What to do with a WHOLE BUNCH of oranges?

[Pinoikoi]

I probably have a whole bag full of oranges that I want to do "something" with before I go back to work in a few days.. some are the little ones clementines? and some are full size oranges...

I know if they were apples I could just toss them in the crock pot and make applesauce, but what to do with oranges? My kids like eating fruit, but they prefer eating apples or pears or grapes to oranges (no idea why even if I peel and segment the oranges they still prefer the others)..

Anyway, some came from a gift basket of fruit and some were bought specifically for Santa purposes, and we just ended up with a lot more than we usually do and I want to do something with them before they go bad.

I do not have a juicer nor any canning supplies. I DO have a crockpot and can bake something? Orangebread maybe?

I do not care for orange marmalade in the least.

[cristeen]

I just juiced mine by hand. Not the most efficient method, but 8 large oranges gave me a large glass of juice for DH and I to share on Xmas morning. Or if I have several different kinds of citrus I'll supreme them all and toss them in a bowl for a citrus salad.

You can candy the peel, but you have to be sure to dry it thoroughly before storing it - mine molded because it didn't get dry enough.

I've also seen recipes for stewing the oranges and serving them as a dessert, and a recipe for an orange pie.

[number572]

slice them & dehydrate them to use for fragrant decoration. i've laid them directly on floor heating vents to dehydrate... the aroma is divine.

[star792]

i have been meaning to do the dehydrate the slices thing. i think i will do that today. we have an orange tree and a wonderful abundance of them. we juice them- so,so good. we also give them away. orange juice is a good mixer if you drink. make mimosa's tomorrow morning. hehe. i think you could juice with your hand, it would be a little tricky. strain the seeds out later, maybe?
*******just noticed you were pregnant, sorry!!!**********

[BetsyS]

Ambrosia? That's what I usually do with mine. You just section them, removing all the membranes. (yes, this is a pain, and it takes forever) Mix that with coconut and a few (like 10) drained maraschino cherries. If you don't like cherries, just oranges and coconut.

This is a beloved Christmas treat for us. It lasts a few days in the fridge.

[Aubergine68]

I've hand-juiced oranges before, messy but yummy.

I just peeled and broke up a big bowl of oranges to freeze. I add a handful to green smoothies -- they complement spinach beautifully and the fibre is kind of the point of a green smoothie so

I'll be having some greens/banana/frozen orange/frozen peach smoothies next month!

ETA I bet you could "juice" oranges by cooking them, straining out the pulp, and cooling the liquid.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by star792

orange juice is a good mixer if you drink. make mimosa's tomorrow morning. hehe. i think you could juice with your hand, it would be a little tricky. strain the seeds out later, maybe?
*******just noticed you were pregnant, sorry!!!**********

That's ok. I avoid alcohol even when NOT pregnant

I had a half of a mimosa I think about a year ago. Before that I hadn't drank alcohol for about 3 years.

I am not a recovering alcoholic, just had a tough time with depression after a miscarriage in 2001, and decided avoiding would be best.

The weird part is I am a practicing Catholic, but I don't even take wine at communion.. but I figure, I can't be the only one, right?

I have always said it would take a lot for me to move away from AK, but the idea of fruit trees in my own yard is awfully tempting! I am SO jealous!

Originally Posted by BetsyS

Ambrosia? That's what I usually do with mine. You just section them, removing all the membranes. (yes, this is a pain, and it takes forever) Mix that with coconut and a few (like 10) drained maraschino cherries. If you don't like cherries, just oranges and coconut.

This is a beloved Christmas treat for us. It lasts a few days in the fridge.

MMM... that sounds good. I was planning on heading to the store today for popcorn anyway. Dp doesn't care for cherries, but I like them! We love coconut also.. I wonder if I could use up some canned coconut milk with something like this? Do you have approx measurements? How many clementines for example to how much coconut? This is a basically dry salad? No whip cream or something moist?

Originally Posted by Aubergine68

I add a handful to green smoothies -- they complement spinach beautifully and the fibre is kind of the point of a green smoothie so

I'll be having some greens/banana/frozen orange/frozen peach smoothies next month!

I LOVE smoothies.. unfortunately I wore out my blender about a week or two ago.. it started smoking and wouldn't blend anymore..

I have decided to save up for a vitamix instead of just buying another cheapie blender.. and it might take me a while..

I looked in my Betty Crocker cookbook and found a recipe for orange muffins that sounded good. A lot of the bread/muffin recipes I found are basically just using the zest, but this one had a slice of orange added to the bottom of each little muffin hole.. so a slice on the bottom of each muffin.. sounds cute, but wouldn't all the slices have to be fairly uniform in size?

[artemis33]

I've been making orange zucchini muffins (using frozen shredded zucchini left from summer) and orange apricot muffins (or sometimes mini loaves instead) lately. Both use the zest and juice.