cutting board and two forks (or electric hand mixer for shredding)
spatula
Non-stick cooking spray
meat thermometer (optional)
large pot for pasta
Ingredients
4largeboneless skinless chicken breasts (1 ½ to 2 pounds)
8ozblock of cream cheese, softened
1envelopedry ranch seasoning mix
1cancondensed cream of chicken soup
½cupmilk
½cupshredded parmesan cheese
1red bell pepper, diced
1cupbacon, cooked and crumbled
12ozpenne pasta, or pasta of choice
optional: chopped fresh parsley for topping
Instructions
Spray a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker insert with non-stick cooking spray.
Place raw chicken breasts in slow cooker.
In a large bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, ranch seasoning, cream of chicken soup and milk. Beat on low until all ingredients are combined then beat on high for about a minute until most of the cream cheese is smooth. It’s okay if there are still a few small chunks of cream cheese in the mixture, these will melt during cooking.
Stir parmesan cheese, red bell pepper and crumbled bacon into the sauce mixture.
Use a spatula to pour the mixture over raw chicken in slow cooker.
Cook (lid on crockpot) on high 3-4 hours or on low 6-8 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Internal temperature of chicken breasts should be at least 165 degrees F.
Once chicken is fully cooked, remove chicken (leave the extra sauce in the slow cooker for now) and shred chicken either on a cutting board using two forks or with an electric hand mixer.
Stir the shredded chicken back into the sauce in the crockpot.
Cook and drain pasta and stir pasta into the crockpot mixture. Stir until all pasta is coated in sauce.
Cook (lid on crockpot) for an additional 30 minutes on high.
Optional: top with chopped fresh parsley before serving.
Notes
* If you prefer more sauce, reduce the amount of pasta to 8 ounces. With 12 ounces of pasta, all the pasta and chicken are coated well but there isn’t a lot of extra sauce.
Refrigerate cooled leftovers for up to 3 days in a sealed food-safe container.