Chicken Ranch Cream Cheese Casserole - Smaller Meals - Quarantine 2021

I made this recipe with just two chicken breasts in my 4-quart slow cooker. I know this recipe is known as "crack chicken" on the Internet but I never wanted to try it (probably the name) until I saw Norreen make a freezer meal out of it. Her meal was larger and meant for 4 hungry adults so I halved it. Noreen made it and froze it before cooking it. 

I have yet to see if it can be frozen from its cooked stage, but I know as a stand-alone meal it's delicious. It also will be really good cold. So today I will have it as a cold chicken salad sandwich. 

I think it would make a fabulous stuffing for cannelloni or ravioli as well. For cannelloni, I would likely add some cooked spinach and cover in nice garlic bechamel or plain bechamel. 

In the pictures, you can see it as a meal on a roll, as well as how it looked in the slow-cooker.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts defrosted and cubed - on the bottom of the slow cooker

1 whole onion sliced fine - second layer

2-4 tablespoons ranch dressing dry mix - over the top of the onions

1 block cream cheese cubed - last, as shown in the photo

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or whatever you like - at the end after you turn off the slow-cooker

Method:

Spray your slow cooker with oil. Add the cubed chicken. Add the onion on top of the chicken, then the dry mix ranch dressing (I used 4 tablespoons), the next time I will use 2 tablespoons. Cube a block of cream cheese and place it on top. Put on high for 2-4 hours. I did 4 hours. When it was done I added some shredded marble cheese, because--well--cheese makes everything better. 

When the chicken is done--I did this step 3 hours into the cooking process--break the chicken cubes into smaller sections. I liked it a little chunkier, and then stirred in the cream cheese. The cream cheese stayed on top nicely the whole time and did not melt into the mixture until I mixed it in. It simply sealed the top in a way. The onions helped create the water for the chicken to cook in. All in all, a fabulous meal, easy to make, and very family-friendly. 

I hope you are all well and happy. 

Stay home, stay safe, and help where you can. 

~ Cookin Mum ~