Dinosaur Party!!!

 Both my boys had birthdays....Connor turned 3 and Grayson turned 1!!!!  I can't believe how fast it's going and how grown up they are already.  Since their birthdays are both the same week as Christmas (Connor the 23rd and Grayson the 31st) we had a joint birthday party this year the weekend after Christmas.  I probably won't be able to get away with joint parties for long so I'll take advantage while I can!

It's December!

I can't believe it's December already.  In 2 weeks my first born will be 3 years old!!!  And just 8 days after that my baby will be 1.  It's still sinking in that I'm a mom to TWO kids and here they go growing up on me, and way too fast.

So since their birthdays are fast approaching I thought I would take a post to write down some memories, quirks, things they do or say that make me smile....

Cranberry Orange Chutney - A Recipe

I love cranberry sauce.  Not so much the stuff that comes in a can, but the real stuff.  I've made some in the past using a recipe from a friend and it was really good.  This year for Thanksgiving, though, I decided to try something a little different and created my own recipe.  And since I'm not the best cook, imagine my surprise when it came out PERFECT.  At Thanksgiving my husband and I basically had to force people to try it because they said they didn't like cranberry sauce.  And you know what?  They LOVED mine. 

So I thought I'd share the recipe and attempt recipe writing for the first time.  If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Cranberry Orange Chutney
1 1/4 cups apple juice or apple cider
1/4 cup orange juice (fresh or not, doesn't matter)
1 cup granulated sugar (more or less to taste, we like it kind of sweet)
2 bags (about 4 cups or 1 lb) cranberries (you can use fresh or frozen)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 tsp fresh orange zest

Put the apple and orange juice in a saucepan with the sugar, heat on medium-low heat stirring occasionally until sugar is completely dissolved. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir over medium-low heat until the cranberries collapse, about 15 minutes.  Turn heat to low and let the sauce thicken, about 5-10 minutes.  Taste to see if it needs more orange juice, spices or sugar.  Remove from heat and once it has cooled some put in a bowl or shallow dish loosely covered in the refrigerator.  Let cool and it will thicken up. 

 

 

 

Here is the sauce before taking off the heat.

If anyone tries my recipe please let me know how you liked it!