I was hefting at Costco to see if it was too heavy to deal with at home.  I now have my answer to that question.
 

Anyway, I've had this three pound bag of cranberries in the freezer that I can't remember buying.  Why on earth would I buy a bag that big??  So I was leafing through cookbooks trying to get some inspiration on what to cook other than cranberry bread or scones, when I came across some pretty elaborate recipes for cranberry sauce, none of which I had the ingredients for, although wine and crystallized ginger does sound good.
 

What I decided on was my recipe, using the crockpot idea from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook, and it is a keeper.  I use a lot less sugar - they called for 1 1/2 cups for 12 ounces of cranberries.  I used 1 cup for a pound and it is plenty sweet and a little puckery.  Perfect cranberry sauce, in my opinion.  Here is the recipe:

Mix in crockpot:

1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup sugar
Zest from 1 orange
Juice from orange
 

 

Set on low.  Mine took about six hours.

 This is what I ended up with:

This is yummy with roasted chicken or pork.  One of these jars is going to Miss MaggieMay who loves cranberry sauce as much as I do.

 

Flu Shot Update:

 

If you are serious about being careful with your money, get a flu shot.  I'm not just talking lost wages here, which is important, but what about doctor bills, prescriptions, over the counter meds, and all those boxes of  kleenex and jugs of Vicks Vaporub??  Adds up.  And if you are home sick and watching Homeshopping Network, you might end up with a Vitamix, like me.