Thanksgiving on a Budget: Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce

Note from Money Saving Mom: For the record, cranberry sauce would also be an area my minimalistic nature would nix. (I know, I know, some of you are probably thinking you'd never want to eat Thanksgiving Dinner at my house by now, seeing as I already said I think stuffing is a non-essential, too!)

However, I know that to many of you, Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce. And so I present Erin's Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce:

Homemade Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
by Erin at $5 Dinners

This sauce costs approximately $1.50 to make one batch. Not only is it fairly frugal but it' also doesn't contains any preservatives or additives!

1 lb. fresh cranberries (these are on sale at Aldi this week for $0.99!)
1 orange, juiced
½ teaspoon of ground ginger
¼ cup sugar

Rinse cranberries. Pick out any cranberries that are white in color or have "gushy" spots. Place cranberries in sauce pan with 2 inches of water, or apple juice. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. While boiling, add the juice from one orange. I squeeze it over a strainer to prevent seeds from dropping into the sauce. Add 1 teaspoon orange zest to the sauce. Cranberries will "pop" while boiling!

Add ¼ cup sugar to the cranberries. Alternative sweeteners include apple juice concentrate, orange juice (from a sweet orange), honey, Stevia or Splenda. Add more sweetener for sweeter sauce, or less sweetener for a more tart sauce. Add ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground ginger. Allow sauce to sit for at least 10 minutes to "thicken" a bit more.

Other mix-in ideas: fresh apples, cooked with the sauce, or raw for some crunchiness; walnuts, pecans or other nuts; crushed Pineapple.

Just for fun: Do you usually serve cranberry sauce at your Thanksgiving dinner? If so, do you normally serve homemade or store bought?

Comments

[The Happy Housewife]

We skip the cranberry sauce, not a big fan. Although Erin's recipe looks good!
Toni

[Kim]

Well, unless you find the cranberries on sale around here, it's usually cheaper to buy the canned stuff. I always by the whole cranberry sauce, though, with the whole berries in it, and I couldn't call it Thanksgiving Dinner without it! :) Especially when I can get 2 cans for about $1.30 usually.

[Chris from St. Mary's]

In my family, cranberry sauce is essential, but sweet potato casserole, not so much (yes, it's yummy, but not part of the dinner).

[Lori]

We always have homemade cranberry sauce but it is not very frugal with the addition of a little Grand Marnier liquor (which is cooked so the alcohol evaporates) . I have been making this for about 5 years and the family loves it. I cook each year for my parents and my MIL and FIL and usually aunts, uncles and cousins thrown in.

By the way, I grew up on the canned cranberry jelly stuff that came out of the can with the ring imprints firmly in place. I'm glad I converted to a more natural sauce.

Thanksgiving blessings to everyone!

[Alexis Anderson]

I make the same sauce (except for ginger *shudder*) and even though I don't really eat it, it's an essential at out Thanksgiving table.

And Stuffing, that is a meal in itself for me...mmmmm

[Tami]

I think the canned stuff is gross but my dad loves it. So every Thanksgiving we do both. Publix has fresh cranberries on sale this week. They are B1G1for 2.99. So 1.50 each. That is pretty good considering Ingles has them for 2/$5

[Frugalchick]

Store bought! Only because I didn't know I could make my own until I saw this post. Thanks!

[lee]

the jellied cranberry sauce is kind of tradition in my home. There is just something about that can shaped stuff that brings back memories, i guess we are more of a "simpsons" type family

[n]

While we love our stuffing, cranberry sauce totally gets the boot!

[Martha]

Canned jelly-type for us--always!

[Melissa]

I remember my dad making cranberry sauce, straining it through a juicer and everything. No thanks! I may try to suprise them with this seemingly easy recipe this year though!

[Lacey]

Another cheap, easy, tasty and pretty cranberry dish is to just toss a bag of cranberries, a whole orange (pith and all!), and a lot (I think a full cup?) of granulated sugar in a food processor, pulse 'til relish consistency. This is delicious spread on fresh rolls with butter, or even eaten with the "disposable" (Crystal!) stuffing! :)
It's so quick and easy to make, and best of all does not require any precious stove top or oven space! A great task to hand off to any can-I-help-ers passing through the kitchen.

[Lynn]

I could do without the cranberry sauce, mainly because I don't like it. But my husband loves it, so I serve it. The homemade stuff is well worth it. It is easy to make. It may not be cheaper but you will wonder why you ever used the canned stuff. It just does not compare to the homemade version.

[tweezle]

We make our own cranberry sauce. You can get a 3 pound bag at Sam's for $4 and some change. We used to do the canned stuff, but the kids prefer homemade. The best recipe we found was in "Home Cookin' with Dave's Mom" (by Dave's Mom, Dorothy) called Cranberry Gel (found on pg. 106)

[Jen]

I LOVE cranberry sauce with my turkey dinner and we ALWAYS make it from scratch...no canned cranberry sauce here. :)

[Carrie]

If we are hosting, we forgo cranberry sauce in favor of cranberry bread, which my husband always makes. In fact, if we're guests we always bring 2 loaves so the hosts can have it for breakfast next morning.

I've rarely seen the canned stuff get touched, but I'd love to try the homemade. Adam Carolla says it's delicious.

[Hannah]

I make a sauce similar to this one, but more orange, less ginger. I hate the canned stuff!

[Michele]

You know what is to funny? I would never not put Cranberry Sauce on our Thanksgiving Table, it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. But WE NEVER eat it!!! We buy the canned stuff around here. I think I might try this homemade recipe if I can find Cranberries, maybe we will ACTUALLY eat it, if not, I guess I better get over the tradition, we are not being very frugal if we just throw it out! :-)

[Honey]

Can't stand the obligatory, canned, jellied kind! I like to do a "fresh" version (more like a relish) by putting orange juice and some sectioned oranges, cranberries, and sugar in a blender. Don't know the proportions-just
free-style it. Its yummy and a welcome variety to all the cooked food.

[Honey]

Can't stand the obligatory, canned, jellied kind! I like to do a "fresh" version (more like a relish) by putting orange juice and some sectioned oranges, cranberries, and sugar in a blender. Don't know the proportions-just
free-style it. Its yummy and a welcome variety to all the cooked food.

[Honey]

Can't stand the obligatory, canned, jellied kind! I like to do a "fresh" version (more like a relish) by putting orange juice and some sectioned oranges, cranberries, and sugar in a blender. Don't know the proportions-just
free-style it. Its yummy and a welcome variety to all the cooked food.

[Shannon]

Cranberry sauce is essential to me, but not the rest of my family. I make homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce, with orange zest and liquer in it. Mmmm.

[jc]

I use the canned whole berries, my baby (who actually isn't a baby anymore, but don't mention that to me!) actually loves it year round. It is deleicius mixed with a little mayo on sanwiches all year round too!

[Dona]

I personally don't eat it and the last few years our big dinner has been at my home. I have never thought to serve it, but luckily noboby has yet to complain.

[Carey]

I'm glad that it appears I'm not the only one who serves the good old fashioned "shaped-like-the-can" jellied cranberry sauce! As goofy as it is, Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete at our house without it!

[Lana]

We must have the cranberry-orange relish mentioned above. You can make this ahead and freeze it. Mine is all ready in the freezer. The leftovers can be frozen in small containers to pull out over the next few months. Yum!

[Life from the Roof (Jenni)]

Cranberry sauce may not be frugal, but I also feel like Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate, and it only occurs once a year, so the little "splurges" here and there are okay. Now, if you were eating cranberry sauce at dinner every day, that would be entirely another matter!

[Cathe]

When we lived up north, we could get them very inexpensively in the fall, so I bought 10-20# of cranberries and froze them. They freeze like marbles, so you just pour out as many as you want at one time. I use them for cranberry sauce as well as muffins, coffee cake, and sweet breads, etc. Now that we can't get them fresh without paying a lot of money, I usually just get canned. blech.

[niki]

I make cranberry orange relish and also buy a can of the jellied stuff since some of my family doesn't like my chunky stuff.

[Iva]

Oh honey! I made homemade cranberry sauce for the first time last year and I will NEVER get it out of a can again. And I'm a true cranberry fan - the sauce will always be on my table :)

[Cherilyn]

I have always bought cranberry sauce but I think I might just make this one this year.

[Bethany]

I guess it depends on where you live. Around here cranberries are ON SALE for $1.99. Canned cranberry sauce is less than $1.

[Jennifer]

We skip the cranberry sauce and make cranberry salad. It is a family recipe that we have made for years and it is awesome. We have however in the past purchased the canned sauce but there is no comparison to the salad.

[Julie]

I never knew there was such a thing as canned cranberry sauce until my MIL "made" it for me since she knew I loved it. She probably thought I was crazy when I asked her what it was!

[Heidi @ ggip]

Cranberry is a must! It is good for you too!

We usually have homemade sauce and relish. Cranberry orange relish is crushed via a meat grinder and not cooked. We love it!

I wish I could find cranberry at 99 cents a bag!

[Honey]

Can't stand the obligatory, canned, jellied kind! I like to do a "fresh" version (more like a relish) by putting orange juice and some sectioned oranges, cranberries, and sugar in a blender. Don't know the proportions-just
free-style it. Its yummy and a welcome variety to all the cooked food.

[Clean Simple]

Homemade cranberry sauce and homemade cranberry-orange relish. The latter is so easy--1 bag cranberries, 1 whole orange (peel and all). Cut up the orange and process in a food processor with the cranberries and about 1/2-2/3 cup sugar.

I like making our cran sauce 'cause I don't like it as sweet as the canned. Plus, they use high-fructose corn syrup, which we don't like.

[Deborah G]

We do both. There is just something about that can shaped blob that means Thanksgiving. My husband makes the cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries and depending on his mood and the state of the freezer, either adds oranges and orange juice or frozen raspberries. Yummy.

[Mary Ann]

We've always loved cranberry sauce, especially the jellied canned kind. This year, my sister and I are trying a new cranberry sauce recipe with pineapple and lime that sounds good.

On regular days, we eat pretty simple meals but for Thanksgiving I love to create quite the spread. We actually like the sides more than the meat! And a variety of dishes means there are plenty of leftovers for the next couple of days. Yum!

[Holly in OK]

Here-here for the cranberry relish! (but don't try a grapefruit instead of an orange. I tried that once. NOT good.) My dad and I made it together every year when I was growing up. It's especially good when you also have pistachio cake and carrot cake on the plate, made by your loving grandmother.

Martha Stewart had a "good thing" a few years ago where she mixed softened butter with cranberry relish to be used on breads, pancakes, etc. SOOOO good! She suggested it as a way to use your leftovers, but I like it on Thanksgiving day, too.

[Crystal]

Yes, always homemade. I just use cranberries, water, and sugar. I use way more than 1/4 cup but, that makes it oh so good. ;)
It is delicious on the turkey and good for sandwiches and wraps.

[Aryn]

I'd planned to skip stuffing, but my husband had a minor panic attack when I said that. He doesn't care for cranberry sauce, but I like the jellied kind in a can. I love those ridges!

[Cathy]

I love it, both canned and homemade versions, and can't imagine Thanksgiving without it.

[Lee]

I could not find cheap cranberries this year so alas I bought the can. However I may buy fresh next week if I can find them. I boil my cranberries in a cup of orange juice. Also my husband still requires the can stuff with the ridges!

[Davonne]

I don't get the deal with cranberry sauce. Are you supposed to put it over something or eat it by itself? I've never understood what it's for!

[Martha Artyomenko]

We can never go without cranberry sauce at our Thanksgiving meal...we do the canned stuff or homemade. I do a cranberry relish where i grind a bag of cranberries, an apple and an orange and some honey. it is good for your kidneys too, because it has honey and not sugar in it. Another easy homemade sauce is to cook a bag of cranberries with a can of apple juice concentrate and spices until the berries pop. it is good if you can get the berries cheap. Otherwise, canned is much cheaper.

[Mary in Ohio]

We love the canned stuff with the ridges ( I buy enough now when it is on sale for the whole year!) and we use it for a "jelly" on our biscuits and rolls. I even mix it on my plate with the turkey, gravy, potatoes and corn yummy! it is definately a necessity here along with sweet potatoes (but we eat those year round too!) and stuffing which I personally hate but the rest of the family loves so I fix.

Mary in Ohio

[Deb]

We don't do cranberry sauce around here. On the very rare occasion that someone is over at our house, either for Thanksgiving dinner or leftovers fellowship, I will buy canned. Something about that stuff just turns my stomach...ughh...

[Alaina]

We spare nothing when it comes to Thanksgiving! :) It's a holiday we all look forward to and all the siblings are home for! We make our cranberry sauce from scratch and mom always makings stuffing though not in the bird. :) We love it all!

I love the cranberry butter tip, Holly.

[Jessica]

I grew up with mom making a jello type of sauce that I didn't care for. The past few years we have dined with friends at their house with real, authentic cranberry sauce. It was yummy. Last year, my mother in law sent us home with some of her sauce and I got sick on it. Now the sight of it makes me feel ill :(

Funny, how getting sick from something once makes you never want to eat (or even see) it again :(