Just like So Delicious coconut milk

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It's nice to have a low-carb, low-calorie substitute for milk. In particular, I like it in my iced coffee or smoothies. For a while, I was using unsweetened almond milk. However, I am always looking to reduce my omega-6 intake (more info on that), and So Delicious brand makes a dilute, emulsified coconut milk that serves the same purpose. It has a more favorable fatty acid profile than almond milk, boasting primarily MCTs rather than pro-inflammatory omega-6s. However, I'm not a fan of it. They use a lot of gums and thickeners that give it a weird texture, and it's expensive for what it is (that is, mostly water). I saw a recipe for making it yourself, which is appealing but it uses soy lecithin as the emulsification agent. I wanted to use a non-soy source, and after some Google-fu I learned that an egg yolk contains as much lecithin as a tablespoon of soy lecithin granules. So, I decided to use that.

I have a Sous Vide Demi, and I used that to pasteurize the egg. Just preheat it to 135 degrees and put the egg (still in the shell) right in the water for 75 minutes. Once it's done, cool it thoroughly in an ice bath, then seperate out the yolk and discard (or save) the white. If you don't have a sous vide machine, you can pasteurize them in a regular saucepan as per these instructions. Or if you like to live dangerously just leave it raw, it's up to you! I have also seen sunflower lecithin in softgels, you could try squeezing out the contents of two of them and using that, but I have not tried it myself.

BETTER THAN SO DELICIOUS COCONUT MILK
Makes 64 oz

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can coconut milk. Read the ingredients and look for a brand that is actually coconut milk, and not coconut extract mixed with water.
• 1 egg yolk (see description for information on pasteurizing an egg)

DIRECTIONS

1. Put the egg and coconut milk into a blender.
2. Add water until the whole mixture measures 64 oz.
3. Blend thoroughly.
4. Store in an airtight covered pitcher such as this; you'll want to use a pitcher with an airtight lid so that you can shake it up before using.

Just like So Delicious coconut milk

Dijon Corned Beef in the Slow Cooker

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Hey Steph, did you really cook that corned beef in the slow cooker? How come it's not wet and slimy? Isn't corned beef supposed to be wet and slimy?
Until a few years ago, I shied away from St. Patrick's Day. I hated getting a plate full of wet meat topped with  lifeless cabbage. (is that too harsh? I'm sorry if I've offended the soggy cabbage and wet meat lovers of the world...including my husband...)
Corned beef is quite a delicious piece of meat. It's brined, and packed with flavor all on it's own. In this recipe, the meat cooks in it's own juice--no additional liquid is required--creating a beautifully roasted (not slimy!) meat with a sweet, mustard glaze.
The Ingredients.serves 63 pounds corned beef, trimmed of fat1 tablespoon honey2 tablespoons brown sugar1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard10 whole cloves (or you can use 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Unwrap the corned beef, and remove the seasoning packet (use it in another recipe, such as roasted cabbage and potatoes) and trim as much of the fat from the meat as you can. In a small bowl,  make a paste of the honey, brown sugar, mustard, and cloves. Rub this mixture on all sides of the meat. Place the meat into your crockpot, and cover. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until meat pulls apart easily with a fork. Let sit for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
I prefer to cook my vegetables separately, but if you'd like everything in one pot, feel free to add quartered red potatoes, carrot chunks, and cabbage wedges around the meat. Again, no need to add additional liquid.
The Verdict
This sweet and salty glazed meat will shine on your St. Patrick's Day table. It's a winner, sure to please the picky leprechauns in your household. I like this meat so much, I'm going to  pick up a few extra corned beef packages to freeze so we can have it much more often.
other recipes you might like:the first corned beef I made all by myselfcabbage rollsthe cabbage soup from the cabbage soup diet  roasted garlic spoonbreadroasted winter root vegetables 
Irish Potatoes
Since St. Patrick's Day is on Saturday this year, does that mean that the leprechauns need to visit our house? The teachers at school usually destruct the classroom and overturn furniture, toilet paper the play yard, and sprinkle gold glitter all over the grass. I'm up for the TPing, but I have a severe allergy to glitter...

also, I wanted to share that my friend Jen started her own 365 Day Challenge: A Year of Cocktails! Cheer her on and submit your favorite cocktails to test out--she's got a lot of work ahead of her!TweetAdd this recipe to ZipList!

New England Clam Chowder in the Slow Cooker

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I feel very lucky that we live pretty close to the coast. If we hopped in the car, we'd see the ocean within 15 minutes --- that's pretty cool.
I'm kind of embarrassed that we don't take advantage of this as often as we should. 
My kids love the beach. Adam loves the beach. I love the beach. 
Yet most of our weekends are filled with boring stuff like Costco runs, random sporting events, assorted kid birthday parties, and Drop Dead Diva marathons on Netflix (oh Drop Dead Diva, how did I only just now discover how completely awesome you are?).
So I brought the beach to us. No mess, no sandy feet, and no bird poop.(and it totally rained this entire weekend anyway.)
The Ingredients.serves 6

there's no half-and-half in this picture. I didn't buy it yet!

1/2 pound bacon, cooked and diced1 (6.5-ounce) can minced clams, drained5 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks1 onion, peeled and diced1 cup sliced celery2 garlic cloves, chopped2 teaspoons dried thyme1 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper4 cups chicken broth2 cups half-and-half (or you could use heavy cream)1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (to add later)
optional: bread bowls for serving. If you're gluten free, I've made them myself by using boxed bread mix, then plopping 4 round dough blobs on a piece of parchment paper--they bake right up, and are perfect!
The Directions.
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Brown the bacon on the stovetop, and drain the accumulated grease (I saved bacon from breakfast-- about 6 4 slices (I accidentally ate a few...)Put the bacon into your crockpot, and add clams. Add all the vegetables and spices and pour in the broth. Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the onion is translucent and the potatoes squish easily with a fork.Use a hand-held stick blender and pulse a few times to naturally thicken the soup. Stir in half and half and shredded cheese. Ladle into wide-mouthed bowls or bread bowls.
The Verdict.
This is an awesome chowder. The canned clams really do a great job of flavoring the broth and the soup, and are terribly inexpensive, and will keep in the pantry for a long time. They're a great canned item to keep on hand. My kids lapped up their servings and played with their new art supplies. 
While I cried. Because of Drop Dead Diva.
other stuff you might like:fish chowdercanned soup in the Little DipperCrab and Corn Soup Kiwi Crate Art Box ReviewTweetAdd this recipe to ZipList!

Slow Cooker Mint Glazed Lamb

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I hope this works. I have always used the free Blogger software to run this website, which is owned by Google. And they changed it. And they are making me use it and even though I had three months of "warning" that this change was going to happen I'm slightly irritated.
This is the first time I'm typing with the new format and it looks different and my buttons are in different places and I am not the best when it comes to change.

so there you go. I'm an old fuddy-duddy stuck-in-my ways crockpot lady.

BUT. I have new and exciting lamb for you. Lamb so good you're going to want to test it out EVEN THOUGH you already love your tried-and-true "but everybody already loves my lamb" recipe.

I know.

change is hard.

We're all in this together. (insert High School Musical soundtrack)

The Ingredients.
serves 6-8  (ha. that sticky has the words "mint-glazed leg of lamb" on it. I probably should have taken that off before I shot the photo. oops.)
1 onion, sliced in rings4 to 5 pound boneless leg of lamb1/3 cup prepared mint jelly3 sprigs fresh mint leaves (about 10)4 cloves garlic, chopped1 tablespoon fresh rosemary1 teaspoon kosher salt1 teaspoon black pepper
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Separate the onion rings withyour fingers and place in the bottom of your cooker. Put the meat on top. In asmall mixing bowl, combine the mint jelly, fresh mint, garlic, rosemary, salt,and pepper. Smear this mixture on all sides of the meat. Cover, and cook on lowfor 7 hours, or until the lamb is fully cooked and begins  to relax and lose it’s shape.Serve with mashed potatoes and a spoonful of accumulatedgravy (you can thicken the gravy by making a cornstarch slurry: 1 tablespoon cornstarch whisked into 2 tablespoons cold water).
The Verdict.
I have always shied away from mint jelly—it looks like limejello to me, and I couldn’t figure out why lamb was supposed to be paired withsomething that smelled like Doublemint gum ~ until I tried this! Lamb and mint are meant to go together!This sweet, salty, and minty glaze can not be beat. It really is a good combination-- good enough to make me want to CHANGE our normal Easter Lamb recipe for keeps.
I've got an Easter line-up post in the works, and will get it up soon so you can start your grocery lists. Use the ZipList feature at the bottom of the posts! It's completely free and will create a customized shopping list. Super cool.
I also want to give a shout-out to Kiwi Krate, the neat art box subscription service for kids that I reviewed the other week. It's a great product, and they are really trying to get the word out about their new company. Thanks for taking the time to click over and check it out -- I appreciate it.



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Easter Dinner in the Slow Cooker

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Happy almost-Easter! I have rounded up some of our favorite Easter Dinner favorites to help with your meal planning. We aren't hosting this year, but I am going to make a leg of lamb and take it along to my mom's. Thank goodness for the locking-lid on the slow cooker!

Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Lemon.

Mint Glazed Leg of Lamb

Honey and Thyme Glazed Ham

Maple Ham

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chili, Cumin, and Lime

The Best Brussels Sprouts, EVER!

Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese and Sour Cream

Scalloped Apples

Have a wonderful Easter! Happy Slow Cooking!
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St. Patrick's Day's A Comin'...

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     Last year on St. Patrick's Day I lamented the fact that I didn't have anything green in my recipe box.  This year I've got another confession to make.  I've been deceiving you with my recipes (only a teensy bit).  Maybe "deceive" is the wrong word...  Exaggerating?  I do believe in eating fresh, organic, and local as much as possible, but we don't eat like this all the time, especially when my farmer's market is closed for the season.  I've got two little boys who can make gourmet meal preparation a challenge to say the least.  What we actually eat are things like macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, and burritos.

     Now, though I usually make them from scratch (no blue boxes of "mak n' cheaz" in my pantry, thank you) we are hardly the gourmands we seem to be with recipes like this, this, and this.  So this St. Patrick's Day I'm kicking off a new (occasionally updated) series called: "How We Really Eat."  The recipes are quick, sometimes use store-bought/name brand ingredients, are free of preservatives, as local as possible, and weird chemical-free.  (I spend a lot of time in the store squinting at labels, let me just say!) I'll be posting the recipes throughout the year. 

Today, for St. Patty's day, that traditional Ye Olde Irish dish:  Pesto Pizza
Check out the also not Irish beer.  It's local.  It's goooood.  It's Pike's Place Brewery Pale Ale.  You can get your own at Pike's Place Market and grocery stores in the greater Seattle area.  They have one called "Kilt Lifter" but I was afraid that a Leprechaun might beat me to death with a shillelagh if I used it in a St. Patrick's Day post...
Pesto Pizza 
Start with the pesto:
Yield: enough for two pizzas and a little left over
3-4 C basil, washed and dried
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 C olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 C pine nuts
2 Tbs shredded Parmesan
salt

Put everything in a food processor except the Parmesan and buzz until it's "pesto-y."  Then add the Parmesan and buzz it some more.

For the Pizza:
1 package Trader Joe's garlic and herb pizza crust, divided in half
4-8 sundried tomatoes packed in oil (Mediterranean Organic brand), roughly chopped
5-6 cloves garlic
baby bella mushrooms, sliced (these are button mushrooms pictured here, and they turned out fine, too)
feta cheese
mozzarella cheese
salt

Preheat oven to 425°.  Dust your work surface lightly with bread flour.  Divide dough in half and roll out as thinly as possible, about a 1/4 inch.   Lightly brush entire crust with olive oil.  Crush garlic with a garlic press over the crust and brush until it is distributed evenly.  Pesto is next, make sure to leave the edges clear.  If you really want to guild the lily, you can drizzle a tablespoon or so of oil from the sundried tomatoes bottle over the pesto.  Place mushrooms and tomatoes sparsely over  pesto.  Sprinkle salt around the edge of the crust.  This next part may seem weird, but trust me.  Put the pizza in the oven without the cheese.  Bake until the crust just begins to brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with feta and/or mozzarella.  The more sparse the better.  Then return to oven and bake for 2-4 minutes until cheese is just melted.

Optional:
If you don't want to make your own pesto, or don't have the time, Roland Pesto is the best!  The 3 oz jar should cover at least one crust and you can over the other with tomato sauce and see how you like that!


Review:
This my favorite pizza of all time.  My previous view of pizza was more cheese, more crust, gimme.  This crust is so crispy I just couldn't stand to make it all soggy under a million toppings and gobs of cheese. It's thin crust gone sophisticated with zero time spent slaving over a warm proofing drawer!

Finally, Some Followthrough Around Here!

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     Ohhhh.... Long about September of last year I promised I'd share a gluten-free cornbread with you guys.  I reckon it's about time I posted it, huh?


     I like Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free mix because it's a non-intimidating way for gluten gluttons, like myself to ease into the gluten-free world for friends without having to fiddle around with math and science.  I imagine gluten-free bakers as wild-haired chemists in lab coats gleefully chortling over beakers filled with guar gum and buckwheat flour.  They look pretty cool, actually...  Mostly, my wild-haired self chortles over butter and various forms of garlic.  Not much chemistry there...

     The flour mix works better for some things than others.  It can have a strong, bitter taste sometimes.  But in a recipe like this, where there are equal parts flour and cornmeal, it does a fantastic job of filling out the muffins while at the same time, not being over-powering...  It's pretty much a straight substitution of my regular cornbread recipe (good gosh, I just realized how many versions of cornbread I have on this blog... maybe I also chortle a little over cornmeal...) but I'll go ahead and post it here anyway.  I baked these in muffin form so they would cook faster, but they are not sweet like most cornbread.  I am from the South where the tea is sweet and the cornbread is not.  They held their shape very well as muffins, I'm not sure how this recipe would perform as an actual full-size cornbread.

Gluten-Free Cornbread
1 C + 3 Tbs yellow corn meal
1 C Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free flour mix
1 Tbs granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400°.  Line a muffin tin with liners.  Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.  Combine milk, vegetable oil and egg in bowl; mix well.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir till just blended.  Pour into prepared baking pan.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Review:
Absolutely everyone at our dinner party loved this!  No one with gluten issues will feel deprived eating this.  If you do want sweeter cornbread, increase the sugar to 1/4 C and omit the extra 3 Tbs cornmeal.  Just don't tell me you did it, OK?  It might cry a little...

Float Like a Butterfly

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     I am a card carrying member of the Jeans Jumper Brigade.  Yes, I'm a homeschool Mom.  I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am that we are in a situation where I can stay home and deal with love on my kids.  I have wanted to homeschool since I heard there was such a thing.  Before I was married.  Before I had kids.  Blah, blah, blah, homeschooling is awesome, I'm awesome, my kids are awesome...

     As part of our awesome home school of awesomeness, we have been doing "Hawai'i Month" in the lead-up to our visit to the Big Island.  Our boys really hope to see the volcano and the lava tube, a macadamia nut farm, black sand beaches, and my youngest wants to eat shave ice and see a cowboy!  My wishlist mostly includes malasadas and mai tais...

     I had a mind to make you guys an Easter cake this week all covered up in coconut and then I realized how well this particular cake fits into our Hawai'i unit, too.  Coconut, bananas, pineapple, and vanilla all grow in Hawai'i!

     The boys helped me whip this together.  I got the recipe from my Mom.  When she gave it to me she thought it might be a recipe from a family friend, but having baked it, I can see that it's not the one she used to make.  Still, it's pretty darn yummy!  It's called a Butterfly Cake.  I've seen other similar recipes online called Hummingbird Cakes.

Aaahhh a cake lovely enough for a pedestal. 
Emperor Zurg crashed the photoshoot...
Butterfly Cake
2 C sugar
1 C oil
3 eggs
3 C flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
8 oz. can crushed pineapple
2 C mashed bananas
1 C chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Blend sugar, oil, and eggs well.  Sift flour, salt and baking soda together.  Add to the sugar mixture.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Bake in a tube pan for 1 hour 10 minutes at 350°.  Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before frosting.

Icing:
16 oz box confectioner's sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
coconut flakes (optional)


Notes:
     One of the Hummingbird Cake recipes I found said to divide the batter into three round cake pans and double the frosting recipe.  I used the frosting recipe above and baked it in two round cake pans.  As you can see, I didn't have quite enough frosting.  Also, dividing it into two pans caused the cake to be a little too thick, so the cake was pretty dry on the outside.  I remedied that by using a tip from Bakerella and used a spray bottle to spray some coconut milk on the cake to moisten it.  It didn't add as much coconut flavor as I was hoping, but it did a great job of moistening the cake!


Here is a little of what the library dished up for our study this month:

Books:
Pikoi and Other Legends of the Island of Hawai'i Our favorite story is "The Gift of Ku," a legend about how breadfruit was brought to the island.
Hawaiian Word Book Great, illustrated kid's dictionary of introductory Hawai'ian words includes a pronunciation CD
Pele and the Rivers of Fire, an introduction to Pele and her brother shark and sister waves.
The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i.  This one was a little long for the boys, but it was interesting for me!
Other Media:
Putumayo Kids Presents Hawai'ian Playground (CD) We translated some of the lyrics so it's a great way to reinforce some of the language they are learning.
Travel with Kids-Hawaii: The Big Island of Hawaii (DVD)This series is great.  We watched the Kauai one last year and it was great to have an idea of some kid-friendly places to go.
Projects:
We built and erupted a volcano and studied about how volcanoes work.

I can not believe how much they loved this volcano!
     We also ate Puka dogs, taro chips, and  Hawaiian Punch (The things I do in the name of education...)

     If you'd like to see more of what I want to squeeze into our visit to the Big Island, check out my Pinterest board!

It's Passover Time Again...

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Aaaaannnd... I'm still not Jewish.  But I have a special place in my heart for the Jewish people and traditions, especially Passover.  The Seder meal is one of the most beautiful things I've ever been involved in.  So much tradition and symbolism...  It's lovely.  *sigh...* 


Matzoh bread is extraordinarily simple to make ingredient-wise, for obvious reasons.  If you want to make them super duper kosher find directions at ehow.

I got this recipe online years ago, but it apparently originally came from this book.



Homemade Matzoh
2 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
Spring Water

Preheat oven to 450°.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Mix the flours together.  Add water till you have a soft kneadable dough.  Knead about 5 minutes.  Let rest 2 minutes.  Break off an egg-sized portion of dough.  Stretch as thinly as possible before rolling into oval slabs that are as thin as possible.  Prick each slab with a fork.  Place on baking sheet and as spoon as sheet is filled, placed in oven, and bake until crisp and buckled, about 3 minutes.  Cool and eat.

Crackers on the Couch Culinary Academy...

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On Mother's Day, my oldest son (who's 6) decided to make me breakfast in bed.  He brought me a hand full of raw almonds, an apple, a sandwich with jam on it "with no peanut butter because I couldn't find it," a biscuit with jam on it, and a glass of water with lemon in it.  (That was really great water!)  All week he has been sharing everything he eats with anyone who will take it including the cat and people passing by on the street.  OK, not really on that last one, but he did share his cookie with three different kids at lunch today...
This morning, this was waiting for me on the kitchen table:
It's a "MI-NOO."  And yes, the logo is an oven with smoke coming out of it.  He has clearly been paying attention in this house...
Inside was a mouthwatering assortment of breakfast items.  Cereal, peanut butter and jam sandwich, an orange, a banana, peanut butter and jam on a different kind of bread, hot milk, two eggs, grapes, an apple, and toast.
     He has been watching me cook and photograph our food for the past year now, and has recently become very interested in the whole thing.  Today my budding chef learned how to make toast.  He fed our whole family a breakfast of buttered toast that he cooked all by himself!  Naturally, I photographed it!
He is so proud!

Buttering it up.

Toast.  In all its buttery glory...
He was so proud he even made himself a toque!
If you look closely, you can see the puffy lines he drew for the top.  (I gotta get those kids some new markers...)
Mr. 4 wanted to be a waiter, but didn't want to stand still for a photo.  Instead of holding the towel like I wanted him to, he stuffed it into the back of his shirt and ran off shouting, "I'm SUPER waiter!!"   
     Like any good chef, Mr. 6 is constantly updating his menu (he's been at it all day, I never know what's going to appear next!)  So far, he has mostly picked food he can actually prepare himself.  He's downstairs right now making some last minute adjustments.  I know who's helping me with dinner tonight!

I Had A Cranberry Party

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plateful of cranberry goodness

A few weeks ago I had a cranberry party. And I only had to make one thing with cranberry juice, but I'm a total over-achiever and made FIVE things. BOO-YAH!
(recipes below!)

The Back Story:

The Simply Cranberry Cocktail people (through BlogHer) contacted me and asked if I'd like to throw a dinner party and use their new Simply Cranberry Cocktail as a springboard for the menu-planning.

I was already familiar with the Simply Orange Juice Company--we like their orange and apple juice an awful lot, and I'm a complete and total sucker for a challenge.

Before I responded, I texted Adam:"Hey, we need to have a cranberry juice party, sort of an Iron Chef thing. You cool with that?"He wrote back: "a la cuisine!"

I love that man.

I was given coupons for Simply Cranberry Cocktail by the Simply Orange Juice Company, and BlogHer paid me for my time and to purchase supplies for our cranberry party.


I then set to work planning the menu: baked brie with cranberries, cranberry martinis, cranberry chicken, triple-threat cranberry brisket, and cranberry fluff for dessert (scroll down for all the recipes).

To round out the meal I also roasted asparagus and made mashed potatoes (out of a box! Capital K classy, I tell you...).

Just so you know: Simply Cranberry Cocktail can be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store; it is kept chilled from the time it is blended with not-from-concentrate cranberry juice and gently pasteurized with no added preservatives. It's sweet and tart and unlike other cranberry juice cocktails in that you don't shudder after drinking it.

I decided this was a really good excuse to buy cranberry red tablecloths and retire the ecru tablecloths I usually dig out of the china cabinet. (I'm pretty sure stained and bleached and then stained and bleached tablecloths are ecru. Right?)

Since we were having our party on April Fool's Day, I also bought silly straws and nose glasses for everyone out of the dollar bins at Target.

I invited my two best friends (guess what their names are? did you guess? wait for it... wait for it...JENNIFER and JENNIFER) and their families. This meant we had 6 adults and 9 children for our dinner party. I set up two tables, with the idea that the kids would be at one and the grownups could sit at the other, and we'd all sit down and have sparkling dinner conversation and lovely table manners.

Bree Van de Kamp Hodge would be so proud.
(of course she's on trial for murder right now, but I think Gaby is about to confess.)


It was wonderful.


I need to have dinner parties more often. I think sometimes in the name of saving money I forget it's the little things in life that matter--good friends, good food, and good fun.

Someone else picking up the bill is awfully nice, too.Thank you Simply Cranberry Cocktail !!


Recipes:

I don't have any photos of the brie because I may have already had a cranberry martini (or 2? not sure) before I thought to take pictures, and by then we pretty much killed the whole thing.

I used the candied pecan and cranberry brie recipe I made back in 2008 but didn't use the pecans because one of our little friends has a nut allergy. I did, though, add a drop of balsamic vinegar to the brown sugar and a bit of rosemary they way I did with the balsamic apricot brie.

8 ounce-brie round1 cup dried cranberries1 tablespoon brown sugar1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary

Stir topping together and place on top of the brie. Place the brie into an oven-safe bowl or dish and plop it into a slow cooker for about 2 hours, or until melty and gooey and delicious. Serve with apple slices and your favorite crackers. I'm not supposed to name brand names in this post, but we used the popular round gluten free crackers that come in the white box. Email me if you don't know what I'm talking about!

Cranberry Martinis

Since The Cocktail Lady was at our house I figured I'd use her expertise, and we came up with the most awesomest cranberry martini recipe ever. She also lent me her drink shaker because I accidentally gave away the one we got as a wedding present in one of our many moves.Thanks, Jen! xoxo

Fill the drink shaker half-full or so with ice.For each drink, add:1 shot Simply Cranberry Cocktail1 shot citrus flavored vodka1/2 shot Triple Sec1/2 shot Sweet and Sour Mix
Shake well and serve in chilled martini glasses with sugared rims. (Adam did the glasses by rubbing a cut lime on the edge then dipping the glasses in Baker's Sugar. He froze them for 2 hours or so before the party).We were able to double this recipe and get two drinks in each shaker.

And they rocked.Srsly.

Cranberry Glazed Chicken:4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs1 large onion, peeled and diced6 cloves garlic, minced2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce1 (16-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce1/2 cup Simply Cranberry Cocktail1 lime, juiced1 tablespoon cornstarch2 tablespoons cold water

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the chicken into the bottom of your cooker (frozen is fine). Add diced onion and garlic. In a mixing bowl whisk together the soy sauce, cranberry sauce, and juices. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of your chicken. Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or until chicken is fully cooked (if you cook it longer, it’ll shred—it’s up to you!)With tongs, carefully remove the chicken and place on a serving platter. Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water to create a slurry. Stir this into your slow cooker to thicken, then serve over mashed potatoes or polenta.

Triple Threat Cranberry Brisket:5 pound beef brisket1 onion, peeled and diced4 cloves garlic, minced1 (16-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce1/2 cup Simply Cranberry Cocktail1/4 cup dried cranberries

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the meat into the bottom of your slow cooker insert. Add onion and garlic. In a mixing bowl, mix together the can of cranberry sauce, soy sauce, juice, and dried cranberries. Pour this combination evenly over the top of the meat. Cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for about 6 hours. Your meat is finished when it has begun to lose it’s shape and can pull apart easily with a fork. Serve over mashed potatoes with a spoonful of sauce.

Cranberry Fluff Dessert


I was channeling TW from Retro-Food.com when I decided to serve this dessert. I knew I wanted something we could all eat together and didn't want a big production (think ice-cream bar) or a huge mess to deal with later (again, think ice-cream bar). But I wanted the kids to like it and the adults to at least give it a half-hearted thumbs up.

I was WAY SURPRISED. We licked the pyrex clean. All 6 adults and 9 children couldn't get enough.


2 cups boiling water2 (4-ounce) packages cherry gelatin dessert1 cup Simply Cranberry Cocktail1 (8-ounce) container whipped dessert topping, room temperature, divided1 (15-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce1 package shortbread cookies (or something similar. Ours were gluten free, of course!)


Whisk the dried gelatin powder with the boiling water until it's completely dissolved. Whisk in the juice, and then refrigerate the mixing bowl for 90 minutes. You want the gelatin slightly set, but not really. 
Now stir in 2 cups of the dessert topping and the entire can of cranberry sauce. Pour this mixture into a 9 x 9 glass baking pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or until completely set. Spread on the additional whipped topping and dot with shortbread cookies.

Cranberry retro yumminess. It's tart, but not too tart, and sweet, but not too sweet. It was the perfect end to a perfect night. And you know it was good when you wake up to this in the morning:

I had so much fun and feel so lucky to have the best friends ever. Thank you to Simply Cranberry Cocktail for giving me an excuse to have a party. And for the realization that I shouldn't have to have an excuse to have friends over--I should just do it!

 I'm pretty sure we're not going to have a UTI anytime soon...

Guess what? 

Simply Cranberry Cocktail understands that sometimes it's just not possible to have a spur-of-the moment party when you're busy living your life and all "extra" (HA on the extra!) income goes towards retirement, or college, or braces, or new tires. So they are offering to help out by giving one lucky winner a $100 Visa gift card to spend however you'd like.Maybe you'd like to have a cranberry party of your very own?

What is your favorite way to make a party or get together at your home more festive? Tell me about it in the comments for a chance to win a $100 gift card.

Rules:
P.S: I didn't make these up. 



No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:


a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.


This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.


I'll randomly select a winner from the responses (leave an email address or sign in so I can find you!) and will make sure the gift card gets sent out promptly.


The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/7/2012 - 6/1/2012


Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!


"Simply Cranberry_™" is a trademark of Simply Orange Juice Company.



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