Creamy Italian Chicken

By WhystleStop

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken, cubed (you can dredge in flour and fry lightly if you prefer)
• 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 (8 oz pkg) cream cheese, softened
• 1 (10 3/4 oz can) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 (4 oz can) mushroom stems and pieces, drained (optional)
• 1 (1 lb bag) baby carrots
• Hot cooked rice or noodles (see below)

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 300mins
Adapted from southernfood.about.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place the carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker. Then layer the cubed chicken breast atop. Combine salad dressing mix and water; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 hours. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together cream cheese, heavy whipping cream and soup until blended. Stir in mushrooms (if used). Pour cream cheese mixture over chicken. Cook 1 to 3 hours longer or until chicken juices run clear. Serve Italian chicken with rice or hot cooked noodles.

Notes from Marka:
I served this over Uncles Ben's Wild Rice & Chicken, the sauce was just the right consistency, the chicken absolutely yummy and with the rice it really was an elegant presentation! Heartily recommended!!!!!

Note from Frieda:
If I have time, I have dredged the chicken cubes in flour and lightly browned the chicken before putting in the slow cooker. This adds an unbelievable depth of additional flavor. I also use Success Boil N Bag Brown Rice and add a 90 sec pouch of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice to add color and flavor to the rice as well. Butter the rice before layering on plate.

I have also been in a hurry and simply layered all the ingredients in the slow cooker except the rice and it turned out great.

If I've been short on chicken breasts, I've opened a can of cooked chicken breast, shredded it with a fork in a bowl, and added to the recipe that is short on the chicken. The slivere of chicken are another great contrast to the cubes and adds a thickness to the sauce.