Any quick holiday recipes you'd like to share with everyone?

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Are you tired of bitter, tasteless cranberry sauce from the grocery store? Wouldn't you rather have fresh, preservative-free homemade cranberrysauce? It is SO easy to make - from start to finish only about 15 minutes. It's perfect with chicken, turkey, Christmas, Thanksgiving and the winter months! The bright color livens up any dinner table, kids love it and it is low sugar while loaded with vitamin C and fiber. You can make it with no sugar (very tart), some sugar (sweet) or artificial sweetener (like Splenda), as you prefer! It is easy to make and can, if you want some for later! Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of 12 months to 18 months, and require no special attention. Directions for Making Cranberry Sauce Ingredients and Equipment 2 bags (12 oz each) Cranberries Sugar and or Splenda to taste (normally 1/4 cup of either) 1 medium or large pot Makes about 1 quart of cranberry sauce If you plan to can it for later: Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars) Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sterilize them. ($2 at Wal-Mart) Jar funnel ($2 at Wal-Mart) At least 1 large pot Large spoons and ladles Ball jars (Publix, Wal-Mart carry then - about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and rings) 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot with a lifting rack to sterilize the jars of cranberry sauce after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, Wal-Mart) You CAN use a large pot instead, but the canners are deeper, and have a rack top make lifting the jars out easier. If you plan on canning every year, they're worth the investment. Recipe and Directions Step 1 - Get your cranberries There are very few places to pick your own, but happily, they store and transport well, so there probably isn't much difference. Most grocery stores sell the 12 oz bags. Look for firm berries with a dark color. Step 2 - If you are canning: Wash the jars and lids Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars, the water bath processing will sterilize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used. Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot cranberry sauce. Put the lids into a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out. Step 2- Wash the cranberries Pour them in to a large bowl of cold water, and swirl them around, scoop them out with your fingers, feeling for any mushy berries, as you scoop. Discard any mushy, soft berries. The picture of the 4 berries shows you unripe through ripe. I'd throw out the one on the far left, but use the other 3. Step 3 - Start the cranberries cooking They take longer than the apples, so put 2 inches of water (or cranberry or apple juice) in a pot, get it boiling and pour the cranberries in. Let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice (you'll hear the berries popping, as the berries cook - you'll kids will get a kick out of that). Once half the berries are popped and the sauce feels mushy, it's done! It should take 10 to 15 minutes of cooking over medium-high heat. Step 4 - Sweeten the cranberry sauce Turn off the heat. Add sugar to taste. Start out with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar or Splenda, as you prefer. If you don't plan to can any, you're done! Just serve warm or cold! If you want to can for later, continue through to steps 5 and 6. The cranberry sauce does not need any further cooking; just keep it hot until you get enough made to fill the jars you will put into the canner (Canners hold seven jars at once, whether they are quart or pint size) Step 5 - Fill the jars and process them in the water bath Fill them to within 1/2 inch of the top, wipe any spilled cranberry sauce of the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Put them in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. if you are at sea level (up to 1,000 ft) boil pint jars for 15 minutes and quart jars for 20 min. If you are at an altitude of 1,000 feet or more, see the chart at the bottom of this page. Step 6 - Remove and cool the jars - Done Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------