Cranberry Almond Granola Recipe

I got a great deal on some fresh cranberries and bought several bags so I've been making up a lot of recipes recently with cranberries (in case you didn't see that theme on my blog posts recently!). 

Today I made an Apple Cranberry Pie to take to my boyfriend's family Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow and still had cranberries left over.  I lined a baking sheet with foil and added a few additional ingredients with the fresh cranberries and baked for almost an hour at 350 degrees.  The cranberries are still soft, but the rest of the granola is crunchy and will be a great addition to yogurt or even as an ice cream topping. 

Ingredients:

*Please note measurements are approximate as I kind of made this on the fly!  Adjust per your taste.

2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups quick oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tsps butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and spread on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees approximately 1 hour until nuts and oats begin to crisp up.

Enjoy!

This recipe is featured on Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party.

Cranberry Pecan Muffin Recipe

When I made the recipe for Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad I had a lot of cranberries remaining.  I decided to use those cranberries to make up some Cranberry Pecan Muffins for breakfast. 

These would be great with a little butter or cream cheese spread on the muffin halves with a nice cup of coffee. 

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk*
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup cranberries

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Place butter, sugar, eggs and buttermilk in the bowl of a stand

    mixer or medium sized mixing bowl. 

3.  Mix medium until ingredients are well blended.

4.  Sift flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl and mix well.

5.  Add dry flour mixture to wet mixture while mixing is on low.

6.  Mix on medium until well blended.

7.  Using a spatula, fold in the cranberries and pecans.

8.  Fill 18 muffin cups approximately 3/4 of the way full (about

    1/4 cup each, depending on the size of your muffin pans).

9.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes.

*In place of buttermilk, you may add 2 tsp of lemon juice to regular milk
and let set for approximately 5 minutes to "sour" the milk. 

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Recipe

I received my Market Crate of fresh veggies today (see previous post from November 14, 2012) and decided to use some of the beautiful ingredients from it to make a nice chicken salad. 

This weekend I found a sale at my local market on whole chickens (less than $1/per pound!) and had baked the chicken yesterday.  I had already removed the skin as well as taken the chicken off the bone before refrigerating it so it was recipe ready.  If you don't have time for that step, you can always buy a rotisserie chicken at the deli department of your local market to use. . . or you could use some of your leftover turkey from your Thanksgiving feast!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, diced chicken
2 sticks celery, diced
2/3 cup fresh cranberries (measure after cooking)
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup diced onion
1/3 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1.  Place fresh cranberries in a small pot with water. 

2.  Cook over medium high for approximately 5 - 10 minutes just until

    cranberries split open. 

3.  Drain, rinse with cold water to cool and set cranberries aside. 

    You may also place the cranberries in refrigerator for a short

    time to cool.

4.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix chicken, celery, pecans, onion and

    cooled cranberries. 

5.  In a small bowl or cup, mix mayo, sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

6.  Pour mayo mixture over chicken and mix thoroughly.

7.  Serve in a lettuce cup or wrap, on top of a salad, or on two slices of

    honey wheat bread.

You will have quite a few cranberries left over.  Don't cranberry muffins or cranberry pancakes sound good?  Hmmm. . .I think I will have to work on a recipe to use the remaining cranberries.  Look for another cranberry recipe to be posted in the near future!

This recipe is featured on Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party.