Braised Chicken with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

I found the perfect Fall staple when people come over for dinner. Everyday Foods had a recipe for braised chicken with butternut squash, red onions, and dried cranberries. I first made it for Ryan's brother's birthday. I followed the instructions on the recipe and used my cast iron dutch oven, but the chicken took way longer to cook than recommended. The second time I made it, I still used the cast iron dutch oven to braise the skin-on dark meat chicken and precook the butternut squash, fresh copped sage leaves, and red onions (coated with flour, coriander & nutmeg), but when I added chicken broth and dried cranberries, I transferred the mixture into my crock pot. I cooked it on high for about 1.5 hours then turned it to low for about 30 minutes prior to serving.

This was excellent with Near East's wild rice box mix.

For dessert, I tried a low calorie option when my friend, Lauren, came for dinner. I sliced a naval orange, red ruby grapefruit, and plum. I placed the sliced fruit in shallow creme brulee ceramic dishes and sprinkled brown sugar on top. I broiled them on high for about 5 minutes. Next time I will broil them on low for 8 minutes since the orange burned a little bit on the edge. Also, I served homemade chocolate bars. I melted dark chocolate morsels and spread it on wax paper. Then I chopped mixed salted nuts and pressed them into the melted chocolate mixture. I put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes then I broke it up into bit sized pieces. Next time, I'm going to use no-salt pistachios with a little orange zest and coarse sea salt.