It’s happened, friends. My oldest baby isn’t a baby any more and has started pre-school AND dance class. Plus, JW has started fall harvest and I’ve started prepping for VandeLittle #3. In other words, our normally crazy life has just gotten way, way crazier. And it ain’t going to slow down any time soon.

Enter my salvation in the form of my trusty slow cooker! I honestly don’t know what I’d do without it! I love just dumping everything in the crock pot and forgetting about it until it’s time to eat.

This Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce is one of those meals that require very little prep to get started. Just dump and go! Then, about 20 minutes before dinner time, preheat your oven to bake some garlic bread, cook and drain some pasta, shred the chicken (which honestly pretty much shreds itself because it ends up being so tender), and add the last couple of ingredients. And bam! Dinner that even your kids will love is done!

How to Make Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce:

Spread a little of your favorite jarred (or homemade if you’ve got it!) marinara sauce on the bottom of your crock pot. Add in chicken tenders, diced onion, minced garlic (I like to use a garlic press), the rest of the jar of marinara, and the cream cheese. Throw in a couple of bay leaves, some Italian Seasoning, a little crushed red pepper flakes (or a lot, depending on your love of spice), and some salt and pepper. Put the lid on your crock pot and cook on high for about 3 hours, or on low for about 6.

When it’s almost time for dinner, cook the pasta of your choice according to the package directions (I like to use Cellentani, which is like a thin tube/corkscrew), making sure to salt your water. While the pasta is cooking, remove the chicken from the crock pot and shred it, then add it back in. Chop some spinach and some fresh basil, and throw that in the crock pot at well, giving everything a good stir until the cream cheese is blended in and the spinach starts to wilt. If the cream cheese isn’t fully smooth, don’t panic! It’ll be fine once you add the pasta, which you should do once it’s done cooking and been drained. Give everything a good stir, taste for seasoning, and serve topped with some shredded mozzarella and/or parmigiana.

Looking for more pasta recipes? Try one of these!

Chicken and Sausage Pasta

Asparagus and Prosciutto Penne

Summer Vegetable Angel Hair

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Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Crock Pot meals are the perfect way to feed a crowd on a busy day, and this Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce is sure to become a family favorite!

Course Main

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Basil, Chicken, cream cheese, crock pot, marinara, pasta, slow cooker

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Servings 6 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1 lb Chicken Breast Tenders Approx.
• 1 Onion, diced
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 25 oz Jarred Marinara
• 12 oz Cream Cheese
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Cups Spinach, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
• 1 lb Pasta, such as penne or cellentani
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions

• Pour a small amount of the jarred marinara into the bottom of a slow cooker and spread it around to act as a bed. Add in the chicken tenders, onions, garlic, the rest of the marinara, Italian Seasoning, bay leaves, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and finish with the cream cheese.
• Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3.
• When the time is up, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
• Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred, then add back in.
• Stir in the spinach, basil, and cooked, drained pasta. Taste for seasoning. Serve topped with shredded mozzarella.

The post Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

With businesses opening back up, schools being back in session, and harvest season starting, busy is about to be the name of the game again. When life gets crazy, keep dinner easy and tasty with this Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili!

Well, friends, harvest season in Northeastern Indiana has officially begun. JW is spending long hours working in the fields and in the semi, while I’m holding down the fort at home as well as I can. Oh, and in case you missed it, VandeLittle the Second decided to enter the world a few weeks before we were expecting him. So in other words…life just got all kinds of cray cray.

Photo Credit to Mallarie Ranae Photography

Spring planting and fall harvest are generally the busiest time of year on the farm. There is a window of time that farmers have to get crops planted and harvested. Though modern technology allows us to cover much more ground in much less time, planters and combines can still only cover so many acres in a day. The push to get all of those acres taken care of means that meals with the family around the table just aren’t on the agenda, so a lot of meals end up being eaten in the field.

Even during a normal year (you know, a year when we aren’t throwing a new baby into the mix), freezer meals, slow cookers, and my Instant Pot are my best friends when harvest rolls around. Freezer meals and the Instant Pot are great because I don’t always get a lot of notice when JW needs me to bring food. He works for an amazing family that feeds the entire crew a few nights a week, but there are always some meals that he’s on his own for. On those days I need something that is basically already ready to go or has a short cook time. The slow cooker is my BFF on those days when I know ahead of time what’s happening, but also know that I’m going to want something to be ready without much fuss when dinner time rolls around.

This Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili is the perfect meal for when life decides to go off the rails. It can be made in the crock pot, on the stove, in the Instant Pot, and even freezes really well. In fact, I almost always freeze the leftovers any time I make a batch. Then all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer, put it in the crock pot for a few hours, and dinner is ready when we are ready for it!

If you’re making this Taco Chili in the slow cooker, you’ll want to brown your hamburger first. I also like to go ahead and put my onions and cumin in with the hamburger while it’s browning. Then all that’s left to do is dump all of the ingredients in your crock pot, and cook it all on low for 5 hours or high for 3. Serve with your favorite chili fixings. I love Fritos or tortilla chips, lots of shredded cheese, sour cream, and a little diced onion.

Another great idea would be to use your Instant Pot so you’re not getting an extra pan dirty. Just turn it on saute mode for your hamburger and onions, then add everything else and turn on slow cooker mode. If you prefer to make this recipe on the stove top, start off by browning your hamburger with the onions in a large skillet. Drain any fat, then add everything else. Simmer on medium to medium high for at least 20 minutes to give all of the flavors time to combine.

Cooking this one from frozen? No need to defrost any more than to be able to get in in your crock pot! Put it in frozen, and increase cook time by about 1-2 hours.

This recipe is sponsored by the Glass Barn, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili

When life gets crazy, keep dinner easy and tasty with this Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili!

Course Main, Soup

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword bean free, easy dinner, freezer food, Instant Pot, slow cooker

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 hours hours

Servings 6 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced
• 1 Can Corn, Drained
• 1 Can Diced Green Chilies or Jalapenos
• 2 14 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Can Tomato Sauce
• 3 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Fritos Corn Chips, Diced Onion for Serving

Instructions

• In a large skillet, brown the ground beef along with the diced onion.
• Combined the browned beef and onion with the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2 hours.

Notes

I

The post Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.