Zesty Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is one of my most favorite things about making a turkey dinner...

...next to the turkey...

...and the stuffing...

I like the canned kind in a pinch, but I like making my own much better!

One year, I was reading the directions on the bag of fresh cranberries. Cranberries, water, and sugar. That was it. OK. Easy enough.

But I wasn't satisfied with "easy enough". I wanted a little extra... something.
I wanted my sauce to be special.

I wanted it to be zesty!

Then it hit me...

I could add orange to it!
I did, and it has been a must-have ever since that Thanksgiving, many years ago!

Zesty Cranberry Sauce
What You Need:
3 cups fresh cranberries
juice of one orange
2 TB finely zested orange peel
1 cup sugar (or more or less to taste... personally, I wouldn't go more, but I've done 3/4 cup with no problem)
water

What You Do:

1. Put the orange juice in a 1 cup measuring cup. It will probably be less than one cup, so add water to make 1 cup of liquid.
2. Pour the juice/water in a medium saucepan. Add the orange zest, sugar, and cranberries.
3. Cook and stir on medium high heat until the cranberries start to burst. Reduce heat to medium low.
4. Simmer, while stirring and mashing the cranberries a bit. Do this for just a few minutes, until the cranberries are soft and the sauce is a pretty red.
5. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate until ready to use.

How easy is that?
If you want an extra treat, the day after you have turkey... make a sandwich with zesty cranberry sauce, turkey, and a bit of stuffing. Ahhhh.... devine!

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