Slow Cooker Orange-Cranberry Sauce

In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a fan of crock pots. You can do so much with them! From squash to shredded chicken...even apple cider! This slow cooker cranberry sauce is so tangy and delicious, your family won't know it took hardly any work on your part. But that's okay, we'll keep it our secret. :)

Ingredients

12 oz. bag whole cranberries

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 c. water

1 Tbsp. orange peel, grated

1 cinnamon stick

Directions

Rinse and drain cranberries.

Transfer berries to the slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients and stir.

Cover and set on low 2-3 hours or until cranberries begin to pop and soften.

Remove cinnamon stick and mash cranberries.

Keep cover off and turn it up to high.

Cook 15-20 minutes longer, uncovered, to help thicken the sauce.

Serve warm or cooled.

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(Directions with Photos)

Rinse and drain cranberries.

Transfer berries to the slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients and stir.

Cover and set on low 2-3 hours or until cranberries begin to pop and soften.

Remove cinnamon stick and mash cranberries.

Keep cover off and turn it up to high.

Cook 15-20 minutes longer, uncovered, to help thicken the sauce.

Serve warm or cooled.

Sourdough Herb Stuffing

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving dinner is the stuffing. I've tamed down the amount that I eat now that I've gotten a little older. (It may not be appropriate or very classy for a grown adult to be picky and heap their plate with only stuffing and skipping the veggies during dinner like a child.) However, I still feel like I get my fair share. :)

Ingredients

12 oz. sourdough bread

1/2 c. butter

1 large onion, diced

3/4 c. celery, diced

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. red pepper

1 tsp. ground thyme

1 tsp. ground rosemary

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 (14.5 oz.) cans low sodium chicken broth

Directions

Cut bread into 1/2 inch chunks. Spread evenly onto a large baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 50 minutes, or until dry. Let cool completely, then transfer to a large bowl.

In a large skillet or pot, melt butter and cook until it begins to turn brown.

Remove about 3 tablespoons of the browned butter and set aside. 

Add onion and celery to the butter in the pot and cook until softened. (Veggies will begin to look translucent.)

Transfer vegetables to a small bowl and mix the seasonings in.

Using the now empty pot, pour in the chicken broth and bring it to a boil.

Continue boiling the broth until it reduces to about half the amount.

Add onion & celery mixture to the dried bread and pour in the reduced broth.

Stir once and let sit 10 minutes.

Stir once more and transfer to an 8x8 inch baking dish.

Drizzle the top with remaining browned butter that had been set aside earlier.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 35-45 minutes until top is golden brown and crisp.

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(Directions with Photos)

Cut bread into 1/2 inch chunks. {You could also use a hearty white bread if you don't want to use sourdough.} Spread evenly onto a large baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 50 minutes, or until dry. 

Let cool completely, then transfer to a large bowl.

In a large skillet or pot, melt butter and cook until it begins to turn brown.

Remove about 3 tablespoons of the browned butter and set aside. 

Add onion and celery to the butter in the pot and cook until softened. (Veggies will begin to look transluscent.)

Transfer vegetables to a small bowl and mix the seasonings in.

Using the now empty pot, pour in the chicken broth and bring it to a boil.

Continue boiling the broth until it reduces to about half the amount.

Add onion & celery mixture to the dried bread and pour in the reduced broth.

Stir once and let sit 10 minutes.

Stir once more and transfer to a baking dish (about 8x8 inch). 

Drizzle the top with remaining browned butter that had been set aside earlier.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 35-45 minutes until top is golden brown and crisp.

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Slow Cooker Apple Cider

What better way to keep your friends and family's bellies warm than to serve them a hot cup of orange & cinnamon infused apple cider. Since it's made and served straight from the crock pot, you can just put it all together and let it sit for the day. No worrying about it getting cold or boiling over on the stove top. Just a hot & yummy beverage ready to warm you when you come in from the cold. :)

Ingredients

 6 c. apple cider

2 large orange slices

2 cinnamon sticks

Directions

Pour apple cider in slow cooker.

Stir in orange slices and cinnamon sticks.

Cook on low 2 hours.

(You can leave it in the slow cooker longer to keep it hot & ready for your guests, just turn it down to warm after the 2 hours are up.)

While you can serve your cider in mugs the traditional way, we thought it would be a bit more "festive" to ladle it into martini glasses and garnish with cinnamon sticks. (If we had oranges left, we would have used orange curls, too.) Make it fun and stay warm! :)

Festive DIY Centerpiece

As long as I can remember, my Mom has loved tablecloths. Growing up, us kids would always procrastinate setting the table and throw a heavy sigh in the air when Mom would say "Get the good tablecloth, please. And pull out the placemats, too". We would always argue that it wasn't necessary. "They're just going to get dirty anyway and we'll have to change it again".

As I get older, I realize more and more how my little quirks are so much like my Mom's. Don't worry....I think it's a good thing. :)  One of them is my need for a tablecloth. (It also probably has something to do with the fact that our table top looks pretty rough, but that's beside the point.) I now understand my Mom's desire for everything to look "put together" by making the table look nice.

To pull everything together, it's always a nice touch to add a centerpiece. This post will give you an idea on how to pull a fun and festive centerpiece together with items you probably already have. Be festive and frugal. :)

This is what my centerpiece contains:

Vase: crystal ice bucket

Ribbon: wired burlap (found at Walmart or craft stores)

Fillers: {First, a large can of tomatoes to take up space} 

Bottom- dried black beans

Middle- old fashioned oats

Top- popcorn kernels

Candles: small red candle & 2 candlesticks

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

STEP 1: You get all your ingredients around and preheat oven to 425 degrees.

INGREDIENTS

3 Eggs

3/4 c. Brown sugar

1 1/2 c. Sugar

4 1/2 c. Flour

3/4 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 c. Mint Chocolate chips

1 c. (plus) 2 T. Butter

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda 

3 T. Water

Sugar crystals (if wanted)

STEP 2: Mix all dry ingredients together. ( brown sugar, sugar, salt, flour, and baking soda)

 STEP 3: Add wet ingredients with dry. (vanilla, water, and butter)

STEP 4: After your done with that you can mix in the chocolate chips. 

 STEP 5: Get a small scoop.

STEP 6: Oil two pans and scoop 9 to 12 dough balls on each pan.

STEP 7: Sprinkle the red sugar crystals on the dough balls if wanted.

STEP 8: Put in oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

HOPE YOU ENJOY!!! :)

D.I.Y. LOUNGING PANT--without a pattern! :)

Do you have that pair of lounging pants that you absolutely love?!  You know the ones! They are super cozy and they aren't too short (I HATE THAT).  Well, my friends, that is how I feel about my "Stewie Pants".  Well, actually, they are my husbands's "Stewie Pants" but that's beside the point. ;)

Awhile back my husband and I made a Halloween costume.  Being that it was our first time, we weren't quite sure how much of the main yellow fabric to get.  Erroring on the side of caution, we ended up getting about 4 yards more than we needed.  Please don't laugh.  To our credit, we did ask the lady at JoAnn's and that is how we were directed.   Needless to say, we had A BUNCH left over.

I have been really wanting to make some comfy lounging pants, especially since I am sad to say, my "Stewie Pants" have almost had it.  Not quite yet, but they are getting there.  Because I had so much of this yellow fabric, I decided to use it as a test.  Worst case scenario, I fail, and this lovely yellow fabric will have to be discarded.  Best case scenario, I have a pair of really cool yellow pants.  Hey, the fabric goes back to what I was saying about being SUPER COZY.  The color may just take a bit of time to get used to. 

This was my first time making something like this without a pattern.  I am actually really happy with the way they turned out.  If you have some lovely fabric you need to get rid of, this is a great way to use it.  

WHAT YOU NEED:

Approximately 3 of fabric 

Thread that matches your fabric

Scissors

3/4 inch Elastic-however much you choose for a comfortable waist band. 

Sewing gauge

Ironing board

Iron

Needle

Large metal paperclip or Large Safety pin

Step 1:  Fold your fabric in half.  Neatly fold your old pajama pants in half. Place on top of fabric. 

Step 2:  Cut around your pants, allowing extra fabric for seams.  Make sure you stretch your elastic of your old pants to give you an idea of how wide you need to keep your new fabric on the top.  You can see I just cut straight instead of curving.  I allowed approximately 1/2 inch on the sides and about 2 inches on the top and bottom.  

Step 3: Lay a new piece of your fabric out, doubled again.  Flip your cut out piece on top and carefully cut around it.

Step 4:  You should now have 4 individual pieces that look like this.

*Note the curved part of the fabric. 

 Step 5:  I used a lattice type setting on my sewing machine here.  I don't have a serger so this is what I did instead to reinforce this area.  You don't have to do this if you don't want to.  I did this just as a test to see if it hold up better when a do this to the edge. :)

Step 6:  Sew the long line on the left, top to bottom.  

Step 7:  Open it up.

Step 8:  With your iron, press the seam open. 

Step 9:  Next, we will start with the bottom hem.

Step 10:  Fold approximately 1/4 inch.  Press with the iron.

Step 11:  Fold again approximately 1/4 inch.  Press with the iron.

Step 12:  Sew as close to the edge as you can. 

Step 13:  Make sure you line it up nice. :)

Step 14:  Now go back to your ironing board.  Fold again, this time fold it to 1 inch.   Press with the iron. 

Step 15: Sew. I did two lines so it was more decorative on the outside.  I did one as close to the edge as I could and the other I just went in a little bit.  That was just my preference. You can do just one line if you would like. 

*REPEAT STEPS 6-15 ON THE OTHER TWO PIECES!!!

Step 16:  Now we will work on the top.  

Step 17: Just as you did before in step 10, fold approximately 1/4 inch.  Press.

Then fold again approximately 1/4 inch (as you did in Step 11).  

Sew as close to the edge (as you did in Step 12).

Step 18:  Return to your ironing board and fold again for your elastic.  I ended up making this a little smaller than I have shown here.  Just make sure you leave enough room for your elastic so it won't roll. 

After determining how wide to make it,  press again.

Step 19:  Sew along the edge as close as you can.  Here, again, I sewed an extra line for decoration. (Once again, I apologize for not getting the picture. I was on a roll. :)

*REPEAT STEPS 16-19 ON THE OTHER PIECE!*

Step 20:  Now lay one of your opened pieces with seams down.  Lay the next opened piece on top of that one with seams up.  

Step 21:  Now you will be sewing both of these curves.  

Step 22:  Make sure you start just below where your waist will be. If you start right at the top you will not be able to get your elastic in. 

Step 23:  After you have completed sewing the curves, it's time to start seeing pants.  Grab the two middle seams and lift up and shake your fabric a little.

Step 24:  TA DA...they are starting to look like pants now. :)

Step 25:  Matching the seams at the crotch, sew the inseam.  That is the U between your "legs". 

Step 26:  Measure your elastic the length that you would like.  Hook a metal paperclip or a large safety pin on the end of your elastic.

Step 27:  Carefully feed your elastic into the waist band.  Once again, I forgot a picture but I have full confidence you understand what I mean. :)

Make sure you don't pull your elastic too :far.  I hate having to redo that part.

When you get your elastic through, grab the ends of the elastic, go to the sewing machine and sew them together.

Situate the fabric to your liking.

Step 28:  At the side seams, fold fabric to look nice and using a needle and thread, sew your sides shut.  As you can tell by the picture, I need a little work in this area.  Give me a break.  This was my first time. ;)

Step 29:  And now you have a great pair of lounging pants--that you made---with no pattern!  FUN!