Cranberry Chicken

[VickiLynn]

4 lb. bone-in skinkless chicken breasts
1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
1 bottle (8 oz) FF Catalina dressing (I use Kraft)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken in 2 (13 x 9-inch) baking dishes.  Mix remaining ingredients; pour over chicken.  Bake 50 min. or until chicken is done.

I usually use enough chicken to fill one baking dish, but keep the rest of the ingredients the same.

[tonz2day]

This recipe sounded wonderful when Vicki posted it but before I copied it and pasted it into my recipe file I decided to wait for the friendly "food police chief" to pip in.  I thought it may or may not be LDL friendly.  Thanks for posting and thanks for replying with "your two cents" Mary.

[VickiLynn]

Mary,

Thanks for your comments.  This recipe is very similar to Gayle's Chicken with Cranberries and Oranges (LDL recipe card) that I have made before.  Yes, the Catalina dressing has high fructose corn syrup in it, but I eat only a little bit of the sauce over my chicken (I freeze remaining sauce and use it again).  I believe Ocean Spray whole cranberries don't have any added sugar.

I am close to my goal weight (3 lbs. to go) so I have started to incorporate a few recipes that I would not have eaten before. I have so many chicken recipes that I rotate them so this one would probably come to the top of the list in another few months.

Vicki

[tonz2day]

WOW, congratulations on being close to your goal weight! 

[redkat]

With Thanksgiving getting close and seeing cranberries in the stores, I have been wanting an easy recipe that used cranberry and chicken.  This looks really great.  Thanks VickiLynn. 

Congratulations on being close to goal.

[southern lady]

I just made my own fresh cranberry sauce using 1 cup splenda instead of the sugar ...It is very good and the recipe is on the bag of cranberries...just substitute the splenda for the sugar called for...so good.....very cold in Florida today, feels great.....loving this LDL WWOE (I added the eatra W for wonderful... Helen

[VickiLynn]

Southern Lady/Helen,

Thanks for the tip about making cranberry sauce.  With fresh cranberries in abundance now, I am going to freeze a coulpe of bags for use later.  I love  your WWOE.

Vicki

[yayatrudy]

I do a turkey breast using one can of cranberries, one envelope onion soup mix and and nothing else.  Put the whole thing in your crock pot and forget it for 8 hours.  My family doesn't eat turkey any other way now.

[VickiLynn]

How fun to see this recipe posted after all this time.  I haven't made it for quite some time.  I read all of the previous comments and see that I mentioned I was only three pounds from goal in Nov. 2009.  Well, I actually made goal weight of 136 in January 2010, and lost another 3 lbs after that.  I admit I have cheated quite a bit since then but somehow have managed to stay within 5-6 lbs of my lowest weight (133).  My goal weight was 136 and as of this morning I weigh 139.  I weigh myself at least once a week and when that scale goes to a number I feel is not good for me I start eliminating all those foods that I know I should not be eating. The LDL way of eating is still in my life and I wouldn't think of giving it up all together.

[MsHeirloom]

That is wonderful.  great to hear your update!!!  Pam

[LINDA RN]

Thanks for your input VickiLynn,
I have been thinking about this recipe since it was posted and trying to adapt it for me.
Hard to find canned cranberries without sugar, so thought about cooking them fresh in Pineapple juice.
Then instead of the Onion Soup Mix (don't want the MSG in it). Maybe add onions and that coconut sauce.
Hummmmm.....endless possibilities

[JerrieH]

This recipe sounds really good.  And all of the modifications sound really good too.  Can't wait to try it.  Also, I haven't tried it, but I found this recipe on the boards for a substitute for the onion soup mix.

Dry Onion Soup Mix   

Ingredients for one packet:

8 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon turmeric, optional
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Stevia or other sugar substitute to equal 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper


Vicky Lynn - congrats on the weight loss.  Good job.

Jerrie

[LINDA RN]

Thanks Jerrie, I was thinking there was an LDL substitute for the Onion soup mix on the boards!

[Ginny M.]

Saw this post today.  It sounds GREAT!  I love chicken & turkey & cranberries.  I'm going to give it a try with making my own cranberry sauce and onion soup mix.  Now I'm getting hungry.


Ginny

[LINDA RN]

This recipe has been on my mind and have been intending to fix it for past couple weeks.
Did not find the fresh cranberries (really did not have time to look that hard).
Had one can whole cranberry sauce from Health Food Center (sugar...not HFCS).
Had some chicken parts from 2 years ago when we butchered chickens in the freezer that needed to be used up.
Sooooo
I mixed the one can whole cranberry sauce with a couple TBSP Coconut Sauce, a whole chopped onion, a tsp of Tumeric and a TBSP of Parsley Flakes. I browned the chicken pieces (2 legs and thighs and 2 breasts cuz that is how we packaged and froze them) in a bit of EVOO in a pot on the stove (my crock pot is at work). Then I poured the sauce over it and let it simmer for a couple hours,
Oh, my....
Talk about tender and falling off the bone! Didn't take me long to inhale a leg and thigh and realized I would not have any left to take to work unless I cooked more. So took the meat out, sparing the sauce and added 4 more pieces (this time without pre-browning) and I decided to add 1/2 deseeded jalepeno to it (I just love the green pepper taste). Will see how this goes.
Eventually I will try it with the whole cranberries and crushed pineapple and chicken breasts.

This recipe will be my answer to getting enough protein at lunch. I can fix up a big batch and refreeze.
Thank you, VickiLynn

[Joyful Friend]

Thanks, I had missed this thread as well. You gals are so creative.  I have frozen cranberries, so it will be fixed this week.  JF

[Ginny M.]

I tried this recipe with the can of cranberry sauce (whole cranberries were not in my grocery until the following week) and used turkey breast strips.  It was VERY GOOD except the turkey was dry.  I will be trying this with fresh chicken breasts and homemade whole cranberry sauce next week.  I expect it to be GREAT!  (Even my hubby loved it!).

Thanks for this recipe!


Ginny

[yayatrudy]

Since necessity is the mother of invention I have an invention cooking in my crockpot..
I had no Catalina dressing so I used a bottle of apricot fruit spread ( no sugar) and a cup of barbecue sauce with a partial bag of chopped vegetables (onion, bell pepper and celery) Cajun seasoning and garlic and herb seasoning. I just knew I had cranberry sauce but it may  be hiding from me in pantry. ..I will let y'all know if my invention is worth a try.