Cranberry Sauce

I have been trying very hard to lay off D1, but I have been so frustrated with her.  I know she is stressed out about college applications, but sistah, you gotta get your act together!  As of last week, she applied to O-N-E college, and it's not even a college she totally wants to go to.  I think she applied because the application fee was cheap.  One would think that for $60k/year, they could at least waive the fee!  While I hope she gets accepted (to boost her confidence), I fucking hope she won't go there.  It's in the middle of the boonies, and they don't even field a football team which plays on TV!  She spent days on her application.  I wish she would've spent the time on applying to schools she WANTS to attend (the ones I'm okay with also).  I just don't get her screwed up thinking.  A sane person would apply to the college they really want to attend FIRST, and then apply to the "safety" colleges.

When I was applying to colleges, I just applied to a bunch too, so I really can't get upset at her for that.  But I knew that I would've gone to all the colleges I applied to and I also knew my parents were willing to pay the $ for me to get outta their house (at least for four years).  I haven't even told Mr. Dependable where she applied to because I KNOW he would see dollar signs and hit the ceiling.  The Help has nothing to say.  He applied to one college, got accepted, went there, and got his degree.  End of story. 

So to keep from bitching at her constantly, I'm reminding myself that this will likely be the last Thanksgiving D1 spends with us for a while.  I need to make the most of it, put on a happy face, and give her a day of peace (grumbling resumes on Black Friday).

This year for Thanksgiving, I'm planning to roast a whole turkey breast.  After the easy clean up last year, I'd be a fool to go back to a whole turkey if it's just my family.  I'll make the dressing (yes, Mike, I'm baking it in a separate dish), gravy, and mashed potatoes too.  I'm ono for pumpkin crunch, so I'll make that instead of pumpkin pie.  But the first thing I'm making is the cranberry sauce.  Homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than what the stores sell (Williams-Sonoma comes pretty close to homemade).  It doesn't take very long to make so the effort is well worth it.

I hope by the next post I will be able to say D1 applied to a few more colleges.  ARGGGHHH!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Cranberry Sauce

     1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
     1 1/2 c sugar
     4 1/2 oz water
     1/2 tsp grated ginger
     1 1/2 c (12 oz jar) orange marmalade

Heat cranberries, sugar, water, and ginger in a saucepan, stirring until sugar melts.  Cook until fruit is tender, 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes.  Stir in marmalade.  Chill until 2 hours before serving.