Spiced Cranberry Muffins

 

I don't know how I never saw this muffin recipe before in my perusal of this cookbook {a wedding shower gift from my grandma} but now that I've found it I will not be forgetting it!
The method is different from most muffin recipes, as you boil the liquids then add the dry ingredients but I think that creates the most interesting texture. Even though you have to wait a short time for the liquids to cool down these muffins still don't take too long to make. And, bonus, there's no egg so it's a perfect recipe when eggs are running low in the house {or am I the only person that struggles with that?}

Spiced Cranberry Muffins
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Yields: 12 muffins
Adapted from: St Paul's Lutheran Church, Fairmont, MN Cookbook

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
   1.  In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cranberries, water, butter, applesauce, cinnamon and cloves; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool in fridge for ~10 minutes.
   2.  After 10 minutes, add flours, baking soda and salt; stir until just combined.
   3.  Fill 12 muffin cups; bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

I love this recipe for a few reasons. 1) It's delicious! The muffins are moist without being sticky and the flavor is amazing. 2) Without having to double the recipe it makes a lot of muffins; it's nice to put the extras in the freezer. 3) Unlike some recipes it uses a whole can of pumpkin so you don't have to figure out what to do with the leftovers.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
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Yields: 24-30 muffins
Source: Ocean Spray

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 T + 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
15 oz can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup juice (I've used apple and pineapple)
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
   1.  Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add pumpkin, eggs, banana, oil, applesauce and juice; mix until just moistened. Gently fold in cranberries.
   2.  Fill muffin tins; bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Cranberry Chicken Sandwiches

The first time we had this sandwich my husband was not that impressed. However, after I made a few tweaks to the recipe he said there was a night and day difference. Now everything blends nicely together to create a fantastic sandwich.
This sandwich is different from many similar sandwiches because it doesn't have mayo or extra sauce in it. It goes without saying that this would be an excellent recipe to keep in mind for after Thanksgiving as turkey would work just as well as chicken.

Cranberry Chicken Sandwiches
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Yields: 8 sandwiches 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup onion, diced
olive oil (not pictured)
1 lb cooked, shredded chicken
1 can cranberry sauce
2 stalks celery, diced (not pictured)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup dried cranberries
bread or rolls (not pictured)

Directions:
   1.  In a small fry pan heat 1 tsp olive oil. Saute onion until softened.
   2.  In a medium bowl combine all ingredient except bread. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
   3.  Serve on bread or rolls.

This is linked to Good Cheap Eats and Tasty Tuesday.