January is Slow Cooker Month and I decide this was most likely declared by a Canadian. Don’t Google it, let’s just believe it. It is us Canadians can look at both the harsh January blah’s and busy schedules, then announce praise for the almighty slow cooker.
It’s just gotta be one of my all-time favourite inventions. Some prep in the morning and a meal done by dinner – I bow to thee!
It comes at no surprise that I love to expand my collection of slow cooker recipes. Grow baby grow, as I rub my palms together in celebration. I mean, yes, I slaved ALL DAY for this delicious meal. Shhhh.
I recently tried the Slow Cooker Cacciatore recipe from the Kraft Canada website. Pasta, chicken, italian spices … you bet I was trying this recipe! Verdict? Score!
Prep was super easy: the slow cooker was on before we flew out the door for school drop off. The scents filling the home throughout the day were divine, and then after activities and homework was completed – dinnertime!
Cook pasta, top with the cooked Slow Cooker Cacciatore, toss on some Kraft Mozza Cheese and some fresh parsley – done!
Speaking of cheeses though, did you know that January 20th was National Cheese Lover’s Day? I know, like you need a special day to tell you to love cheese. Laughable, right? So, pile it on my friends, the more {cheese recipes} – the better!
The nice thing about this recipe is that you can add more or less {?} cheese, choose your favourite pasta for the dish or make other additions and substitutions if you so wish. I made this right by the recipe and it was great, perfection!
What is your favourite slow cooker meal?
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- 2 lb . boneless skinless chicken thighs 900 g
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cans tomato paste 5.5 fl oz/156 mL each
- 1/4 cup 25%-less-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp . dried basil leaves
- 1 tsp . dried oregano leaves
- 1/4 tsp . black pepper
- 1 pkg. sliced fresh mushrooms 1/2 lb./225 g
- 6 cups fibre-enriched white rotini pasta uncooked
- 1 cup Kraft Part Skim Mozzarella Shredded Cheese
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
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Place onions in slow cooker; top with chicken and bay leaf. Mix next 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Add mushrooms; stir to evenly coat. Spoon over chicken; cover with lid.
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Cook on LOW 7 to 9 hours (or on HIGH 5 hours). About 15 min. before ready to serve, cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
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Drain pasta. Remove bay leaf from chicken mixture; discard. Spoon chicken mixture over pasta; top with cheese and parsley.
This version of cacciatore is based on a classic recipe using tomato paste, so the flavour of the sauce is more strongly tomato and less like a pasta sauce. If you prefer a spicier sauce, increase the basil, oregano and pepper – and be sure they are within their shelf life so that you are getting their full flavour. Substituting dry white wine for the broth enhances the sauce flavour nicely, too.
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I am a What’s Cooking Ambassador for Kraft Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation
with the company. The opinions on this blog are my own.
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This looks like my kind of meal, easy prep with delicious results. We do like our sauce kind of spicy, maybe it’s a Texas thing so thanks for mentioning how to spice it up a little!
HA! I was just telling my husband I needed a good chicken recipe for tonight’s dinner. Problem solved!
This looks delish. I am always searching for new recipes and we LOVE cheese!
ROFL! You don’t have to be a Canadian to appreciate the Slow Cooker! I use mine at least once a week, it’s a total lifesaver. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Constantly on the lookout for slow cooker recipes and this one I will try! My dad and I make completely different versions of ‘cacciatore’ and this one looks just as good. Going to pin too!
Looks so delicious!!! Easy to make and tasty too!
That looks fabulous Tammi. My family loves pasta, so definitely going to have to give it a try!!!
Thanks for the recipe. It looks really easy. I have a slow-cooker and I’ve been looking for new recipes to try.
I love using the slow cooker. You can set it and forget it. Well, not really forget it right since you smell your supper cooking all day. I have to make this one. Pinned! Thanks for sharing.
Looks SO good.
Thanks for this awesome recipe i am always on the lookout for great slow cooker recipes!
Yum! This both looks and sounds delicious! I think I’d serve this over quinoa!
Thanks for the recipe!
easy prep and this tastes so good
Love slow cooker meals. No muss no fuss.
i gonna make this very soon. looks yummy
this makes me wish I had a slow cooker. what kind of slow cooker do you use?
It looks delicious
Looks so good. I am going to have to get a slow cooker. So many recipes on the go for them.
yum looks and sounds so good. we love pasta in this house and I love cooking with my slow cooker.
love it so simple and easy and ingredients that I always have on hand
I love a slow cooker recipie- when I get home from work- its a nice treat to have food ready
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it looks really good. I love my slow cooker during the winter months!
This looks great! Think I’ll try it out one night this week 🙂
Oh my yum! You had me at slow cooker and then I saw the gorgeous photos of this delicious meal. Pinning and adding to my rotation this week.
I made your recipe Tammi for supper last night and it was a hit! Thanks again!
I love making crockpot dinners , so much easier & always pleasing , so many recipes to do in the crockpot now & this one sounds & looks delish & easy, thank you for sharing
Why omit the salt? Not salting the water you cook the pasta in does a couple of bad things.
It reduces flavor. Remember that salt, before it starts tasting salty, helps bring out other flavors. Pasta tastes good and the only way to get flavor INTO the pasta is to salt it during its cooking. If you add flavors after it’s cooked, those flavors get ONTO the pasta, not in it.
It impacts how the sauce interacts with the pasta. You want all that delicious sauce your crockpot spent so much time producing to really adhere to the pasta. The salt alters the way sauces stick to the pasta. Salted pasta means sauce sticks to it.
So, while the recipe looks like it might be pretty tasty, salting the pasta vs not can dramatically the entire dish!