Cranberry Trifle

What a good holiday season it was! I mean, considering the extenuating financial circumstances and everything.

But I couldn't believe this.

Up until about a week ago, there were still fresh cranberries in my refrigerator. That freaked me out. And I'm not kidding! Because I was "cranberried out". But you know the deal... If you're a subscribed reader of Cater-Hater, you know that I do most of my personal grocery shopping at warehouse shopping clubs.

It's funny to me. Some people consider shopping at Costco Wholesale and Sam's Club "power shopping".

To me, it's normal. But then, I've been a warehouse shopper since the early 1990's. So of course you get that "power shopper" type of reputation as a result of shopping there. That has to explain to you why I have leftover cranberries.

There were enough fresh cranberries leftover to make a big batch of cranberry sauce twice, and then some. Which left me thinking, what am I going to do with the last of the fresh cranberries?

Here's my solution:

Cranberry Trifle
Serves 15 people
(Printable Recipe)

1 package (16 oz.) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
1 package (12 oz.) fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 package (8 oz.) reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (not vanilla flavoring)
1 carton (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 loaves (10 and 3/4 oz. each) angel food cake, cubed

1.) In a large saucepan, combine the first five ingredients. Cook over medium heat until the berries pop, about 15 minutes. Then cool completely.
2.) Next, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
3.) Place a third of the angel food cake cubes in a 3 quart trifle bowl; top with a 1/3 of the cranberry mixture and a 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice.
4.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

This easy and quick to make cranberry trifle takes 10 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to cook - and that's great! Although this recipe makes a delicious and rich trifle, it's lower in calories than if it were made with real sugar, regular cream cheese, Grandma's pound cake, and heavy whipping cream. I would have bet a large sum of money and lost had I not made it myself and known the exact ingredients. I love trifle! They're just so great. They taste good, yet are super simple to make. Out of many of my recipes cranberry trifle makes it to the head of my list!

Be sure to print yourself a copy of the recipe. You could stick it in a cookbook, leaving it there until next year. That is, unless you can't wait and have to try it this year.


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