Aug

Chicken, Spinach and Parmesan Pasta in a Crock-Pot

chicken_spinach_parmesan_pasta_in a crockpot

Chicken, spinach and parmesan cheese with pasta, cooked in a Crock-Pot

Ok it’s been back to work for me and thus the time I have to cook is decreased considerably. Hello, Crock-Pot, whom I have been ignoring a bit lately, in favor of grilling. Crock-Pots are great for summer too though, keeping the kitchen nice and cool as the wonderful smells drift through the air.

You may remember my last Crock-Pot post, where my original beloved Crock-Pot met with a very unfortunate fate. Well, I almost don’t miss it because I found an exact replica within 2 days at a local thrift store. 3 bucks! In fact, it is in better condition (it has a knob, for example), and looks like it has hardly been used. I scrubbed it and bleached it clean anyway. It seems to be happy to be starring in this blog…

But back to me: I will admit that I was a bit desperate this morning but determined to make something as I was feeling terribly guilty that I hadn’t posted any recipes since Thursday night (late). I have several good excuses: in addition to the new job (which I really like so far, by the way) and the long commute, I went away this past weekend (and bought the most delicious sweet cherries I have ever had, in Door County, Wisconsin), and the strawberry icebox pie I made late last week to post early this week did not set (although it tasted delicious, so I will try it again; maybe it was the humid atmospheric conditions in Chicago last weekend where summer finally decided to poke its head in the door.)

So there was a pitch of desperation this morning, as I tried to firm up my vague plans of using some frozen chicken, frozen spinach, really delicious parmesan cheese, and maybe some pasta to pull it all together. I couldn’t find any recipes I really liked with chicken and spinach that didn’t have a can of soup in them — something I am trying to avoid - so I decided to throw everything in the slow-cooker and take my chances. I thought I had chicken stock, but nooooo - none, nada - could I just use water, I wondered — but there was a can of cream of chicken soup, waving its hand furiously from the back of the shelf, “pick me, pick me!!” like some always-forgotten scrawny kid in gym, and even though I didn’t want to use prepared soup, I did. I had no choice, really, and it was low sodium. Plus I think I have some problem where I sometimes feel sorry for abandoned inanimate objects. And animate ones too…

So I threw in the soup and 12 hours later it all came out really very tasty. Which is the really amazing thing about Crock-Pots: you throw in hard-as-a-rock chicken breasts, a hard-as-a-rock block of spinach, some hard pasta, a can of gloppy abandoned condensed soup and some freshly grated cheese and 8 hours later, you have a really tasty casserole dish, ready when you walk in the door after driving an hour and a half. It seems like loyal dedication to me - but it’s just nature taking its course.

You can easily change things around with this, in terms of what type of meat, vegetable, cheese, liquid or pasta you use. You could try beef, frozen broccoli, cheddar cheese and a beef stock.

As for cooking times, this dish cooked for about 12 hours on low, although I was able to call my son and have him stir it at the 6 hours mark. Cooking for about 7-9 hours would probably be better, but Crock-Pots are flexible, and if you get caught in bad traffic and errands like I did today, it will still come out well.

Chicken - 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 lbs. frozen breasts or breast strips
Spinach - 1 box, frozen
Pasta - 1 1/2 cups, dry (I used cut ziti)
Parmesan Cheese - 1 cup, grated, plus a little more for optional topping.
Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup - 1 can
Water - 1 can (from soup)

Spray the pot with oil (and try not to spray yourself and your new blouse, like I did)
Add the frozen ingredients at the bottom, and then the pasta and liquids.
Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or more if you get stuck in traffic. If you can, stir it at about 6 hours. If this isn’t possible, stir it at the end and let it cook a bit more.
Serve, sprinkled with grated cheese on top.

Other Crock-Pot meals you might like: