Cranberry Dressing

I got this recipe from a friend and it was a great compliment to our Christmas eve dinner. I forgot the onions, but it was still amazing. The blue cheese and the almonds really add a lot to it.

Green Salad with Cranberry Dressing

1 cup sliced almonds

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh cranberries

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons water

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

1 pound mixed salad greens (Spring Mix works well)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 5 minutes, or until nuts begin to brown.

In a blender or food processor, combine the vinegar, oil, cranberries, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and water. Process until smooth.

In a large bowl, toss the almonds, onion, blue cheese, and greens with the vinegar mixture until evenly coated.

Cranberry Salsa

Last night at our family Christmas party my cousin Julie made this amazing salsa. She shared the recipe with me and I made it this afternoon.

Cranberry Salsa

12oz bag fresh Cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 med Jalapeno

2tbsp Cilantro

1tsp Cumin

2 Green onions

8oz Cream Cheese

Blend all of the ingredients, except the cream cheese, in a food processor.

Pour the salsa over the cream cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

Tweaks: I noticed at the party it was a little difficult to scoop the cream cheese and salsa without breaking the tortilla chips, so I thought whipping the cream cheese first would help. I put the cream cheese and a little salsa (about 1tbsp) into the Kitchenaid and whipped it until it was creamy. This made it so much easier to eat.

Let me about any of your own tweaks.

-Brad