We are a mere three days away from arguably food’s biggest holiday, and I’m day dreaming about my turkey swimming in gravy, and don’t forget the sweet and tart cranberry sauce that compliments it so well! To be honest, I used to not really be a fan of cranberry sauce, but in recent years discovered how delicious it can be! I guess I tend to enjoy my berries fresh and not gelatinous. *shoulder shrug*

This year, I won’t be cooking for Thanksgiving (big benefit of living near your family), but in years past have cooked Thanksgiving meals for hungry marines, and have always served fresh cranberry sauce! It really cuts through the saltiness of your turkey, the fattiness of the skin/juices, and adds a tart, refreshing compliment to the meat. It’s also great on leftover turkey sandwiches! The best part is, it’s so easy to make that it barely constitutes a recipe!

No matter how small your Thanksgiving celebration may be this year (year of the dumpster fire 2020), some Honey Cranberry Sauce will be a welcome addition at the table.

Honey Cranberry Sauce

Servings: 8-12
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Ingredients

12 ounces (1 bag) of fresh cranberries
3-4 tsp of raw honey
Squeeze of fresh orange juice (about 2 tbsp)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups of water

Directions

Bring water to a boil in a medium pot
Add cranberries
Boil until soft and skins are bursting
Strain out water and return to pot
Add honey, orange juice, and salt and pepper
Stir to combine while slightly mashing the cranberries
Serve warm, room temperature, or cold – it’s good all ways!
Store leftovers covered in the fridge. Spread leftover sauce on toast and top with leftover turkey for a delicious leftover sandwich.

And that’s all, folks! It really is that easy, and in my opinion, better than the canned stuff. If you are having a smaller feast this year, try my Roasted Chicken with Carrots. That is what I used to test out this cranberry sauce with and it was fantastic! For a bigger feast, check out my Ghee, Garlic, and Herb Turkey with Gravy for a traditional turkey with a buttery, citrus-y twist.

For more Thanksgiving feast ideas, including sides, drinks, desserts, and appetizers, check out A Cornucopia of Ideas, where I’ve compiled a list of recipes for a delicious, healthier Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Whatever you are doing during this strange holiday season, be safe, be kind, love on your people – even from afar if you must…and enjoy your Pinch of Crazy!

This post contains affiliate links; if you purchase using the links, it is of no cost to you, just a small commission for me. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of Crazy!

Since late summer of 2014, I’ve been frolicking on beaches, dipping my feet in the cool water, enjoying the ocean breeze coming through my open windows, and never had to worry about bug spray. That was in sunny Oceanside, California. Cut to now, late spring 2019 in Dallas, Texas. I have sweat dripping from my elbows after an hour outside – I didn’t even know your elbows could sweat! The sun is so hot it feels like I’m living on it, my body is covered in bright red mosquito and chigger bites, and the humidity makes my hair look like a small dog that just rolled in the mud.

But nothing beats summertime here with our family. Everyone is a sweaty mess so we just let it slide while we sit around, watching the kids play outside, eating watermelon and sipping lemonade. Lemonade is a must around here – cool, sweet, tart, and refreshing – it’s a welcome treat in the hot summer sun. I decided to make my own refined sugar free version and add some berries for an antioxidant boost! It turned out to be a hit – well received by my daughter, niece, nephew, sister, and, most importantly, my husband – who isn’t a lemonade fan! In his words it was “the perfect amount of tartness”. High words of praise from a lemonade hater!

Zemirah and I had a blast having a tea party (well, technically a lemonade party) outside one hot morning, but because of those dreadful chiggers I put down our gorgeous Karastan rug from Rug Studio, and we drank our lemonade in peace from bugs! You can get my rug here – in different sizes to fit your needs. It adds such a cozy feel to our bedroom, and is luxuriously soft! Plus it makes a great bug protector 😉

However and wherever you choose to have your lemonade party, I hope you make this Berry Lemonade for a refreshing and immune system boosting treat!

Berry Lemonade

Makes 2 quarts.

Ingredients:

7-8 cups of water
1/2 cup of fresh or thawed (if frozen) berries (I used a blackberry/blueberry/raspberry combo)
Juice of 4 large lemons
1/2-3/4 cup of raw honey

Directions:

In a blender, combine berries with 2 cups of water
Blend just a few seconds until combined
Strain berry juice through a nut milk bag and mesh strainer – squeezing all the juice out into a large pitcher (this is the most time intensive step, but it’s worth it so you don’t have berry seeds stuck in your teeth all day!)
On the stove in a small pot, combine honey (to taste) and 1 cup of water, whisking until combined
Add honey water to the pitcher with the berry juice
Squeeze all four lemons directly into the pitcher
Add remaining 4-5 cups of water (to taste)
Chill until cold or serve over ice
Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to a week

For more “berry” delicious summertime recipes, check out my Berries and Greens Smoothie, Chocolate Covered Strawberry Chia Pudding, and No Bake Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust! For some scrumptious treats to accompany your lemonade, whip up some Chocolate Banana “Nice” Cream, a No Bake Chocolate Date Cake, or a batch of Wholesome Chocolate Chunk Cookies! I sincerely hope your summer is off to a great start – filled with family, healthy food, laughter, and happy movement. Soak up your family this summer…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase using the links, it is of no extra cost for you, just a small commission for me – funding my experimental cooking. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of Crazy!