Going Outside the Box… Literally
I had a super busy week, but I was still determined to create one “home cooked” meal. Knowing time was not my friend this week I figured it was a good week to do a crockpot meal. I turned to Pinterest and started researching. There were tons of recipes so that part was easy. The tricky part was I am a picky eater and scared to try new things. After searching and searching I finally came across Tomato Basil Chicken. It seemed easy enough and I actually liked the ingredients it called for. I went grocery shopping and prepared to make this meal on Sunday.
Sunday came around and I was really excited to prepare this meal and see how it would turn out. I pulled out all my ingredients, my crockpot, and went to work.
The recipe said it would only take five minutes of prep time and that was completely accurate. I don’t even know if it took five minutes. I started by throwing the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce into the crockpot. I added the cream, seasonings, and chicken and it was ready to go. I substituted chicken breasts for chicken thighs because that’s what I had on hand and I prefer them over breasts. The recipe said it would take about 3-5 hours on low. I knew I was running out and I didn’t want it to overcook so I chose to set it for 3 hours on low. I figured if it needed more time when I got home that was fine. I set my crockpot to turn to warm after three hours and headed out. This crockpot is amazing because it has a timer feature as well as a meat thermometer attached. I came home and it was ready!
I left it warming while I made my pasta and Caesar salad. I have a Tupperware pasta maker and it works super well. You fill it with your pasta and throw it in the microwave. It doesn’t boil over and has a built in strainer.
This meal was nothing like the boxed mac and cheese I am used to and I would definitely make it again. I would give it a 9/10 for easiness, 8/10 for taste, and a 10/10 for quickness.
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Oh my goodness! This looks absolutely delicious AND it’s time friendly. I am also a super picky eater, so finding and trying new meals that I’m willing to actually make can be tricky. I am so grateful for the link to the recipe because I am totally trying this out sometime this week. I really enjoyed the rating at the bottom as I will definitely be following this journey for some more recipes.
This meal looks so good! Growing up our family was always on the run and my parents often looked to crockpot recipes when they knew they wouldn’t have much time to make something. I know crockpot recipes can get a lot of hate sometimes, but they make life so much easier when you are busy. I will definitely be adding this one to a listen of meals I would love to try!
Hello Kassidy! I love using Pinterest for recipes, they are always so many options to pick from! That looks so good, can never go wrong with pasta and chicken! I think it’s great that you are learning how to cook home-made meals, all I know how to cook are noodles and an egg sandwich. If you have any pointers or fun recipes, send them my way!
I love using Pinterest for recipe inspiration Kassidy! There are so many recipes on that site that are easy to follow and generally turn out pretty good. What a great project to learn – cooking can be fun but I find I need to have the motivation to do it. Another place I like to find easy and delicious recipes is Facebook and Tik Tok. Most of the videos I find on those sites are short and easy to follow. The only annoying thing about using a recipe video is that you have to pause it often to follow along. I also loved your crockpot use. Those things make cooking so much easier! Good luck on your next recipes!