Favorite Holiday Recipes

I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite holiday recipes that I made for Thanksgiving this year. They are equally good for other holiday meals. The Cranberry Apple Relish comes from my mother-in-law and has been an Atkins family tradition for a long time. The Cheesy Olive recipe is from my mother. She used to make them as an appetizer at the holidays and I would eat the cheesy part and leave the olive. Now I appreciate the amazing combination of flavors!

Cranberry Apple Relish

(I'm including the amounts here for a small or large batch.)
This recipe is simple if you own a grinder that can easily grind up the cranberries and raisins. Without a good grinder, it becomes very challenging. I own a grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer and it works great!

Cranberries: 3 c. for small or 7 c. (2 12 oz bags) for large batch
Raisins: 3/8 c. or 7/8 c.
Apple: 3/4 c. or 1 3/4 c.
Sugar: 1 c. or 2.5 c.
Lemon Juice: 3/4 t. or 1 3/4 t.

Wash & pick over the cranberries, then grind or chop. Grind or chop raisins and add to cranberries. Chop apples by hand and add. Add & stir in sugar and lemon juice.
After everything has been mixed in, let it stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved and some juice has been formed. Then keep in refrigerator or freeze. (Make a big batch at Thanksgiving and freeze half for Christmas.)


Cheesy Olives

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (do not use pre-shredded as it will not mush into the dough properly.)
1/2 cup butter soft / melted
1/2 tsp. paprika
Dash hot sauce
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
~72 olives (green with pimentos)

Mix cheese, butter, paprika, and hot sauce.
Stir in flour and salt to make dough.
Let stand 10-15 minutes.
Roll 1/2 - 1 tsp. dough around each olive.
(Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated before baking.)
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.