Three New Recipes to Share

This month I've tried three new recipes and liked them all. Paul did too. These are all so so so super easy. I love super easy. I am so over trying to impress people/family with my cooking skills. I know I can cook. I also know I have the worlds pickiest kids so I no longer cook for fun, I cook because I have to. If I can find something easy that will fill us up it is success in the kitchen! If 50% of us enjoy it's time to party!!!

The kids didn't like the cranberry chicken. Emma ate it but didn't enjoy it and Andrew cried and flat out refused to eat it after taking the first bite. Andrew also said he didn't like the chili but he cleared his bowl so it couldn't have been that bad.

Cranberry Chicken

1 onion soup mix packet

1 8 oz. bottle of French Dressing

2 cans of whole berry cranberry sauce

6-8 chicken breasts (thawed)  - we used frozen chicken tenders

Put chicken in a 9 X 13 casserole dish.  Mix 1st 3 ingredients together and pour over chicken.  Bake at 350 F until chicken is cooked and sauce is bubbly (about 1 hour).  Serve over rice.

I did a much smaller portion. I only used two breasts (cut into smaller pieces) and I was going to half the sauce but it was tasting too onion soupy so I added most of the second can of cranberry sauce. Just taste it as you go and make it how you like. I had a lot of extra sauce so I froze half it and used it again later in the month. It worked perfectly. I served this over jasmine rice with steamed sugar snap peas. I think we had some bread too.  

Here is a link to the chili recipe

I basically ignored the recipe once I found out Paul didn't like hominy. I had been wanting to make this for a long time. Paul was NOT interested. Finally he said I could make it the night his parents were coming for dinner. He knew they would help us eat it and he wouldn't be stuck with leftovers for a week

                                             

Chicken Chili 

2 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

1 package (1 ounce) Old El Paso® chili seasoning mix

1 can of each black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans rinsed

Sour cream, if desired

Cilantro, if desired (I desired it but forgot to buy it so we didn't have it.)

                                    

I put it all in the crockpot. Once the chicken was cooked I shredded it. I served this with cornbread and tortilla chips. It was great!

Kneader's Caramel Syrup

This syrup was freaking a-maz-ing! I don't think it would be as good on waffles or pancakes but on french toast, be still my heart, it is to die for! We had it at our ward Christmas party and I wanted to lick my plate. I'm not kidding. When I took the first bite my eyes rolled back in my head and I started groaning it was that awesome. 

It is equal parts brown sugar, light corn syrup and heavy/whipping cream. You combine the three ingredients in a sauce pan, stir until combined and heated through.

I used 1/2 cup of each and it was enough for our family with some left over. I don't know how long it will keep but I saved it and will use the rest in the next day or two. 

 I let the syrup sit on the lowest setting while I finished the bacon, hash-browns and french toast.  (I would stir it when it started to bubble so it wouldn't reduce and become too thick.) This will be a new staple when we have french toast.