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Cranberry chicken ROCKS. It may not be the prettiest looking dish, but it is SO good!
The recipe for this cranberry chicken started with a tip from one of my neighbors. My neighborhood ROCKS. When we moved into our current house 10 years ago, we had no idea what the neighborhood was like. I mean, we could tell that people cared about the area and maintained their houses and such, and we knew that the schools were good and that it was close to all kinds of shopping and amenities.
But we had no idea what kind of people lived in all those nicely-kept houses, and that made us a little anxious because you never know what manner of situation you may be stepping into!
We need not have worried, because as it turned out, our neighborhood is the best kind of neighborhood. Everyone is friendly and always willing to lend a hand. One time, one of the neighbors had a problem with their furnace and therefore no heat, so a bunch of people lent their space heaters to help them keep warm until the furnace could be fixed.
Another time, a tree went down in a nearby yard, and all the guys went over to see if they could lend tools and help cut the tree up and move it out of the way. Whenever we get a lot of snow, we are all out there shoveling and plowing and helping get everyone’s driveway clear. You get the idea. It is so great to know that we are all looking out for each other!
The other thing I love about the neighborhood is all the different personalities. The people are all quirky and funny and incredibly unique. And I mean that in the best way possible! I really enjoy the mix of personalities and how it all gels when we get together.
And we do get together! We have all kinds of neighborhood events. We have a Halloween party, an Easter egg hunt, and a Christmas cookie swap every year, plus a block party in the summer, and from time to time we organize a neighborhood crawl for the adults. It is so much fun to hang out with these folks. To me, it feels like a large extended family living right on the same street!
So, as I was saying, today’s recipe came from my neighbor, Ed. Ed knows I have this blog and he reads it (hi, Ed! *waving to you*), so when he and his wife, April, made this dish and loved it, he immediately sent me an email to suggest that we try it. We did, and the family loved it! Thing 2 even gave it a 4 biscuit rating! I adapted our version from the original (at SouthernLadyCooks.com) based on some other ingredients I had handy and thought might be good, and the result was tender, juicy chicken with a tangy, sweet sauce and tasty cranberries in every bite! The best part was that it was incredibly easy to make. Just throw all the ingredients together in the morning, turn on the crock pot, let it do its thing, and VOILA, eight hours later you have a home-cooked dinner that the whole family will eat up!
Thing 2 rating = 
(4 out of 5 biscuits). He likes it, hooray!! 🙂
Cranberry Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 to 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 14 ounces whole berry cranberry sauce (1 can)
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- 1/2 cup light sweet and spicy French dressing
- 2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 to 5 stalks of celery (cut into bite-sized pieces)
Instructions
- Place chicken in the crock pot.
- Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken.
- Set crock pot to low and cook for 6-8 hours.
Nutrition
Shoozie
Sounds so yummy ~ ~ trying this next week
thanks for sharing
Kristin King
Great! I hope you enjoy it! We all love this one.
Kristin King
Great! I hope you enjoy it! We all love this one.
Susan Ennis
This sounds delicious, going to try it. Always looking for new recipes to try!
Jersey Girl Cooks
Looks delicious! It's great to live in a neighborhood like that. I don't know what I'd o without my neighbors.
Kristin
Thanks, Lisa! Yeah, your neighborhood is so important. I have heard some crazy stories about bad neighbors! But thankfully have not had to experience anything like that! 🙂
sally @ sallys baking addiction
So fabulous you live in a beautiful, caring neighborhood! We just moved from the city, so I am loving the warm atmosphere. This chicken looks amazing.
Kristin
Thanks! Hope you love your new place! Between that and leaving your job, you have had a whole lot of changes in a very short time. It must be an exciting time for you! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Sally!
Pam
It looks so delicious and flavorful.
Kristin
Thanks, Pam! 🙂
Tina Verrelli
Looks yummy Kristin!! Always great to have a couple great crock pot recipes ready to go!! I agree with the neighborhoods!! When we moved, I didn't want to leave my neighborhood, so we moved about 4 houses away! Thanks for the recipe!
Kristin
Thanks Tina! That is great that you were able to stay in your neighborhood! If you are lucky enough to have great neighbors, that is definitely something you want to hang on to as long as possible. 🙂 Take care!
Biz
I actually love sweet with meat - I'll have to give this one a try!
I made a cranberry balsamic glaze for pork chops - so good!
http://mybizzykitchen.com/2012/12/01/pork-chops-with-cranberry-balsamic-glaze/
Kristin
Oh yes, that sounds wonderful! I haven't made pork chops for a while but now I am craving them, so I think I will have to try your recipe next week. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!