It's the most CRANBERRY time of the year...

You sang the title of this blog post in your mind (to the tune of, It's the most wonderful time of the year) as you read it, didn't you? You're giggling now, right?

Chances are most of us have eaten cranberries in cranberry sauce, but what else can you do with these berries and their juice?

Make a drink:

Fill a glass ½ full with soda water or carbonated water and the rest of the way with cranberry juice, or cran-apple juice. Top with a few fresh cranberries. You can also add a dash of          orange juice if you would like to.

Make a snack:

Ants on a log: Cut a stalk of celery into 3 pieces. Add peanut butter to each piece. Top with dried cranberries…red ants on a log!

OR

Mix together: 1 block of cream cheese, 1 cup walnuts (chopped), 1 cup dried cranberries and add to a stalk of celery. This will fill about 12 celery stalks. Cut each in half and serve as a      tasty appetizer.

Bake with them:

Add 1 cup of dried cranberries to your oatmeal cookie dough.

OR

Add to pancake batter or on top of pancakes or french toast.

Garnish your cakes with them:

In a bowl, beat pasteurized egg whites until light. Dip fresh cranberries into the whites then  coat them with sugar. Let them dry and use them to decorate your baked goods.

Cranberry bark:

Melt a bag of chocolate chips. Add 1 cup of dried cranberries. Spread onto a no-stick foil      lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard. Crack apart into pieces.

Cider:

Warm cran-apple juice and some ground cinnamon... makes a great quick cider!

Decorate with them:

String dried cranberries and popcorn on a string and decorate your Christmas tree or house.

Need more ideas? Buy this book...