Cranberry Applesauce

Our family loves homemade applesauce and I love that it freezes & thaws so well! 'Tis the season for cranberries - so why not throw them into the applesauce! You can easily make this now, freeze it and then thaw it the day before Thanksgiving. You'll have a great cranberry side that's a little different than just cranberry sauce! ;o)

Cranberry Applesauce

2 - 3 lb. bags of Macintosh Apples, peeled & sliced
1 bag of cranberries, rinsed & drained
1 c. Sucanat (or raw sugar)

Place a few tablespoons of water in the bottom of a large saucepan. Place the apple slices & cranberries in the saucepan. Heat over low-medium heat until cranberries & apples are soft. Add the raw sugar & stir. If you like smooth applesauce, place it in a blender and puree until it's the right consistency for your family.

To Freeze: Cool & place in freezer bags or containers.

To Serve: Thaw in fridge 24 hours.

Chicken Noodle Soup/Chicken & Noodles

Another good recipe I tweaked from "Don't Panic!" my kids LOVE this with the tiny egg noodles. I was able to make this and get two meals from it. I added a bag of egg noodles to each meal, so it was more like chicken & noodles. If you want two meals of soup add only 1 c. of noodles to each meal.

Chicken Noodle Soup OR Chicken & Noodles

3 lbs. of chicken cut up
10 c. water
2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 c. sliced celery
2 c. sliced carrots
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 c. noodles (needed on serving day, not cooking day ;o)

Combine chicken & water, bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover & simmer 15 min. Add bouillon, onion, salt, pepper & bay leaf. Cover; simmer 35-45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and from bone, then return chicken to pot. Stir in veggies. Cover & simmer 15 minutes or until veggies are tender.

To Freeze: Cool completely and ladle into freezer container or bags. This recipe gave us two half-full gallon bags. Enough for two dinners!

To Serve: Dump contents of bag into saucepan or crockpot. Add noodles 5-10 minutes before serving.