SnorklingGirl, you may be interested in a real German kraut recipe from a real German LOL. here is one that i use on top of brats. this was is also used as a side dish for potroast, real dumplings and tons of gravey.
2 plastic bags of the refrigerated kraut [not caned] i use Franks
1 pound of bacon
2 onions
pepper
take the kraut and put it in a pan and just give it one rinse. cut up the onions and put it on top of the kraut and shake some pepper on it all. then put enough water in there just to cover the kraut. put on the medium heat and bring to a boil and then cut down the heat and put it on simmer. in the meantime take that pound of bacon and cut it up in small pieces. put it in a fry pan on medium heat and fry it until it gets crispy brown.
let the kraut simmer for 20 minutes and put it in a colander to drain the liquid. then put the kraut back in the pan. at this time dump the bacon and the grease on top of the kraut and mix well. it's done. i have served this at getogethers i have of fishing groups and it's the no. 1 topping for brats or any sausage. this should be served hot on the brats. Reinhard