Slow-Cooker Chicken Ziti
Is there anything better than noodles in a hearty red sauce with ooey-gooey cheese? How about making it in a slow-cooker with chicken?
Makes
8 servings
Prep time:
5 minutes
Total Time:
4 hours
Good For:
Dinner
Inroduction
About this Recipe
This recipe comes to us courtesy of Danielle Grandinetti, who is not only a membef of my Patrons & Peers group, but also a fabulous novelist! When I asked my ladies for recipes she promised me some Italian goodness from her family’s wealth of recipes to tie in with Shadowed Loyalty. Because, hello! The Grandinettis are not only Italian, they’re even from Chicago! They totally would have been near-neighbors to the Mancaris. 😉
Of course, like all good Italian cooks, Danielle soon realized the problem: she doesn’t have written recipes for this stuff, she just makes it. 😉 So our lovely friend made it again for us so that she could actually measure out the ingredients she uses for this delicious Crock-Pot dish and write it down.
I, of course, love a great slow-cooker meal…but if by chance you didn’t plan so far ahead (which I also sometimes do), you could absolutely make this with shredded chicken from a leftover whole chicken, or just brown your chicken breasts in a pan first and then combine and pop into a 350-degree oven until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Whichever way you cook it, this will be a crowd-pleasing family favorite!
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1 28oz can of crushed tomato
- 1 15oz can of diced tomato
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons basil
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 large bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 15oz can chicken broth
- 1 lb chicken breast (or chicken breast tenders), thawed
- 1 cup water
- 1 lb ziti pasta
- 1 ¾ cup shredded mozzerella
- 1 ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
-
- Combine tomato and seasonings in crock pot, stir.
. - Add chicken and broth. Cook on high for 3 hours (or longer to sure chicken is cooked).
. - Stir in pasta and water, cook on high for 15 minutes, stir. Cook an additional 5-10 minutes, until pasta al dente.
. - Turn off heat. Stir in cheeses. Serve.
Notes:
Cooking time may change for gluten free pasta, or other types of pasta.
If using dairy-free cheese, make sure it is a kind that melts well.
Optional Toppings:
Grated parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Cayenne pepper flakes
From the Books
This classic chicken and pasta dish could have graced the table of any of the families in Shadowed Loyalty. They would have had to make it via stovetop and oven rather than in a slow-cooker or Crock-pot, but the results would have been the same…and would have brought those Capecce boys home for dinner, for sure!
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