The mooooost wonderful tiiiiiiime of the year!

Okay, I'll admit that my love for Thanksgiving hinges mainly upon the fact that it opens up the socially acceptable early decorating for Christmas.

If Thanksgiving was like August 27th, I probably wouldn't give a hoot.

Truth.

One of my favorite foods at the Thanksgiving table is always the cranberry sauce. Growing up we always had the canned Ocean Spray stuff, and honestly that stuff's still good. I do like having the option of a homemade version. My first attempt at this was going to be a no-added-sweetener version- using apples as a sugar substitute. but that was just too dang sour. Lesson learned- a leeeetle bit of added sugar is necessary BUT it really doesn't take much, and the calories are still in check.

Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce
-2 12-oz bags fresh cranberries, rinsed
-2 sweet apples (I used Sweet Tango- honeycrisp would also work), peeled and finely diced
-1 seedless navel orange, cut into 6 wedges
-1/2 cup white granulated sugar
-2 cups water
-1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients BUT the vanilla.

Cover and stir occasionally until boiling. Turn heat down to medium low. As the cranberries burst, they'll release their juices and it will turn into sauce.

Let bubble- covered- for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Remove orange peels.

Put into a jar and refrigerate until cooled. Makes 3 1/2 cups or 7 1/2 cup servings. Per serving: 57 calories.

I like to eat this plain or stirred into my Greek yogurt...while hanging the stockings by the chimney with care. Who needs turkey anyway?

Happy Thanksgiving!