Because mom said so...

Sundays are my food experiment days.  Meaning, this is the day I try out new recipes.

I like to make something big on Sunday so that Monday night is covered with leftovers........and if I can get a few extra servings in a Tupperware for lunch that week, then that's a bonus too.

So while I'm not organized when it comes to having a "meal plan" for us, I do at least have a Sunday ritual that gets my week started off easily.

For these Sunday experiments, I've found that I always gravitate to crockpot dinners.  Mainly because they end up being simple.  But also because they usually have large servings.

One crockpot dinner my mom kept urging me to make was Creamy Chicken Italiano.  It was in a cookbook she had.  She promised it met all my Sunday requirements.

Then one day, while browsing Pinterest, I found a similar recipe.  Seeing a picture was all I needed.

 Crockpot Italian Chicken

(adapted from here and here)

a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup of water
a packet of Italian dressing mix
8 oz. package of cream cheese - softened
a can of either cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (I've used both)
your choice of pasta (bowtie for me)

Place the chicken in a crockpot, and add the Italian dressing and water.  Cook on low for about three hours.  After three hours, shred the chicken, then add the soup and the cream cheese directly to the crockpot.  Cook for another hour or so, stirring occasionally.  During this time, cook up your pasta.  Then after four hours, serve over a bed of your favorite pasta.....

As you can see, I like pepper.  Very, very much.

You don't have to pepper yours quite as much.

Or you can.

I support that.