I am not a gourmet cook. I don’t even try new recipes all that often. I experiment a little but tend to stick with recipes that my family likes and I can make quickly while I am working. This Chicken and Noodles recipe is one that I have been experimenting with for about a year and always get rave reviews over. I think it is finally ready to pass along!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Noodles

Family Favorite Slow Cooker Chicken and Noodles

3 skinless chicken breast halves
4 cups chicken broth (2 cans)
2 cups water
16 oz. package Reamers frozen egg noodles (homestyle)
1 package frozen crinkle cut carrots
2 stalks of celery (optional)
onion
salt
pepper
poulty seasoning
2 T cornstarch

Directions:

1) Place the chicken, water, broth, salt (to taste), pepper (to taste), and celery (optional) in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked the whole way through but not falling apart.

2) Remove the chicken and set aside. Put the noodles and carrots into the crockpot for 30-45 minutes depending on how soft you like your carrots.

3) Shred the chicken and sprinkle it with poultry seasoning to taste. Dissolve the cornstarch in a just enough water to liquify it.

4) When the noodles and carrots are done, return the chicken to the crockpot as well as the cornstarch mixture.

Cook for at least 30 minutes on high or leave it for up to a couple more hours on low, depending on how much you want the broth to turn to “gravy” as opposed to broth. You can even make it one day like this and refrigerate overnight and then return it to the crockpot to heat up briefly the next day if you like the gravy to be really thick or are making it ahead for company.

Chicken breasts are the easiest way to make it, but it will be more flavorful if you use other chicken parts. I always throw them in if I have them (like leftover rotisserie chicken). You just have to be very careful to strain your broth for bones before you put the noodles in. I also sometimes use frozen mirepoix (celery, onion, carrots) if I have it instead of the crinkle carrots. You can also cut everything up fresh, but the point of the recipe is to keep it as simple as possible!

I’m not a huge cook, but I do try to make healthy meals for my family most nights. I am an avid slow cooker user (at least once a week–and sometimes 2 of them at a time). That’s why my very favorite cookbook is Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly by Phyllis Pellman Good.

I was originally turned onto the cookbook by some friends in the Sunshine Rewards forum. Since I have started using it, I get requests from my other friends almost every time I make a recipe out of it. Crowd favorites are Taco Soup, Roasted Chicken, and Chicken and Dumplings. I made the Chicken Soft Taco recipe for Bunko one night and ended up making 5 copies of the recipe to send home with people.

The cookbook sells for less than $10, and I just saw that there is a revised and updated version coming out this month. My own version is about 7 years old, but I will probably buy the new one just to see what has changed. It might also help to have some clean pages because mine are well worn! The new version says that it contains 600 recipes. I’m not sure about my version, but it is probably close to that. They all have the nutritional information listed so that you can see exactly what you are eating. In my case, I also use it to figure up Weight Watchers points.

Check out both the old and new versions of Fix It and Forget-It Lightly. Buy one for a friend and you will both love it!

My family isn’t really into pot roast, but we eat a lot of chicken. I love using my slow cooker (crockpot) to make meals in the morning and have them ready for dinner. This is a meal that I came up with combining a few different recipes. It literally takes me 5 minutes to make and my family thinks I cooked all day!

Crockpot Roasted Chicken

1-2 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 can of cream soup (potato, celery, mushroom–whatever you like)
1 envelope of dried onion soup mix
2 cans of whole potatoes
1 small bag of baby carrots
half a stalk of celery

Put the chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the soup and soup mix over it. Layer the carrots, then the potatoes, then the celery over that. Cover and turn on low for 6-8 hours. Stir toward the end.

It’s okay if your chicken breasts are still a little bit frozen. Just account for that in your cooking time. I keep the veggies on top so that they don’t get too mushy. You can put them under the soup and soup mix if you would like. This is a really healthy meal that you can then serve with a side of fruit and even biscuits or bread.

I love to cook in my crockpot (I think we’re supposed to call them “slow cookers” now). The hard part is that not a lot of crockpot meals fit my Weight Watchers points. One of my favorite cookbooks, however, is nothing but healthy and low fat recipes that you can make in your crockpot. It’s called Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly. They have a whole line of slow cooker cookbooks, but this is the one with the great low fat recipes.

What I do is go through and pick out a handful of recipes and run them through the Weight Watchers point counter. Then I write the point totals into the book so that the next time I cook, I don’t have to look them up again. I also write in any alterations that I have made.

Tonight we are having Taco Soup. It’s a lot like chili except a little more soup-like in consistency and includes a ranch dressing packet, which gives it an extra kick. It’s 5 points a serving and everyone in my family loves it. We also make the Chicken Soft Tacos regularly as well as the Chicken and Dumplings. The key is just testing things out and then leaving notes in your margins so you know what to go back to later. With hundreds of recipes, you will be cooking new healthy and light recipes in your crockpot for your family for months to come!

You can pick up Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly at Amazon or most book sellers.