10-minute homemade cranberry sauce

Avoid using canned cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving by making the sauce yourself. This recipe takes no more than 10 minutes and you'll end up with a delicious homemade cranberry sauce that is well-worth the extra few minutes. Besides, when the recipe is as simple and tasty as this one you'd kick yourself for not trying it. (In fact, we think the recipe is so good and so easy that we recommend buying a few extra bags of cranberries this season and popping them in the freezer. Then you can whip up this fabulous side any time of the year.)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of whole cranberries (about 12 ounces)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1 cup sugar
  

Directions:

• Add water, cider, and sugar to a medium-sized saucepan. Mix until sugar is blended.
• Add cranberries and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until cranberries pop.
• Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

In addition to serving this sauce as a side dish, try mixing it with mayonnaise or mustard for a day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich spread or tossing a dollop of the sauce on top of ice cream or pound cake for a sweet/tart treat.