Oranges were on sale at the grocery store today and I picked up a big bag of them and got my orange groove going in the kitchen.
Among other things, I made a batch of Cranberry & Orange Ginger Mango Chutney which had the added bonus of making my house smell phenomenal.
I had picked up an extra bag of cranberries before Thanksgiving, but never made anything with them before we left for Aruba on December 2.
They’ve been parked in the freezer and taking up valuable space so I used them along with some of the new oranges in a fresh batch of cranberry sauce which is almost no work. Toss things in a saucepan with sugar and let them simmer for a half hour. I can handle that.
Skylar adores cranberry chutney and it’s packed with vitamin C.
Being that my little princess is going to be around even more snotty-nosed sick rugrats other children in her new school, I figure the extra does of Vit C can’t hurt.
I also baked something with the oranges. Which involved a cream cheese glaze. There’s always a way to fatten up even fruit. Just add butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Smart thinking, right?
And I made something to drink with the oranges.
One of my best drinkey-drink recipes in awhile.
Kind of like Peaches & Coconut Cream Smoothie but different enough. Recipe coming soon on the new orange drink.
I’ve definitely gotten my Vitamin C in today.
I haven’t had enough chocolate or peanut butter.
I’m about to change that with a Nutter Butter Special K Bar (No Bake)
Do you like oranges? Do you make things with them or just eat them plain?
I have mango recipes, lemon recipes, apple recipes, and banana recipes in case you need fruit-based recipe ideas. All recipes include pictures with links in those posts.
How do you peel your oranges? Knife, peeler, keeping them in sections, wedges, other?
I used to peel them carefully with a peeler, keeping the sections in tact, but that’s much slower than just chopping them down the middle with a knife and quickly removing the peel with my knife.
Sometimes I’ll make orange wedges and keep the peel the “butt” of the wedge on but I find the family is more likely to eat them if they’re totally peeled and ready to pop in the mouth, sans peel.
That’s the one downfall of oranges compared to apples, bananas, or grapes for lunches is that the peeling situation is not as desirable for husbands or little kids who can’t manage to get that orange peel off. That’s when I hear, “Mom, can you help me with this…”
Have a great weekend!
I loved this post – citrus fruit is just such a necessity this time of year. Oranges and grapefruits are my go-to. I got a box of Harry&David oranges and grapefruits for Christmas from friends – great gift idea, no? When I’m on my usual citrus kick in the winter, I bake chocolate chip cookies, but grate 1 TBS of orange zest into the batter and use dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. Its deliciousss and just enough of a twist on a classic you know we all love ;) Speaking of chocolate chip cookies, LOVED the snickers stuffed cookies recipe, Averie! Baked them last night and they were almost too sinfully delicious… almost!
-Sunny
Thanks for the info about the Snickers cookies :)
Love oranges! When I have time I like to peel them and seperate the wedges, in a rush I just chop it up. For lunches I find that clemintines are much easier to peel than oranges, so that is the route I take!
That chutney looks amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Generally, I just eat oranges in wedges. But, I also bought an extra bag of cranberries at Christmas time, so it’s actually perfect that you posted this cranberry & orange chutney! You can’t go wrong with Vitamin C during chillier winter months!
Love oranges and my kitchen is overflowing with them thanks to our little tree going nuts and getting a bag in our farm box, so thanks for the recipe inspiration! :-) I’ve been eating 4-5 at a time straight up as a snack or dessert lately, or using them in salad dressing and stir fry sauces. I’ll also peel them, split in half, and freeze for smoothies.
Hmm! Oranges! I wish I was in California right now :P
I love oranges. This week I’ve been eating a lot of clementines. I usually eat oranges plain, but I also love orange juice. I don’t bake with oranges often enough, but I should! I’ll make it one of my to-do’s soon :)
Hi I just found your blog through CNC, I have to say it’s awesome! So many pretty pictures, yummy looking desserts. I love your cranberry and chutney idea. Definitely will be checking out your recipes page.
Thanks for the kind words and glad you found me. I hope you stick around and say hi :)
I love oranges and eat one every day in winter. The lazy way: cut in half, then make three slices from each half. Cut those in half. Eat orange stuff out of the peel. The juicier the better!
That chutney looks fantastic! I love oranges, such a refreshing fruit. I’m like you, just cut them down the middle and peel with a knife. I tend to just eat my oranges in segments or in a fruit salad… i love the simple combination of orange, apple, banana and grapes or berries. It always hits the spot!
I really should get a bit more creative with oranges in my food creations… the drink looks delish! Thanks for the inspiration.
Made your wonderful chutney recipe and it was fantastic! Also, followed your recommendation to use it in those amazing “brie sticks” (can’t remember whose blog it was on). Absolutely amazing. I love hearing about your finds at TJ’s. The closest one to me is 2 hours away, so I don’t really get there, but, love hearing about what you find! Thanks for sharing so much of your life with us.
Oh thank you soooo much for this comment! The fact that you made the cran chutney AND that you made the brie bites in puffed pasty (Joy the Baker’s site). I have had so many other baking projects since getting home from Aruba not even two weeks ago (but feels like a lifetime ago!) that I haven’t even made those yet. But I’m going to!
Thanks so much for reading and for this note. Made my day :)
I like orange juice, but I hate oranges! Orange-flavored things were always my favorite too. But I can’t stand the texture of oranges. I hate the pith and just the plain weird texture. A smoothie is the best because you can get the awesome flavor without any of the weird texture.
mmm I love oranges & cranberries :) I don’t know how to peel oranges with a knife — i’m too scared to slice my fingers off! Haha, I usually just cut them in wedges and then peel off the peel or i start a little hole at the top and peel from there!
I guess over the years I’ve fine-tuned my knife skills :)
I don’t know if I’ve ever actually made anything with oranges other than fruit salad, but I don’t think that counts. I usually eat them plain and peeled, or sliced if they aren’t really peel-able. To peel them, I either bite them or dig in with my thumbnail and just peel from there.
Cranberry orange chutney goes with just about any white meat in my house, as a condiment. Its awesome!
I just love peeling oranges and eating them with my hands :) That cranberry-orange chutney is a fantastic idea!
I have a fridge full of oranges right now – can’t wait to see what you baked up!
Leave it to you to make oranges look so beautiful! I love your creativity
Thanks, Maris :)
I don’t think I have ever made anything with oranges other than juice, or eating them plain. I peel them with my hands all the time.
Oooo, oo, oo. Will you feed me?
For.Sure. :)
LOVE citrus & cranberries together. My cranberry sauce usually has a bunch of citrus in it as well :) Have a great weekend miss Averie :) XO
I love to bulk up the cranberry sauce with other goodies and I’m sure you’re the same. Enjoy your weekend, too! :)
My son is almost a year old and oranges are one of his most favorite things! Ogaden been planning on holding off until after a year because I had read the acid in citrus is a bit much, but he grabbed one out of my hand one day and started throwing fits whenever he saw one! We always have oranges in the house now.
May I hire you as my personal chef, please???? Looks yummy as always, what can I say
xo!
Yes, and thanks :)
I love oranges. They are SUPER cheap here and they are such a refreshing and super sweet snack.
Brooke
http://www.TheAnnessaFamily.com
Your chutney is SO good. SO good. I’ve made it a couple of times and just can’t get enough of it! I usually pair it with roasted chicken. Omg and I’ve put it on a chicken pizza, too. Delicious!
I didn’t know you made it! Well thanks for telling me that! :)
I love oranges but seldom eat them to avoid the peel. I like the wedges in tact, so I have to meticulously remove it by hand. I have a box of clementine Cuties to eat up, they’re pretty easy to peel. I want to try making cranberry sauce one day, I am partial to the jelly stuff though. :)
Cuties are a lot easier to peel than regular oranges but I agree, still a bit of a PITA.
And the cranberry sauce…so easy. Throw the cranberries in a pot with water and sugar and wait. In a half hour, it’s done. :)
ive never been an orange fan. I love cranberries though!
I just was eyeing a recipe for carrot orange marmalade. Kind of like the chutney, but with carrots instead of cranberries. Eh??
Love oranges and grapefruit…but if I take to work un-peeled, I usually can’t find time in the day when my hands can be full of juice and peel for 5 minutes.
I have a very old-school Tupperware plastic citrus peeler that I covet.
that’s the exact problem…trying to do it at your desk is messy and time consuming and as much as I love oranges, when you peel them like that for the rest of the day your hands are kinda orange and smell like them too. Lol
I like oranges, but I like crean cheese glaze. Hmm, I have a feeling I’m going to like this one. ;)
and I meant to tell you yesterday, hope you’re okay from the running spill you mentioned you took!
Thanks! A few scrapes on my hands, but I think I’ll survive. ;)
Hi Averie,
What do you use your cranberry orange gingrer chutney on? I haven’t made it yet, but I have a jar from TJ’s and I am not sure what to do with it!
Love oranges, hate the seeds, but it doesn’t stop me from eating them! I used them in baking mostly like quick breads, cookies and glazes! I love cranberry and orange together!
anything! bread, crackers, or just eat it plain. It’s just a thicker cranberry sauce. Enjoy!
Hey girl! I love the all the color in this post. I am not a fan of traditional oranges (the Florida ones) to hard to peel and I can’t deal with seeds. I like the little mandarin oranges and tangerines. They taste much sweeter and you can peel them so easily. I eat them occasionally but tend to throw them in a green smoothie most of the time.
I don’t normally think to eat orange things-then when I do I’m always happy. My last two orange encounters where mimosas on Christmas morning and orange-cranberry sauce later that day. Both quite good. I’m looking forward to your orange drinks-drink!
Looks sooooo good and isn’t it nice when something taste good and is good for you! I made a similar version last year with Pumpkin Seeds. http://cannedtime.blogspot.com/2010/12/cranberry-chutney-wpumpkin-seeds.html I never liked Chutney before this Cranberry. I’ll bet your’s is even better when you follow it with one of the Nutter Butter Bars! Yum!!!!
I want that recipe in the comment above!
I love oranges, and usually peel just by hand, but sometimes cut in quarter wedges. I also think they’re awesome in smoothies: for how juicy they are, they add thickness and texture more than you might expect…
I’m so weird about oranges. I love them and always remember even more how much I love them after a really hot run when served at a race. However, I never buy them. I think it’s the peeling thing. But, love love love Blue Moon served with sliced oranges LOL
I loooooove oranges. So refreshing especially in the summer. My favourite recipe is a super simple orange almond cake (gluten, dairy and egg free!). I love it because it uses the WHOLE orange steamed (yay for no waste) then blended up with a few other ingredients. Tastes sensational!
I adore oranges! Although I usually just juice them in the morning. I’ve found that now that I drink fresh squeezed, the carton just does not compare! As usual, stunning photos Averie :)
Oranges are my favorite fruit during these dull winter days: so bright and juicy!
Beautiful pics, too! Happy New Year ;)
I love making cranberry chutney whenever I can get cranberries!
I love how sweet the oranges are now! And I need to make those special k bars!!