Pasta

Sometimes the weekend is so packed full of activities I can’t bear to think about what to make for dinner when Sunday evening comes around. On those nights, this hearty chicken pasta is my new answer for the never-ending “What’s for dinner?” question.

Here's how I make it my own:

• Since the recipe is so simple, I take a few minutes to chop up a fresh onion instead of using frozen. You’ll need 3 cups of diced onion.
• Add some fresh herbs when you stir in the cheese at the end. Try thyme or parsley.
• Use the time you saved from actually cooking dinner to make up a killer dessert. Like theseCannoli Cream Mini Pies that prep in just 20 minutes!

Ingredients

• • 1/2 lb uncooked  pasta
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 package (20 oz) boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 bag (12 oz) frozen chopped onions, thawed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 packages (8 oz each) sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup shredded 6-cheese Italian cheese blend (4 oz)

Steps

• 1Spray 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix pasta and cream. Toss to coat; set aside.
• 2In slow cooker, mix chicken, onions, Italian seasoning and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, stacking chicken up sides of cooker.
• 3Pour pasta mixture into center of chicken mixture, being careful to prevent pasta from touching sides of cooker.
• 4Pile mushrooms over pasta mixture, covering all the pasta pieces.
• 5Cover mushrooms tightly with foil.
• 6Cover and cook on Low heat setting 6 hours or High heat setting 3 hours. Turn off heat; stir in cheese.