Baked - Thanksgiving Leftover Edition

I'll begin with my favorite thanksgiving recipe: cranberry sauce. It's pretty simple. Buy a can of jellied cranberry sauce, open can, slide out can-shaped cylinder of jellied cranberry sauce, slice, and eat.

Now, you've probably just muttered "philistine" after reading that last sentence, so I will attempt to redeem myself with a "real" recipe. This is for something called Cranberry Crunch Squares (found here), which served as a way to utilize a large amount of leftover cranberry sauce at my parents house.

Stuff

1 Cup Oatmeal

1/2 Cup Flour

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup of Butter + Some For Greasing Pan

1/4 Cup Pecans

Orange Zest

1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Can of Cranberry Sauce

Action

1. Put the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, pecans, orange zest, and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the ingredients and mix until it becomes crumbly.

2. Grease a small baking pan. Cover bottom of pan with half of the mixture. Then slice up the cranberry sauce and lay it over the first layer of crumbs. Then spread the remaining crumbs on top of the layer of cranberry sauce.

3. Bake at 350 degrees, 45 minutes.

Thanksgiving Apple Stuffing

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd post my Grandma's recipe for Apple Stuffing. I've made this the past couple of Thanksgivings when my husband and I weren't able to travel home for the holiday, and it's fairly simple to make. I also think it has a lot more flavor than the stuff that comes out of a box :)

Many of the measurements are approximate rather than exact, so don't worry about experimenting with it. You really can't go wrong-- just taste and adjust while you're cooking. For vegetarians, leave out the bacon and substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth. For meat lovers, try adding your favorite sausage for extra flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 3-4 slices of bacon
• 1 apple, chopped (small pieces, but you don't need to mince it)
• 1 onion, chopped (same)
• 1/2 cup celery chopped
• about 1/2 lb. bread in one inch cubes (Sometimes you can find the pre-packaged bread cubes for making stuffing in the grocery store. If you make your own, be sure to use older bread that is dry or put your bread cubes in the oven for a few minutes to dry them out.)
• about 1/3 cup dry white wine
• about 1/2 cup chicken broth
• sage, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, saute the butter, bacon, apple, onion, and celery for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat. The vegetables should soften. Stir often.

Add the bread cubes, wine, and chicken broth. Adjust or add liquids as necessary. Season with sage, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.

Transfer the stuffing into a casserole dish and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!