Crockpot Wednesday: Chick'n & Artichoke Cheesy Pasta

Rating: 2/5

Coming up with a recipe each week for Crockpot Wednesday has proven to be more of a challenge than I anticipated. First is the fact that a good blogger should test a recipe at least twice before posting. I rarely have the opportunity to do that and therefore appreciate feedback if something did or did not work out for you. Secondly, I'm single and so I end up with a lot of food for little ol' me! Between those reasons I try to pick recipes that will have high success and will be something I'm willing to eat for days. Most of the meals get packaged up and frozen for me to take to work.  I still get sick of them, though, even with rotating through them.

This week I wanted something simple and I wanted to try to incorporate a Gardein product as I am still eating vegetarian this May. I chose a cheesy chicken artichoke pasta. Thing is, sometimes you wonder about these so-called slow cooker recipe. Is it something that should be done in a crockpot? Or is it something that is better to be done on the stovetop?

In this case, I'd say the latter, especially if the chicken and the noodles are already cooked.  If you use raw chicken breasts, then yes, it does well for the crockpot. But if you use fake chicken (Gardein) or cooked rotisserie chicken leftovers, you might as well just do it on the stove.

So I leave you with this recipe with those little caveats. I will admit that I goofed and put the pasta in to cook the whole day when I was supposed to put it at THE END, thus the rather gloppy mess. It still tasted good. After all, it all ends up in the same place, right?

Note:  I'll be busy with a reunion over Memorial Day weekend. So the next two Crockpot Wednesdays are a bit up in the air. They might be reposts or links to other sites.

Chick'n & Artichoke Cheesy Pasta

adapted from about.com

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breast, cubed or 3 pieces of Gardein Chick'n Scallopini, cubed
• 4 oz roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 1 can (15oz) artichoke hearts, quartered
• 8 oz process American cheese
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 cups hot cooked pasta ( 8 to 10 oz)
• salt & pepper to taste

Combine chicken, peppers, peas, artichokes, Havarti cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and soup in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, add cheddar cheese and hot cooked pasta. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.