I actually cooked something new tonight... Cranberry Chicken

Since my last posting, I have literally made ONE new thing - and that was chicken soup from a picked over rotisserie chicken. That was in June I think.

In August, for the heck of it, I actually tallied up what I spent on either groceries or restaurants in July. It totaled 775 bucks. Keep in mind I'm a single girl! I thought, whoa, I better start paying attention.

A month went by... and for the heck of it I totaled up my August grocery and restaurant expenses. Over 1100 bucks. Yes, over 1100 bucks. That's just insane - especially since I can't say I eat THAT well. (part of that was restaurant week with friends - who always know where to eat).

Gadzooks. OK, I'm going to really turn over a new leaf here. That is just ridiculous. If I were a gourmet cook, or could whip up a dinner party from scratch, I could completely understand 1100 bucks in one month. The problem too is that I buy WAY too much in one outing and if they are fresh veg, they invariable go bad before I'm able to get to them, and if they are "staples" I either forget about them in the pantry, or, I plain and simply don't use them all up. I'm not someone to buy ONE can of tomato paste, I have to buy 5. And maybe crack open one - or maybe not.




So tonight I pulled out my Savannah cookbook and made Cranberry Chicken. Very Easy.


It calls for

• Boneless chicken breast (6 pounds - I had 1.5 pounds)


• 1 oz pkg onion soup mix (I used about half that)


• 1 8 oz bottle of Catalina dressing - I used half a cup


• 1 16 oz can of cranberries - I used half a cup.

Mix up the ingredients, sans chicken of course.

Heat oven to 350, arrange chicken in a casserole dish (no top), pour mixture over it, pop in oven for one hour.

MMMMMMMM IT'S GOOD!

My amounts were clearly off - probably a little dressing and onion soup heavy - but it was VERY good and the chicken was really moist.

And would you look at that - I actually have lunch for tomorrow and either dinner again, or lunch the next day. I had an arugula, bufala mozz, and pine nut salad. With really good olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I do think though part of the reason I waste so much food is because I am a really really bad leftover eater. I get bored easily.

Pssst - while it was cooking, I soaked in the tub and had a good German Weissbier. Shhhhh.