Orange Glazed Green Beans with Candied Almonds

I got this recipe from a friend, B Dubs Cafe!  She is an awesome cook and has a picture of these finished over on her blog!  I'll be adding one soon!  These are delicious and I'm gonna be making them for the Christmas Party at my in-laws this year!!  Enjoy!

¾ cup almonds, chopped coarse

3 TBPS butter (unsalted if you have it)

2 TBSP pure maple syrup

salt (if using unsalted butter)

pepper

2 green onions, minced

2/3 tsp grated orange zest (I used a cutie)

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tsp all purpose flour

1 ½ pounds green beans trimmed

2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup orange juice

1 tsp fresh sage (or  ½ tsp dried)

Toast almonds in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Off heat, stir in 1 TBSP butter, maple syrup and 1/8 tsp salt if using unsalted butter (skip this if using salted butter)

Return skillet to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until nuts are dry and glossy, about 45 seconds; transfer to a plate and set aside.

Wipe out skillet, melt remaining 2 TBSP butter in skillet over medium heat.  Add green onions, orange zest, and cayenne; cook, stirring constantly, until green onions are softened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in flour until combined, then add green beans.  Add chicken broth, orange juice and sage.  Increase heat to medium-high, cover and cook until beans are crisp tender, about 4 minutes.

Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and sauce has thickened slightly, about 4 minutes. Off heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with pecans and serve. 

Crockpot Homemade Cranberry Sauce

This is from the Crockpot Lady! I made it last year for Thanksgiving and it was fabulous! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

--12 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen)
--1/2 cup orange juice
--1/2 cup water
--1/2 cup brown sugar
--1/2 cup white sugar
--1/4 tsp cinnamon

The Directions:

I used a 1.5 quart crockpot. It worked well for this recipe. If you only have a huge crockpot, you can put an oven-safe dish into it to create a smaller cooking vessel.

Rinse off the cranberries and put them into your crockpot. Add the orange juice and water. I had the kids squeeze fresh juice, but you can use store-bought if that's what you have on hand.

Add the sugar and the cinnamon. Stir. There will be an awful lot of liquid, and the cranberries will float and you'll wonder how on earth it could possibly turn into cranberry sauce.

Cover and cook on high. It will take about 3 hours.

Stir every hour or so. When the skin from the cranberries has softened, the cranberries will "pop" when pushed with a spoon up against the side of the crock. It wasn't until about 2 hours in that my cranberries were soft enough to do this.

Smoosh all of the cranberries. Stir well.

Heat enough for it to be warm throughout. Take the lid off and heat on high for another 30 to 45 minutes. Your house will smell wonderful!

Serve. This easily can be made a few days before your holiday dinner.