Cranberry Salsa

This is during prep -- and you can see all the ingredients before melding together into a tasty salsa that goes great with crackers.  Hallie, Second Daughter's remarkable sister-in-law (and mother to equally remarkable children!) served this at their family's Christmas gathering.  SD brought some home and was telling me how addictive it was as she shared with me.  It is!!!  So, I went out and bought the produce to fix some for our New Year's party Saturday night. I posted the recipe in anticipation of being asked for it.  It worked.

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg. fresh cranberries, chopped (use food processor)
1 8oz can crushed pineapple (drained)
2/3 cup sugar (Hallie used Splenda)
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cilantro, chopped

The photo showed after chopping in the handy blue KitchenAid at the back, before mixing, while the pineapple is draining.  You can see the sugar hasn't melted yet.  Mix all together in a bowl, then cover (sealed well) and chill for at least two hours to allow the flavors to blend.  I don't how long it will stay good because it's gone so quickly!

As for flexibility -- there are variations of this in several places.  Some call for lime or orange juice, and that would be good.  As we were scarfing it down, we mentioned that a spoonful of mandarin oranges pulsed with this sounded good.  I didn't make changes this time, but will update this if I do in the future.

Have a happy new year, and be safe while celebrating!!