More Than Just Sauce…Cranberry Up Your Thanksgiving Three Ways!

Posted on Nov 24 2014 - 6:09pm by Jessi Meehan

Tasty and tart, crisp and colorful cranberries are a crucial component to holiday flair! Dress up your table with a berry-licious centerpiece with seasonal sparkle. Wrap up a couple of cran-tastic options for Thanksgiving, as an accompaniment to our ol’ standby canned sauce! Make your own all natural, all simple, low-sugar sauce…and serve it two ways. No more wasting this sweet and tart addition to the table: sauce it up to serve with dinner, or layer it up in a healthy parfait. Bonus: Save leftover jellied sauce for party meatballs to swim in (a la Ocean Spray!) post turkey day!

IMG_9619 IMG_9647

By gathering a bevy of beverage glasses, and filling them with fresh berries, a centerpiece can be crafted in a snap. Add tealights for shimmer, and take charge as you implement a charger plate to anchor these beauties…adding a silver lining to your next soiree. Remember the all important 3P tip: use 3’s 5’s and 7’s with varying shapes and sizes to create balance amongst your berries. 😉 If you don’t want to wing it with wine glasses, you can fill your favorite glasses and apothecary jars to showcase!

IMG_9628

Add a few loose berries to scatter about…And now for the sweet stuff!

Fresh Cranberry Sauce: (We scored this low-sugar recipe right from the back of the bag of Mayflower Cranberries!) This sauce was incredibly simple to make, and was just the right amount of tart with no guilt!

cranberry

Ingredients: 
6 cups whole fresh cranberries
1 cup Stevia Sweetener
1 cup water
**We like to add Fresh Orange Zest/Juice**

Directions:

1. Add water and stevia to a large saucepan, bring to a boil on medium heat.
2. Add cranberries, and stir while boiling until skins pop…about 3-5 min. Add a touch of orange juice for sweetness!

Cranberry Sauce Parfait: We couldn’t resist this tangy and crunchy cranberry parfait…berries, granola, and greek yogurt can’t go wrong. If you like yours a little sweeter, use vanilla yogurt…if you like a touch of pucker, plain is the way to go! Served for dessert or offered up for breakfast….this tart and tantalizing offering should most certainly make an entrance for turkey day. 

carnparf
(Photo Courtesy of Recipe.com)

Ingredients:
2 cups leftover cranberry sauce
2 cups plain or vanilla greek yogurt
1 cup granola

Directions:
1. Put 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce in the bottom of each of four small dishes. Top with 1/4 cup of yogurt, and 1/4 cup of granola. Repeat the cranberry and yogurt layers.

Ultimate Party Meatballs: tasty meatballs swimming in a sea of spiced up Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce! Dress up your favorite meatball recipe with this flavorful glaze of bright red goodness. Use fresh or frozen meatballs to create an app everyone will enjoy.

cranmeat
(
Photo Courtesy of Ocean Spray)

Ingredients
1 14-ounce can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1 12-ounce bottle Heinz® Chili Sauce
1 2-pound bag frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail-size meatballs

Directions
Combine sauces in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Add meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.

Celebrate Thanksgiving and the sweetness of the season with all of these tantalizing offerings! Let us know how YOU cranberry-up YOUR Turkey Day!

1 Comment so far. Feel free to join this conversation.

  1. Tania Atack November 25, 2014 at 8:17 am -

    CRANBERRIES!!! Oh, my favorite. I even use them in my stuffing as well.
    Loved your decor ideas and how colourful.
    Never thought of using cranberrie sauce in meatballs, but it will sure be on my list of must do for our Xmas Holiday Season.
    Love you guys. Tania