I have a confession: I was once a pretentious home cook. After leaving my small hometown in the Mojave Desert, I tried everything possible to distance myself from my simple, low-income upbringing. I was embarrassed of how I grew up, cooking with processed ingredients, following recipes off the back of canned soups and salad dressings, and making everything in a casserole dish. My biggest mistake in my early 20s was not acknowledging how my family was able to put food on the table despite the financial troubles faced everyday. I was living in a coastal city and got wrapped up in the notion that chef-driven food was the only way to eat and the pressure from social media to make the most elaborate meals possible. I believed the way I ate growing up was wrong and that if I wanted to better my chances in life I had to eat differently. 

That is far from the truth. The food that my family cooked was always made with love and intent. We sat down together as a family and shared stories from our day over a hearty, home-cooked meal. It never really mattered what ingredients they used or whether it was a casserole or a five-course meal. It was about love and knowing that we were a family, no matter what. This recipe is delicious, despite the odd combination of ingredients –– and that’s what makes this so great. It is simple and can easily be doubled for a larger family. We should never be ashamed to cook what we love — something I’m embracing with this recipe, my interpretation of a five-ingredient bake we ate when I was too embarrassed to enjoy it. 

Cranberry Chicken
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 8-ounce bottle Catalina salad dressing
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 15-ounce can whole-berry cranberry sauce
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and ground blackpepper, to taste
2½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

 

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking oil. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the salad dressing, onion soup mix, cranberry sauce, and red pepper flakes. Pour into the baking dish.
3. Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper, then place in the baking dish in a single layer. Using a spoon, coat the chicken with the sauce.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve over mashed potatoes. 

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