Cranberry Chutney: A Seasonal Favorite

Cranberries have such a short season and you can only find them in the markets here in November and December. I love seeing those little red orbs of goodness in stores. I know it's time to make more cranberry chutney. Last year I made it in batches and froze part of it. Only I didn't freeze enough because we ran out a couple of months ago. We use it on chicken, turkey, and pork all year long. Plus we take a big bowl of it to my Grandmother's for Thanksgiving.

Tonight we had it on roasted chicken. (I told you there would be a lot of chicken posts since it was on sale)




Ingredients:



Cranberry/Apple Chutney

1 cup Water
1 3/4 cup Sugar
1-12 oz. bag of Fresh Cranberries
1 Apple, peeled, cored, and chopped (I used Granny Smith)
1/2 cup Cider Vinegar
1 Orange, zest grated and juiced
1 Lemon, zest grated and juiced
3/4 cup Golden Raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground Cloves
3/4 cup chopped Pecans

1. In a medium saucepan combine the water and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.

2. Add the cranberries, apples, cider vinegar, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, raisins, and spices. Bring to a boil, than simmer gently for 10-15 minutes stirring often.

3. Remove from heat and add the pecans. Pour mixture in a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the chutney.

4. Cool to room temperature and serve, or, cover and refrigerate. Bring chutney to room temperature before serving.


I leave out the raisins because we don't love them and the pecans because we have someone in our family who is allergic. This time I made a triple batch. I know there will be one more triple batch in my near future because it keeps well in the freezer all year. Plus I'll probably throw a bag of cranberries in the freezer for later.

Another reason to make this, it makes your house smell SO GOOD.

Fall: Roast Chicken with Apple Cider Gravy

Tonight I made roast chicken. Two roast chickens to be exact. Half of one was dinner tonight and leftovers for my husband's lunch and the remaining chicken and a half was deboned, cut up and stored in the freezer. That chicken will find it's way into gumbo, chicken pot pie, and taco soup.

Tonight's chicken needed something new. Just plain roast chicken can get tiring. I had a bottle of apple cider in the refrigerator and decided to add some to the pan gravy. It was delicious and a great way to use fall flavors.

To the pan juices, I added a little flour to thicken. I then added 1 cup of apple cider and 1 cup of chicken stock. I let it thicken and served it over the chicken and with mashed potatoes.