I love a good crock pot recipe! I don’t care if it’s cold and rainy or sunny out, they are always perfect. They are the easiest way to prepare meals with a child around, in my opinion. Today was definitely a crock pot kind of day. I bought Remy a swing set/ play house. You know, the one with the slide and the rock climbing wall, an attached swing set. Super cool right? That’s what I thought until the box arrived and it clicked that I would have to be the one to put it together. Alone. Wonderful. The directions on the box say 7-10 hours to assemble, just for reference. I quickly realize this whole day and most likely evening will be spent outside putting this monster together. The last thing I want to do after that is cook, so crock pot to the rescue!
I have so many recipes to share with you, but I am going to start with one that is Remy’s favorite- Italian Chicken and Noodles. This one is perfect any time of the year, and can easily be thrown in the crockpot in the morning before your child wakes up, or they can help you by adding the seasonings to the crockpot. It does contain raw chicken, so you may want to handle that on your own depending on your child’s age. It has two steps, and 5 ingredients- what is better than that?!
Here is what you need:
- ½ – 16 oz bottle Italian salad dressing
- 1 package Italian salad dressing mix
- 1 8 oz packages cream cheese- softened
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1.5 pounds skinless, boneless chicken shredded
- Parmesan cheese as desired
Step 1: You can have your child help here- In a large bowl, whisk together the Italian dressing, the packet of Italian dressing mix, cream cheese, and cream of chicken soup until smooth. This process of mixing ingredients with a whisk can be a little tricky with the little ones, but once they learn the concept of keeping the whisk on the bottom of the bowl at all times, they master it a little easier.
Step 2: Mom, place the chicken into a slow cooker and wash your hands. Then, cover chicken with the perfectly mixed chicken soup cream cheese mixture, and cook on low for 6-8 hours until chicken is cooked through.
Serve over pasta with parmesan cheese and a salad! We love bread here, so we obviously have to have garlic bread too.
Enjoy!