I think cans of cranberry sauce are multiplying in my pantry. Apparently my relatives wanted to be sure we had plenty for Thanksgiving dinner. I bought some, David bought some and several others must have brought them as well. I have both jellied and whole-berry cans. I served a can of each with dinner, but most chose my sister-in-law’s cranberry Jell-O salad from the buffet.

After guests went home and everything was cleaned up, I realized we were left with a great bounty of cranberries. So I started searching for recipes that used the sauce in interesting ways. Most recipes called for fresh or dried cranberries. However, with continued diligence, I found a couple of recipes that will make a dent in our cranberry pile.

Cranberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-oz can tomato paste
14-oz can jellied cranberry sauce
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté onion in oil. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Lower the heat, add tomato paste and stir, continuing to cook for about 3-4 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low for about 10 minutes.

The zesty tangy barbecue sauce is great on pulled-pork sandwiches. It also makes a great appetizer when poured over cream cheese and served with crackers.

I found another recipe that caught my eye because it used red wine. It’s a wine and berry Jell-O dessert that’s easy to make.

Wineberry Jell-O
1 c. cranberry juice
13-oz package of raspberry Jell-O
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. sweet red wine
18-oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 c. whipped cream

Bring juice to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in Jell-O and then whisk in sugar and wine until dissolved. Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate 1-2 hours.

Break up canned cranberries and fold into the Jell-O along with the whipped cream. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours more.