Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

It never fails. Whenever I cook for my in-laws, it’s always a new (to me) recipe. I don’t know why. When my husband and I lived with my in-laws, I experimented with stromboli and breakfast tater tot casserole. When my brother-in-law came to visit us at our apartment, I made pancit canton. And when my parents-in-law came over to the house to watch the Super Bowl, I made crock pot cream cheese chicken. Fortunately for me, none of these were disasters, and they all became favorites.

At the insistence of my husband, I made the crock pot cream cheese chicken again a few nights ago – he just finished the leftovers today.

Adapted from Budget Savvy Diva

Serves 6

4 chicken breast halves or 8 chicken breast tenders
1/2 T. Italian seasoning
2 T. melted butter
1/2 t. dried onion flakes
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/2 of a 1 oz. packet of dry ranch dressing mix
1 can (10.75 oz.) cream of chicken soup
1-8 oz. package cream cheese
1/4 c. chicken broth

Put chicken, seasonings, and butter in crock pot. Cook on high until chicken is done. Shred chicken in crock pot. Add cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Continue to cook until cream cheese is melted and mixture is warmed through. Serve with your favorite pasta.

When I made this for the Super Bowl, I made a couple of mistakes that actually worked for the dish: I added a full can of cream of chicken soup and full 8 oz. package of cream cheese (hey, extra sauce for the pasta, right?). I did, however, have to add extra seasoning to make up for the blandness. Half of a 1 oz. packet of dry ranch dressing mix did the trick. When I made this the other night (or I should say when my husband prepped it), I cut the amount of Italian seasoning in half, as a full tablespoon was a little much for my taste.

So now it’s perfect, for us anyway. I serve it with whole wheat penne – a 13.25 oz. box cooked, drained, and added to the crock pot and mixed with the cream cheese chicken.

Tip: Go ahead and use low-fat ingredients with this. I couldn’t taste the difference. Also, you  might want to serve with a sweeter side, as the dish is savory. We’ve used peas (as you can see in the picture) and carrots with a brown sugar glaze.