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Why order out when you can make it yourself?

Have you ever craved sweet and sour shrimp so much that you decided to try creating it from scratch?

Be prepared for a pleasant surprise. We did. It worked.

It worked so well we made it again. Like most surprises, it’s easier to create than you think. The second time is even easier.

In fact, our recipe, from start to sit down, goes faster than ordering and waiting for the delivery. And you don’t have to tip.

Here goes:

As a sometimes impulse shopper, cranberries call me from their seasonal spot on the grocery shelf usually in mid-December. This year I answered the call.

But, because cranberries grow up in a bog you don’t just pop them into your mouth like candy or popcorn. They apparently need to be baked to eliminate the bog effect.

And unless you act decisively, the bag of berries ends up in the back of the ‘frig until Easter.

Not this year.

Visions of a cranberry-based pie danced in my head as I held the two-cup bag of Michigan bog boys.