Fresh Cranberry Relish

Holly Smiley gave me this recipe - sometimes a variation of it is on the back of the fresh cranberry bag. It is a MUST for Thanksgiving and on leftover turkey sandwiches, and the leftovers make a refreshing smoothie or can be frozen for later. You can also buy fresh cranberries at Thanksgiving time and freeze them right in their bag to make this recipe later in the year.

1 12 oz. pkg fresh cranberries
juice and zest of 1 good sized orange
3/4 to 1 cup of sugar (I use 3/4)

Rinse and drain cranberries, discarding any bad ones. Juice 1 orange and zest. Combine cranberries, juice and zest in blender or food processor until desired consistency. My blender can only handle 1/2 at a time. (I blend it completely). Stir in sugar to taste. Best if made the day ahead. Store in fridge or freeze. Makes about 3 cups.

For a refreshing Cranberry Smoothie:

In a blender put some ice plus:

some orange juice or some cran-rasberry juice (leftover from Thanksgiving also!)
a few heaping tablespoons of leftover Cranberry Relish
splash of vanilla
some vanilla yogurt (optional) OR a banana (optional)
about 1 Tbsp sugar (optional)

Blend until smooth. Add more ice if too thin, or more juice or cranberry relish to taste.