How to Make 2 Types of Cinnamon Rolls Plus Pigs-in-a-Blanket from 1 Tube of Cresent Roll Dough

It's Christmas! Merry Christmas, everyone! I wanted to make a fun breakfast for my family out of cresent rolls. I had several ideas of what to do, but there's only me, my husband and our 1 year old, so I didn't want to make too much food. What did I do? I used 1 can of cresent roll dough to make 3 different breakfast treats, my husband's favorite pigs-in-a-blanket, and 2 types of cinnamon rolls! Yum! Best, easiest Christmas breakfast ever! Here's what I did. Enjoy!

Pigs-in-a-Blanket, Mini Cinnamon Rolls, Mini Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury cresent roll dough

12 little smokies

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp powdered sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp + 1 tsp butter

2 tbsp cranberry sauce (I use this recipe)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 375.

For the Little Smokies...

Place parchment paper on half of a large baking sheet.

Place 10 mini muffin liners in a mini muffin pan. Set the muffin pan on the half of the baking sheet that is not covered with parchment paper.

Open the cresent roll package.

Separate the dough in half (there’s a seam in the center).

Open open half of the dough and cut the 4 triangles in 3rds lengthwise. You now have 12 very narrow triangles. (It's easiest to do this with a pizza cutter.)

Put a little smokie at the widest end of each triangle and roll up cresent roll style.

Place on parchment paper. Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in microwave and brush the butter on top of the dough (or you can spray the top of each with spray butter).

For the Cinnamon Rolls...

With remaining dough, separate into 2 rectangles and push the seams together to seal them. Now you don't have any triangles. You have 2 rectangles.

Mix 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp powdered sugar, ¼ tsp cinnamon and ½ tbsp. melted butter. Leave about half a tbsp. in the bowl. Spread the rest of the mixture onto one of the rectangles, evenly covering the surface.

Starting on the short end of the rectangle, roll up tightly to make a swirled log of dough. Using a serrated knife, cut the log of dough into 5 equal pieces.

For the Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls...

On the other rectangle, spread your favorite cranberry sauce. (I used my homemade one.) Sprinkle with remaining sugar mix.

Starting on the short end of the rectangle, roll up tightly to make a swirled log of dough. Using a serrated knife, cut the log of dough into 5 equal pieces.

Set each mini cinnamon roll into one of the mini muffin liners, cut side down. (This can be either end, but basically, you can see the swirls.)

before baking

after baking

Place the baked sheet in the preheated oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. Breakfast is ready when the cresents are slightly golden brown. It may take a couple minutes longer than 10 minutes, but it’s always best to check early so they don't burn. Add one minute at a time until done.

When they’re done, remove the pan from the oven. Let everything cool slightly while you make a glaze. Combine 2 tbsp powdered sugar with 1 tsp butter, ¼ tsp vanilla extract and a drop of water at a time until you have a glaze that’s about the thickness of maple syrup.

Remove the cinnamon rolls from the mini muffin liners and place on a serving place. Drizzle with glaze.

Set the pigs in a blanket on another servings plate. If desired, add your favorite dipping sauces, like BBQ sauce and mustard.

Breakfast is served! Merry Christmas! 

Healthy and Delicious Overnight Oatmeal

As a busy new mom, I’m always looking for easy and healthy breakfast ideas. Thanks to pinterest, I’ve been experimenting with overnight oatmeal. I love oatmeal, and it’s supposed to help with breast milk production. The problem is that I never have time to make it in the morning.  Overnight oatmeal solves that problem because I can make it before I go to bed (or anytime during the day when the baby is napping), and it's ready for breakfast (or a healthy snack) the next morning.  But, the absolute best part is how delicious it is.  Seriously, it's like eating pudding with granola in it.

So far I have 6 overnight oatmeal recipes that I make and eat almost every day.  They are my Dark Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal, Milk Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal, Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oatmeal, Elvis Overnight Oatmeal (because it features peanut butter and bananas), Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oatmeal, and (because it's almost Christmas) Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal.  All of these recipes except for one (my Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal) feature chocolate because I just can't get enough chocolate right now.  I think this oatmeal is as good as dessert, but there's no guilt.  It's so easy to make and tasty enough that your whole family will probably enjoy it.

Dark Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

Serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons Hershey unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light vanilla soymilk

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Milk Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

Serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

6 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light chocolate soymilk

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons PB2

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light chocolate soymilk

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Elvis Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons PB2

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light chocolate soymilk

2 ripe bananas

Method:

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.  Add the first five ingredients, and stir to combine.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Half cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light vanilla soymilk

2 5.3oz containers Dannon Light & Fit strawberry Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

Serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Eggnog (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog)

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first three ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the eggnog and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Happy eating!

Sugar Cookies

When I was in elementary school, my parents gave me a set of My Little Pony cookie cutters one year for Christmas.  It came with a sugar cookie recipe, and every year since, I've made sugar cookies with that recipe on Christmas Eve.  Of course, the first few years, they were pony-shaped cookies covered in multi-colored frosting that I'd leave out for Santa.  Now, I make traditional holiday shapes, and I don't always use frosting.  Just a sprinkling of sugar or sprinkles makes them just as delicious and perfectly festive.  Sometimes I sprinkle them with a little cinnamon in addition to the sugar to make them taste more like snickerdoodles.  Yum!

I haven't made these cookies yet this year, but next week on Christmas Eve, my kitchen will be cookie making central.  Start your own holiday tradition with this easy and delicious recipe.  They're perfect for Santa or (my favorite) a breakfast treat on Christmas morning!





Sugar Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen (depending on the size of your cookie cutters)

Ingredients:
3/4 c butter, softened (room temp)
1 c sugar (+ extra for sprinkling on top of the cookies)
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt


Method: 
Mix the first four ingredients in a large bowl. 

Sift the last three ingredients in a separate bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.

Put the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  (You can do these steps a day ahead and make the cookies the next day.)

Preheat oven to 400.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Slightly flour the counter or another smooth/clean surface.

Remove about a quarter of the dough from the bowl and refrigerate the remaining dough.

Roll out the dough until it's about 1/4 inch thick.

Use cookie cutters to cut out your favorite shapes.

Transfer cookies to baking sheets and bake until slightly golden around the edges.  This could be anywhere from 4-8 minutes depending on your oven.  Mine only takes 4 minutes.

Repeat until all dough has been turned into cookies!

If you want to frost the cookies, wait until they're completely cooled.  If you want perfectly pretty cookies without the frosting, check out my craft blog, www.prettycreativestuff.com, for a simple alternative.


Happy eating!

Crustless Cranberry Pie

My husband loves cherry pie, but I hate making pie crust.  Since it's the holidays, I'm more in the mood for cranberries than cherries, so I thought I'd look up a recipe for a cranberry pie.  Boy was I pleased when I found several recipes for Crustless Cranberry Pie.  I tried one from allrecipes.com last night, and we both loved it!  Instead of having a true crust, it's like the crust is throughout the pie.  So yummy and easy to make!  It tastes great right out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and leftovers were also delicious for breakfast this morning.  It almost tastes more like a gooey muffin than a pie.  You could probably make it in muffin cups if you wanted to make individual servings for a party or potluck.  I just might have to make this again for Christmas!

Here's the link to the original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crustless-Cranberry-Pie/Detail.aspx?crlt.pid=camp.5VtGO6rdOOCR

I made a few modifications to make it a tad healthier.  Below is how I made the recipe:

ready to bake

just out of the oven

Crustless Cranberry Pie
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c Splenda
1/4 tsp salt
2 c cranberries
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour, Splenda, and salt in a large bowl.  Add the cranberries and walnuts.  Add the butter, eggs and extract.

Spray a pie pan with Pam Butter Flavor Spray.  Spread the batter evenly in the pan.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Happy eating!

Fajita Stuffing

My family always has turkey and stuffing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I like to mix it up a little bit with the type of stuffing we use.  Tonight, my husband and I did a trial run with a rice-based stuffing.  It's way easier to make than using bread crumbs, and there's nothing better than the combination of rice and turkey broth.  In honor of Christmas, we used red and green bell peppers.  If you were making this for Thanksgiving, I'd suggest using yellow and orange bell peppers.  Enjoy!

Fajita Stuffing

Ingredients:
1 c dry brown rice
2.5 c water
3 tsp low sodium chicken boullion
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 large white onion, chopped
1/2 c frozen corn kernals

Method:
Put the rice, water and boullion in a pot.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover the pot.  Let simmer for about 45 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, saute the bell pepper, onion and corn in a frying pan until the onion is caramelized.

Mix the rice with the veggies, and you're done...unless (like me) you're using this mixture to stuff a turkey!  Fill the turkey cavity with as much stuffing as will fit and cook using the directions for the turkey.

I use a Butterball turkey and a Butterball turkey-size baking bag.  To make the skin extra crisp, separate the skin from the meat with your hang and shove a few pieces of butter under the skin.  Yum!

Follow the directions on the baking bag to cook the turkey, and dinner is served!

Happy eating!

Smashed Potatoes

When I was a teenager, sometimes my parents and I would go to a restaurant called Cheddar's for dinner.  My mom always got inspiration for new recipes from food at restaurants, and Cheddar's was the origin of our Smashed Potatoes recipe.  Basically, at Cheddar's they called their potatoes "smashed" instead of "mashed," and they left the skin on the potatoes.  The Smashed Potatoes were creamy and delicious.  From that side dish, my mom came up with her own version which included mashing butter and sour cream into the potatoes.

After I got married, I introduced my husband to this recipe, and we came up with a way to make it healthier.  What is it?  Don't add butter.  I know you'd think that butter would add so much flavor, but really, the sour cream adds more flavor.  I promise you won't even miss the butter; you and your family and friends will just rave about the creamy flavor.

This recipe, which serves 4 people, only has about 160 calories per serving or 640 calories for the entire batch.  That's not bad for creamy, flavorful, delicious potatoes.  They're perfect to serve at your Thanksgiving dinner, at a dinner party, or just a typical weeknight.  They're ready in less than a half hour, start to finish.  Enjoy!

Smashed Potatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
20 oz potatoes
1/2 c sour cream
1 tbsp no sodium chicken bouillon
water
TexJoy or salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Leave the skin on the potatoes and chop them into 1-inch to 1/2-inch cubes.  The smaller you chop them, the faster they'll cook.

Put the potatoes in a bowl and cover them with water.  Mix the potatoes around with your hand, and then strain off the water.  Repeat 2 more times.  This will prevent the potatoes from being "like glue."






Put the potatoes in a medium size pot and add enough water so that they're covered with water.  Add the bouillon and stir so that it dissolves.  Heat the pot to medium high and let it reach a steady boil.  Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork.

When the potatoes are fully cooked, strain off the water and then return the potatoes to the pot but don't put them back over heat.

Add the sour cream to the potatoes and mash them to combine until creamy.  Slightly lumpy is okay.  Add the TexJoy or salt & pepper and mash to combine.

These potatoes go well with any meat entree.  Tonight, my husband and I had them with some fresh tuna that a friend who fishes was nice enough to give us.  They would also be a great accompaniment to BBQ chicken, steak, or your Thanksgiving turkey!

If you have leftovers, you can always turn them into Smashed Potato Soup.  Just reheat in a pot and add milk until you reach your desired soup consistency.  You can top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and/or bacon for a real treat!

Happy eating!

A Trio of Low-Cal Cranberry Orange Cocktails

I'm becoming a little obsessed with the delicious combination of cranberries and oranges.  I just knew they'd be a great duo in cocktails.  I looked up a couple cocktail recipes today for inspiration, and I also created one based on one of my own recipes.  I think recipe #3 is my personal favorite, but I suggest trying all three and deciding for yourself.

All three recipes have less than 160 calories each!  I love making cocktails low-cal.  :)  For all of these recipes, I used Ocean Spray Diet Cran-Pomegranate™ Cranberry Pomegranate Juice Drink and Trop50 No Pulp orange juice.    Nutrition info is based on using these low-cal mixers.  You can use regular cranberry and orange juice if you prefer, but it'll add calories, and I promise that the low-cal versions are super tasty!



First up...

1. Skinny Madras

 

This recipe is inspired by a recipe I found at about.com, but my version only has 112 calories!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka
3 oz Ocean Spray Diet Cran-Pomegranate™
1 oz Trop50 No Pulp orange beverage

Method:
Pour all ingredients in a cocktail glass and stir well.









Next up...

2. Skinny Cranberry Sunrise

This recipe is inspired by drinksmixer.com, but my version only has 107 calories!

Ingredients:
1 oz Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka
3 oz Ocean Spray Diet Cran-Pomegranate™
3 oz Trop50 No Pulp orange beverage
1 tsp grenadine syrup

Method:
Pour all ingredients in a cocktail glass and stir well.

And, finally, a recipe all my own.  Inspired by my own Ono Mai Tai recipe, I bring you...

3. Mai O Mai  

 

The "O" stands for Ocean Spray cranberry juice which I've used in place of the pineapple juice in my Ono Mai Tai recipe.  One drink only has 158 calories!

Ingredients:
1/2 oz amaretto liqueur
1/2 oz triple sec

1 oz Ocean Spray Diet Cran-Pomegranate™

1 oz Trop50 No Pulp orange beverage

1 oz Largo Bay spiced rum
ice

Method:
Put 4 large ice-cubes (or equal amount crushed ice) in a cocktail glass.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well.



So, what are you waiting for?  Mix up these skinny cocktails, and serve them up this holiday season on Thanksgiving, at your Christmas Party, or at your New Year's Eve bash!  You could even mix up a huge batch and serve it in a punch bowl.   

Happy drinking!

Cranberry-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

I recently subscribed to Eating Well magazine.  I'm not quite sure why when you can find all of their recipes for free on their website, but I guess the magazine draws my attention to recipes I want to try that I probably wouldn't discover if I were just randomly searching their site.  In the most recent issue, the recipe that jumped out at me was Cranberry-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls, which you can find here.  You can even see my review on the site.  So far, it's the only review. 

The cinnamon rolls looked so good in the picture, and having "cranberry-pecan" in the name completely sold me.  The one thing I thought was odd was that this recipe was in Eating Well magazine.  These are supposed to be "healthy" recipes, right?  When I think of "healthy", I usually don't think of corn syrup, sugar, butter and oil.  Regardless, I decided to consider them a splurge and give them a try.

I made them exactly as directed, which was easy enough.  A food processor made it easy to chop up the cranberries and pecans.

As I was assembling them in the muffin tin, I thought that these didn't really seem like "cinnamon rolls" at all since they're not rolled.  They seemed more like muffin-sized upside down cake with cinnamon-pecan topping instead of pineapple.  I also once again questioned why these were in a "healthy" recipe magazine.  Maybe because they're not topped with cream cheese?

I put them in the oven and set the timer.  They looked perfect when the timer went off, so I took them out and set the timer again to let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.  They came out perfectly.  There was a little topping left in the pan, so I spooned it on top of the "cinnamon rolls".

Cue the glamor shots...

They look perfect, don't they?

The real test was tasting them.  That's why I only rated them as "okay" in my review on the Eating Well site.  The topping is amazing, but how could it not be when it contains corn syrup, brown sugar and butter?  The "cinnamon rolls" themselves taste more like biscuits.  At 219 calories each, they should've been more filling.  After eating one, I wasn't full at all.  I wished I had eaten something more satisfying, like waffles or a yogurt parfait.  My husband ended up eating 3 of them.  The topping was really good, but they're definitely not healthy if you keep going back for more.  Suddenly a 219 calorie breakfast becomes 657 calories, and you're still hungry.  Thanks, Eating Well (sarcasm).

Waffle Quarter topped with Sweet Cranberry Sauce

Anyway, if you're not looking for a "healthy" recipe, and you just want a cranberry-pecan biscuit-like treat for your family over the holidays, these are a sure winner.  They do taste good.  I'd just rather eat a waffle topped with an ounce of my Sweet Cranberry Sauce.  You can get the waffle recipe here (it's also from Eating Well, but be sure to look at my blog post because I add some extra flavor to it) and the Sweet Cranberry Sauce recipe here.  For less than 90 calories I can have a waffle quarter topped with an ounce of sauce, and I think it tastes better and is more satisfying, but you can decide for yourself.  Why not make all the recipes and treat your family to a cranberry-themed breakfast buffet?  :)

Happy eating!

Grandma's Cranberry Salad

I grew up eating this cranberry salad at my Grandma's house every holiday.  I loved it so much, that back in 2001, I asked her for the recipe.  I still have the handwritten recipe card she gave me.  Since she passed away 2 years ago, it's a little bitter sweet pulling out the recipe card and seeing her handwriting.  Every time I make this recipe, I think of her.

I've slightly modified her original recipe, making it a large batch and leaving out the celery she used to add.  I also use Splenda instead of sugar to save calories without sacrificing flavor.

This isn't a cranberry sauce.  Keep that in mind.  This is meant to be eaten as a side dish on Thanksgiving or Christmas next to your turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc.  I think leftovers make a great dessert or breakfast.

It's best to make this salad the day before you plan on serving it since it needs quite a bit of time to set.

This is for you, Grandma.

Grandma's Cranberry Salad
Makes about 8 1-cup servings.
About 200 calories per serving.

Ingredients:
1 bag cranberries
4 c water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 8-serving package sugar free Jello in cranberry, raspberry or strawberry
1 1/3 c Splenda (or sugar)
1 c chopped walnuts
4 c mini marshmallows
2 Honeycrisp apples, chopped

Method:
Rinse the cranberries and put them in a large pot.  Add the water, salt and baking soda.  Stir, and heat to medium-high.  Bring to a low boil and cook until the berries pop open, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Add the Jello and Splenda.

Let cool until the mixture starts to set.  You can put the pot on top of a potholder in the refrigerator to help speed up the cooling process.  It'll still take about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before it's semi-set.

Meanwhile, if you have whole walnuts instead of chopped walnuts, you can easily chop them by putting them in a storage bag and pounding them with a rolling pin.

Chop the apples.

When the cranberry mixture starts to set, add the walnuts, mini marshmallows and apples.  Stir well to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl or container, ideally with a lid.  Refrigerate until completely set, ideally overnight.

Happy eating!

Festive Cranberry Sauce

By reducing the sugar and adding the flavor of light orange juice, this cranberry sauce is low-cal and still delicious.  It has a slightly tart taste that will make your mouth pucker when eaten alone, but it's the perfect complement to your Thanksgiving turkey!

Festive Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1/3 cup light orange juice (like Trop 50)
1 12-ounce bag cranberries
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp ground cloves
pinch salt

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce to medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened.  About 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.  Serve warm, room temperature or cold.

Happy eating!

Sweet Cranberry Sauce

I love cranberries.  They taste like the holidays to me since that's when they're in season and readily available in grocery stores.  I always stock up on the 12-oz bags from the produce department.  So far this year I've tried 2 new recipes that feature cranberries.  Combining some ideas from the flavors I liked about those recipes with the simple recipe for traditional cranberry sauce on the back of the bag of cranberries, I was inspired to create something new.

This cranberry sauce doesn't just feature the flavor of cranberries.  It also features the wonderfully festive taste of cinnamon, and my other favorite winter fruit, oranges.  To save calories, I'm using Trop-50 in this recipe, but you could substitute freshly squeezed orange juice.

You could eat this sauce with your Thanksgiving turkey, but I plan on using it as a waffle topping, spreading it on toast and mixing it in Greek yogurt.  The best part?  One batch makes about 2.5 cups, and there are only 241 calories in the entire batch! Yes, feel free to indulge your taste buds.

Sweet Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 12-oz bag cranberries
1 c Splenda
1 c Trop-50 (or lite orange juice)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Combine all ingredients except vanilla extract in a small pot.  Heat to medium-high until boiling, stirring occasionally.  Cook until all the cranberries pop open and the sauce starts to thicken.

Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.  Stir well to combine and let cool to room temperature.  Then refrigerate.  The sauce will get thicker while it cools.

Happy Eating!