Slow Cooker Texas Chicken Spaghetti

 

Almost 20 years ago this coming May, I moved from Minneapolis to East Texas.  One of the best things about moving to Texas was the amazing food and the much warmer weather.  After growing up in what seemed like the frozen tundra, Texas winters was quite the relief.

If you were to ask me what my favorite Texas meal would be, it would be chicken spaghetti.  I know this may sound crazy but it’s really an art form down here and everyone has their own secret way of making it.  I know you’re thinking Texas?! What about smoked brisket, BBQ or TexMex?  Where did this chicken spaghetti thing come from?  Doesn’t sound very Texan but it’s a big deal and I had no idea until I moved here.

So over the years, I too have come up with my own way of making it (chicken spaghetti right of passage). A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try it out in the slow cooker with some tweaks to my usual recipe and the results were absolutely incredible. It turned out to be so much better, richer and yummier than my usual stove top because it had hours to really meld the flavors.

Don’t let the “Texas” part scare you if you avoid spice.  This recipe can be tweaked easily by not including Rotel tomatoes if you’re not into a little (very mild) slight kick.  Rotel is very mild to me but my taste buds have been Tex-fied 🙂 Also, if you want to kick it up even more like we do, add a small can of chilies but I did not include that in the recipe.

Here is the recipe;

Slow Cooker Texas Chicken Spaghetti 

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Butter
2 Uncooked Chicken Breasts
3 Cups Chicken Broth (I like to use Swanson)
1 Cup Water
1 10 oz. Frozen Package of PictSweet Seasoning blend (onions and peppers) **see picture below
16 oz. Spaghetti Uncooked
8 oz. Cream Cheese
10 oz. Can of Rotel Original Tomatoes w/Green Chilies Drained (optional)
8 oz. Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Dill Weed
Salt and Pepper to Taste

***PictSweet is a frozen mix of diced onions, pepper and seasonings found in the frozen section. This is what it looks like if you have never used it before, it saves so much time (no dicing) and the seasoning adds a great flavor to everything.  This is what it looks like:

 

Directions:

Place butter, chicken breasts, PictSweet, chicken broth, water, in slow cooker and turn on low for 8 hours (high for 4 hours).  *** I have now made it both ways (on high and low) and there is a difference and the low is better.

When you are  60-75 minutes away from serving, remove lid and shred the chicken breasts and at the same time, add the rest of the remaining ingredients and break spaghetti  into thirds. Close the lid and continue cooking.  After 25 minutes of closing the lid, reopen and stir everything really good,bringing up the bottom contents to the top and vice versa to make sure the spaghetti doesn’t stick together and the cream cheese and cheese get mixed well (spaghetti won’t be done at this point).  15 Minutes before you serve, stir one more time really well.  You won’t hurt it if you cook it even longer after you stirred for the last time.

Again, this is a very tweakable recipe and I can’t wait to try out some different cheeses like Gruyere or dill Havarti.  Also, I want to try it with mushrooms too.    I like to serve our chicken spaghetti with a small salad and garlic bread- more carbs, right?

I hope you guys give this recipe a try and then come back and tell me what you think, how you tweaked and any new additions you discovered.  It’s so good!

By the way, I have been using the slow cooker for almost every meal since I have been so busy I have found some really great recipes that we have tried on Pinterest and I have pinned them on my slow cooker recipe board here, if you’re interested.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Cheers!

Cyndy