Cranberry Sauce and Simple Green Bean Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

I decided to try to make a cranberry sauce that was sugar free, and it's actually quite easy. I used Ocean Spray diet cranberry pomegranate and cranberry cherry juice in mine. If you just want the cranberry flavor, use their original diet flavor.

Ingredients:
1 12 oz. bag cranberries
3 c. Ocean Spray diet cranberry juice
1/2 to 1 c. stevia or Splenda (depending on your sweetness preference)
1 squirt orange MiO (optional)
2 tsp. xanthan gum

Wash cranberries and place in a pot. Add cranberry juice and sugar. Bring to a boil and let simmer until all cranberries pop. Add MiO if you want. Remove from heat and stir in xanthan gum. Try to get out all the clumps. Chill until ready to serve.

Notes: I've never made cranberry sauce before, and while it turned out pretty good, the cherry and pomegranate flavors from the juice seemed to sort of overpower the cranberries themselves, so that's why I have the plain one in the recipe. Also, I think I let the cranberries cook for too long because the skins came completely off and rolled up into little chewy tubes. Not too appetizing, so I will not boil it as long next time. Also, be very careful when adding the xanthan gum because it clumps fast. May be do like they do with cornstarch and add it to some warm water before adding into the pot? I will be making this recipe again soon to fix some of the kinks.

Simple Green Bean Casserole

I absolutely love green bean casserole, but the cream of mushroom condensed soup has about 6 g net carbs per 1/2 c., and the flavor of canned green beans isn't so pleasant anymore. I used fresh green beans, cream, and fresh mushrooms in this deliciously creamy casserole.

Ingredients:
~24 oz. bag green beans
1.5 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. mushroom broth or chicken broth
1/2 red onion
3 Tbsp. butter
20 white mushrooms (1 small package)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. xanthan gum
salt and pepper
3 strips bacon (optional)

Pan fry or cook bacon in the microwave. Let cool and crumble. Poke some holes in the bag of green beans for ventilation and microwave for about 5 minutes or until green beans are bright green, steaming, and soft. Using kitchen shears or clean scissors, chop green beans into ~2 inch pieces. Place in a casserole dish. Rough chop and saute red onion in 1 Tbsp. butter until slightly soft. Add to casserole dish. Wash the mushrooms and chop them into roughly 1/2 inch sized cubes, or large slices if you prefer. Saute in 2 Tbsp. butter until reduced and soft. Add to casserole dish. Add cream and broth to dish. Add garlic, and salt and pepper to your liking. Add in the crumbled bacon. Bake at 350 F for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and mix in xanthan gum to thicken. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving to allow xanthan gum to set. The cream should coat the beans.