With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’m feeling like it’s time to start planning. That said, I’m also going for easy and mindless. Technically, a Thanksgiving meal can be one of the easiest meals to  make and with a little planning some of it can even be made a head of time. Cranberry sauce is a staple of the Thanksgiving meal but I’m not a fan of the stuff that comes out of a can looking just like the can. I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce and with all positive reviews, it seemed like a good one to try.
Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 12oz bag of fresh cranberries
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup of water
Lime zest or orange zest
What’s next:
- Combine the cranberries, sugar and water in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 2.5 hours; the cranberries will have popped open.
- Stir the zest into the hot sauce. Turn off the cooker, remove the lid, and let cool in the crock to room temperature (it will be very liquidy at first, but will thicken over time).
- When cooled (it will be thicker) store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
- * If you use frozen cranberries, add 30 to 45 minutes cooking time.
Notes from my experience:
This was super easy and my favorite thing about it is that it can be made ahead of time. The recipe doesn’t say how much zest to use- I used the zest of a whole orange. I let the sauce thicken in my crock pot overnight and then refrigerated it in an airtight container. The flavor was great- even with steak!