Do you ever have something that sits in your fridge… for a long time?  It isn’t going bad, but it is taking up space and a storage container.  Every time you open the fridge you think, “I should really do something with that.”  Then you proceed to grab what you originally came for and close the door.Does that tale sound familiar?  For your sake, I hope not.  But selfishly, for the sake of feeling understood, I hope you know exactly what I am talking about.  This is the tale of our cranberry sauce.  It has been sitting untouched since the holidays and it had already served its intended purpose.  It wasn’t that we didn’t like the sauce (I actually think it turned out really well) we just didn’t know how to use it.Well I finally pulled it out, prepared to throw away spoiled remains and I was pleasantly surprised to find it in the exact condition I left it in.  So I made a new game plan.  It was either throw it away or use it.  Going back in the fridge was not an option.  It is not in me to throw away unspoiled food so I decided to use it. The only thing I could think of was cranberry orange chicken.  It sounded intriguing.  (Though I decided that cranberry orange duck sounds even more decadent.  So if you ever have a duck and extra cranberry sauce lying around I would give it a try:-) My cranberry sauce already had some orange in it so I added a bit more zest and orange juice to give the orange a stronger role in the creation.  Then I added in some broth to temper the strong flavors competing for attention.  The first time I made this (and took the final product pictures) I didn’t think to add the chicken broth and the flavor was still great, but intense.  I had to drink a lot of water every few bites to clear my palette a bit.  Moral of the story… don’t forget the chicken broth.  It mutes the color, but it is necessary to get the right flavor.We really loved the final outcome.  I joked that I need to go make more cranberry sauce now so we can have again.  Who knows… maybe I will:-)

Cranberry Orange Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts or thighs

½ cranberry sauce

½ – 1 orange, zested

Juice of one orange

1 C chicken broth

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1. Zest and juice orange into a medium–sized pan.  Add the cranberry sauce and broth to the pan and place heat on a simmer while preparing chicken.
2. Thaw chicken if needed and cut into small pieces.  Add chicken to pan and raise heat to medium-high.  Stir until chicken is cooked and the liquid has reduced to a sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste.

The pictures below are from my first draft.  The final product from the recipe above is not as pink (residue from cranberry sauce) so don’t be alarmed if it looks a little different:-)