(originally posted on WGLR.com on 11-25-13)

Well, the holiday food rush is here! Let your slow cooker help you get through all the holiday gatherings at your home over the next weeks. Here is an easy recipe that you can impress everybody with, Crock Pot Cranberry Sauce! Forget the “sauce” in the can that comes out with the ridges from the can on it (although I do love that stuff, haha!)! Throw this in your crock, and you’ll have a delicious, homemade cranberry sauce for all to enjoy. Plus, it makes your house smell divine! I think I love the smells created by crock pot cooking as much as eating the delicious creations that come out of the crock!

Crock Pot Cranberry Sauce

• 12 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Put all ingredients into the crock. It will look like a lot of liquid, but don’t worry, it will cook down to a nice sauce. Cook on high for 3 hours, stirring every hour. After a few hours once the skins on the cranberries are soft, you can smash them against the side to “pop” them. It’s fun! Do it!

After 3 hours, remove the lid and cook another 45 minutes or so, until the sauce is a good, thicker consistency. It will thicken upon cooling and refrigerating, too. You can make this a few days ahead of time and store in the fridge!  It also freezes well. I made this the Saturday before Thanksgiving, froze it until Wednesday, then moved it to the fridge again, and it was perfect on Thursday for Thanksgiving!

Italian Chicken

Well folks, we are nearing the end of this weekly feature for the season. Spring is inching in, so I will shelve the Crock of the Week for now, and maybe bring it back in the Fall. Next week will be the last Crock of the Week. But don't cry, because here is another recipe to add to your collection, Italian Chicken. Super easy and tasty! My 2 year-old son gobbled this up like he was never going to get another meal in his life.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)

1 envelope dry Zesty Italian Dressing mix

1 8oz brick cream cheese

1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending on how much 'sauce' you want

Place chicken breasts in the crockpot (I used frozen, and it worked just fine). Sprinkle the Italian dressing mix over the chicken. In a saucepan, melt the cream cheese on low heat with the cream of chicken soup. Pour mixture over chicken in the crock, and cook on low for at least 4 hours (at least 5 if using frozen chicken), but you can leave it on all day if you need/want to.

When done, you can serve how you want. I shredded the chicken in the crock which made for a good chunky sauce. Serve over pasta or rice. We used rotini pasta this time.