Kitchen

[Snicks1]

Here is another one I have made it the crock pot. It never takes quite as long as the directions say, btw.

Comforting Chicken and Noodles Crock Pot


1 24 ounce package – frozen egg noodles
2 – 14.7 oz cans – cream of chicken soup – sometimes i use 1 can chicken and 1 can cream of celery
1 stick (1/2) cup butter – cut into pieces
1 – 32 oz chicken broth – may want extra to thin out, if too thick. the frozen noodles thicken the broth
mixed vegetables – optional – i didn’t use this time
Chicken buillon to taste – optional – i add about a teaspoon of better than buillion chicken flavored paste – for a richer chicken flavor
6 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 4 large
salt & pepper to taste – can add some parsley too if desire

Salt & pepper chicken breasts and place in the bottom of crock pot. Spoon soup over the chicken. Cut butter into several pats and place pieces evenly over soup.
I whisk the bouillon with the broth and pour over soup.
Place lid on pot and turn to low. Cook for 6 hours.
Remove chicken and tear into pieces. Add back to pot.
Now add noodles and if adding veggies add now. Cook for another 2 hours or until noodles are desired tenderness. I stir a few times during last 2 hours. ( You may want to add more broth to thin out at the end of cooking, as the home made noodles thicken the broth, which we like. )
Sprinkle with parsley and mix in, if using at the end of cooking.
Salt & pepper if needed and Serve.

[HonnyBrown]

Hi snicks!  Thank you for the recipes!  They look pretty fool proof.  I haven't tried making soup in my crock pot yet.

[HonnyBrown]

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@islandergirl wrote:

One slow cooker secret I have is that when making chicken and meat dishes, I put the chicken or meat in frozen...doesn't get overcooked or dried out that way, everything comes out moist and tender.  

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island, thank you again for this tip.  I made curry chicken yesterday using frozen chicken breasts.  It came out perfectly!

[barrel racer]

I only use my crockpot for soups, stew and chili. We don't like meats like roast or chicken, I use my Nesco for those.

[HonnyBrown]

4paws, I am the only person in the world who can't make crock pot chili.  I refuse to try it again.

I am going to make the soup recipes snicks suggested.  They look easy enough for me to try!

A slow cooker definitely has a learning curve.

[Toppers]

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

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@islandergirl wrote:

One slow cooker secret I have is that when making chicken and meat dishes, I put the chicken or meat in frozen...doesn't get overcooked or dried out that way, everything comes out moist and tender.  

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I hope I remember that little tip.  I gave up doing chicken in the crock pot because it's never been good.
 

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I've had better luck when using chicken pieces, as opposed to roasting a whole chicken. 

I have used boneless chicken thighs in some recipes for example, and the recipe turned out fine. 

However, roasting a whole chicken has turned out well for me.  

I personally think that it depends on how much liquid gets added to the cooker when making a roast. I add very little liquid when roasting when following my own recipe. That's just a personal choice that I make.

I add just enough liquid if I want some type of sauce or gravy, otherwise I think that there can be too much liquid.

The exception that I make is if I'm following a recipe that calls for a certain amount of liquid to be added to it, and even then I may cut back on the amount of liquid added to it if I think that the end amount may have too much liquid in it, where I think that the end result might be "too soupy."

[HonnyBrown]

Toppers, that was one of my first experiments: a whole chicken.  I would buy a 4-5 pounder from Aldi, remove the skin, and drop it in the crock pot.

I moved from that to pork roasts.  This week, I'm going to try a beef roast.

I don't see the point of adding liquid to a crock pot.  Most meats are brined, and veggies have a lot of water.  They both make their own liquid.

[Razzy 7]

HonnyBrown,

I second the person who said she just didn't like the texture of food cooked in the crock pot. You might consider replacing it with the Instant Pot Digital Pressure Cooker. I think you'll like the texture and taste of the food better and it doesn't have the ability to use it like a crock pot if you really want to - however if you're like me, you'll likely want to give the crock pot away once you have the Instant Pot and pressure cook your food. I gave my crock pot away.

[HonnyBrown]

Thank you for the suggestion!  I'm going to stick with the Crock Pot.  I am getting good at making a few things.

I still can't master the liquid levels.  I made a curry last week, and hubby said it was too soupy.  It really was; I didn't touch it.

[Toppers3]

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@HonnyBrown wrote:

Thank you for the suggestion!  I'm going to stick with the Crock Pot.  I am getting good at making a few things.

I still can't master the liquid levels.  I made a curry last week, and hubby said it was too soupy.  It really was; I didn't touch it.

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Hi @HonnyBrown,

I would encourage you to just keep experimenting and to keep on trying with your recipes, to see how they turn out.

It took me awhile before I felt comfortable using a slow cooker. 

If there is too much liquid in them for you, you can always thicken them up by adding something that will thicken the recipe for you.

For example, you can add some flour or cornstarch to make a thicker sauce/gravy, or you can even add some instant mashed potatoes or some tapioca too to thicken them that way, or you can leave the lid off of the cooker and turn it on high for half an hour or so to cook some of the liquid out of it, too.