Homemade Cranberry Sauce

For the last few years I've been making my own cranberry sauce at the holidays. Now don't get me wrong, the slithery jelly goop that you shake from the end of an aluminum pan is enticing, I know, but the aroma of homemade cranberry sauce....oh my word.

Here's what you do:

You'll need:

1 bag of fresh whole cranberries
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar

That's the basic recipe ingredients. Now if you want to step it up a notch...and I assure you, you do....add some of these:

pecans or walnuts
mandaran oranges
cloves
cinnamon
raisins

First you boil the cranberries, water and sugar. The heat will help burst the cranberries open. You'll keep these simmering at a low boil for about 10 minutes.

After boiling, pour cranberries into a shallow dish. And start mixing in your other ingredients. You can leave it plain and it will taste 1000 time better than the can cran. But, why do that when you can add all these spices and fruits and make it an indulgence that you can't resist. The smell of all the flavors coming together is AMAZING! And it's pretty too.

After you've mixed in your goodies, place your dish in the refrigerator so that it can gel. Once it is set good, you can cover it. I make this a day ahead of time.

See how easy that is? Make your next holiday a #nocancran holiday!