Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Slow cooker recipes are my favorite. It's so nice to prep dinner in the morning and have it ready when it's time to eat! In this recipe, you cook the chicken and sauce in the slow cooker, then cook your pasta separately and mix it together before serving. My kids love this meal!

Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
adapted from familyfreshmeals.com
1 lb. chicken breasts
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (1 oz) packet dry ranch dressing mix
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
½ tsp of pepper
½ cup water
8 oz. of spaghetti, cooked
 6 strips of bacon, cooked and diced
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray; place chicken breasts in cooker.
2. In medium bowl, mix garlic, ranch, soup, sour cream, pepper, and water. Pour over top of chicken.
3. Cover; cook on low heat setting 6 hours or on high heat setting 3 to 4 hours.
4. When about 15 minutes are left, cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package.
5. Just before serving, shred chicken with 2 forks, and toss creamy chicken mixture with cooked spaghetti, cooked bacon, and peas. Salt and pepper to taste.

Where I Cook

I've been in my new house in Texas now for 6 weeks, and I thought I'd post a few pics so you can see my behind the scenes. I love this kitchen! I especially love how big it is! There is ONE thing that I hate which you can see in the last picture.

I have lots of cupboard and drawer space. There is a pocket office in the back that keeps my papers out of the kitchen. My pantry is back there too. I love the big seating area at the bar, and that it's open to our living room space. 

Here's a pic from when we were looking at the house (husband and realtor included). When we moved in the kitchen was painted a dark brown. I miss my Washington white kitchen, but like the knotty look of the brown cabinets, so I decided to paint the kitchen walls an antique white. 

I've never had a wall oven or wall microwave before and they're great!

I have a nice gas cooktop and since the oven is on the wall, I've got space underneath to store my big pots.

Here's my pantry. Lots of space for my machines, big things, jars, and food. 

This is one of my favorite things. A big island with an outlet! I'm still trying to figure out the best place to take pictures of my food. I've been going back and forth between the kitchen table in this pic, and the dining room table.

And finally the one thing I hate...this is the switch for the disposal. Waaaaaaaay down the counter and around the side. I have to walk over there to turn it on, and I can't see if everything is going down the drain. So I leave it on, walk back to the sink, then go turn it off. SO STRANGE! I also hate the fact that my kids can turn it on at any point when I'm doing the dishes if they ever feel like chopping up my hands. But other than that, I think the kitchen and I will work very well together!!! :)

Creamy Tortellini and Sausage

Made this yummy one pot meal last week. Actually, I was a little busy when it was time to start dinner so my husband made it! He said he thinks it tasted better than normal because he made it himself and wondered if that's how I felt about my food. I told him yes. Haha. The tomatoes with the broth and cheeses make a great sauce. We used turkey sausage and Colby jack cheese, but there are lots of substitutions you could do. I added a little shredded Parmesan on mine and served it with a Caesar salad and these breadsticks. Next time I'm going to add a little pinch of red pepper flakes. 

Creamy Tortellini and Sausage
adapted from yellowblissroad.com
1 TBSP oil
½ cup diced onion
1 lb package of turkey kielbasa, sliced
1 cup chicken broth or water
20 oz. package of refrigerated tortellini
28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, cut in the can with kitchen scissors
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 TBSPs cream cheese
2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook onion until soft.
2. Add sausage and cook until browned.
3. Add chicken broth, tortellini, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often.
4. Turn heat down to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is cooked to al dente. 
5. Remove from heat and add cheeses. Cover and let stand for five minutes, then stir the melted cheeses until incorporated. Serve hot.