Baked Cranberry Goat Cheese Chicken {Naptime Everday}

What’s Going on Today: Normal school day, feeling very fall-like outside, enjoying the rhythm of the season.

Naptime Goals: Prep chicken, wrap up writing for the day.

Tonight’s Menu: Baked Cranberry Goat Cheese Chicken, herbed couscous, carrot souffle.

The lower temperatures of fall have arrived and they are slowly inspiring me to revisit my cold weather cooking favorites. The weather isn’t terribly cold yet, but it is too cool for gazpacho and cold chicken salad. I am turning the page to warmer soups and heartier baked dinners. This newest weeknight chicken dish was inspired by my daughter’s recent favorite snack, Craisins. I constantly toss them into salads and have always wanted to try them out in more savory dishes. When a bag literally fell out of the cupboard last week as I was reaching for some graham crackers I took it as a sign that it was time to try!

To incorporate cranberries into my everyday baked chicken I decided to cut some together with goat cheese and stuff it under the skin. Then I would use some to sprinkle on top and in the baking dish to absorb all of the great chicken-y juices. I hoped this would play up the savory-sweet flavors of the dish and add a great new twist to an everyday favorite.

During naptime I prepped the chicken by stuffing it with the goat cheese and cranberries, and slathering it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, I stuck it in the fridge until dinner. It baked beautifully, the skin crisped up and the goat cheese lazily melted into the chicken. The little craisins that had been scattered in the dish reconstituted a little bit and released tiny bursts of flavor with each bite. I served the chicken alongside herbed couscous – always an easy sauce-absorbing starch – and scattered the juicy berries from the dish on top. I also warmed up the few remaining squares of carrot souffle to nestle alongside. It was the perfect homey fall meal to warm us up on a cool night and fortify us for the next day.