Slow Cooker Recipes Make Family Mealtime Easy — Italian Chicken with Mushrooms

by Carla Collier

Family meals are extremely important for building relationships and maintaining family unity. As Lori Merrill points out in the Called to be a Keeper study, Research has proven that a family that has family meals together has a much better chance of staying intact than one that doesn’t. Make this a priority for your family. School activities, meetings and sports schedules can make this challenging, but with creativity and determination it can be done at least several nights each week.

Two of my favorite cookbooks are Cooking Light’s 5 Ingredient 15 minute Cookbook and Better Homes and Garden’s Dinnertime Easy Slow Cooker Recipes because they help me save time in the kitchen and still provide my family a delicious home-cooked meal. Here is one of my favorite recipes for the “crockpot” — it is elegant enough for company!

Italian Chicken with Mushrooms

Prep: 15 min.

Cook: Low 4-5 hours

Makes: 8 (generous) servings

Slow Cooker: 3 1/2- 4 quart

2 (8-oz) pkg. fresh button mushrooms (sliced or quartered)

2 (6-oz) pkg. fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced (or available type!)

8 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 3 lbs.) (I usually use a 3-4 lb bag of frozen chicken tenders– the tenders cook faster and are easier to serve.)

1/2 c. butter (I eliminate or reduce this to make recipe healthier)

2 (7-oz) pkg. Italian dry salad dressing

2 (10 3/4-oz) cans condensed mushroom soup

1 cup dry white wine

1 (8 oz) tub cream cheese spread with chives and onion

(This recipe can be made lower in calories and fat content by eliminating butter and using reduced fat soup and cream cheese.)

Hot cooked rice or angel hair pasta (I usually use egg noodles)

snipped fresh chives (optional)

1. Rinse mushrooms and place in slow cooker. Place chicken breasts on mushrooms in cooker. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and stir in dressing mix, soup, white wine, and cream cheese till melted. Pour over chicken and mushrooms in cooker.

2. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 4-5 hours (Do not use high-heat setting).

3. Serve chicken and sauce over cooked rice or pasta. If desired sprinkle individual servings with chives.

nutrition info- per serving: 405 cal., 17 g. total fat (9 g. sat. fat), 110 mg chol., 1,043 mg sodium, 26 g. carbs, 1 g. fiber, 32 g. protein.

(from Better Homes and Gardens Dinnertime Easy Slow Cooker Recipes)

Read Lori Merrill’s other tips for making your family mealtime special and positive in the Called to be a Keeper book – Week Seven: Called to Create a Home, Day 3.