Family Traditions and a Chicken Dinner

Disclosure: I am partnering with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm as a blog ambassador. I have received these Kauffman’s Fruit Farm products for free; however, all opinions remain my own.

December is a time for friends, family, and traditions. For a family owned business that's no different. This year Kauffman's Fruit Farm is celebrating 100 years in business and as a blog ambassador I was honored to receive a copy of their newly published Faith, Family & Fruit anniversary book.

This book is full of the history of the Kauffman family and their fruit business as well as recipes that have been handed down for generations. With 144 pages of full color pictures, you'll see how running a family business has changed through the third, fourth and even fifth generations!

Other things get passed down through the generations as well. In my family there's the love of cooking fresh meals and sitting around the table together. There are some nights when we can't all make it to the table at the same time, and some nights where take out pizza makes an appearance, but my goal is that a majority of our evenings find us gathered around the dining room table sharing a meal together.

This past week was a busy one for us. Ken recently went back to work after a shoulder injury. I'm very thankful he has been able to return to work, but I'll admit that it was very nice having him home every evening with us. It was also easy to get used to him doing the majority of the cooking!

When I got home Wednesday night, it was to an empty house. Nothing was baking in the over or cooking on the stove. I was followed into the house by three hungry bellies and I didn't have a lot of time to get something together. I took a chance on an ingredient combination that popped into my head, and despite Frances' initial misgivings, we all agreed that it turned out quite well.

You'll need:

• 3-4 pounds of chicken thighs
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• cooking oil
• 1 cup Kauffman's apple butter
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp ginger

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Once the garlic smells good, add your chicken thighs and turn to cook on both sides. Mix the apple butter, soy sauce, and ginger well. Once the chicken is cooked through add the apple butter/soy sauce mixture and turn the chicken to coat it. Let the mixture cook down. Remove chicken from pan and pour sauce over it to serve.

We had ours with rice, peas, and Mandarin oranges. Yum!