Chicken Alfredo

This is an easy, make ahead & freeze type meal - if you want it to be. Obviously you can make it and bake it right away for dinner if you'd like. This meal is regularly included in my freezer cooking days. The first time I made this I made a mistake: I divided the meal into 2 freezer bags because it's a lot of food and I'm only cooking for two. I didn't take the fact that it was less food into consideration later when I threw it in the crock pot and I didn't adjust my cooking time accordingly. I shouldn't have cooked it for as long as I did, or I should have used a smaller crock pot (which I don't have yet... I'll get one eventually). The chicken ended up being pretty dry due to this and I almost didn't make it again. Once I realized it was my mistake, I made it again, cut down on the cooking time, and it was way better :) Mistakes aren't actually mistakes if we learn from them, right?

This is another recipe I found on Happy Money Saver:
Crockpot Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

So as I mentioned I divide this into 2 bags and get 2 meals out of it. If you do this, learn from my mistake and take a couple hours off the cooking time so the chicken doesn't dry out. You can also bake this if you don't have a crock pot, or if you forget to put it in the crock pot. I have done this and it turns out just as good. Bake it at 350, the timing will depend on how much chicken you have, quantity and size. I trim the breast up pretty good, cut them into 4oz-ish servings and pound/tenderize them before adding them to the bag, so mine cook up pretty good in about a half hour. If you're baking the entire recipe, you'll probably need at least 45 minutes to bake.

As far as ingredients are concerned, the only thing I don't use is the bacon. Sometimes if I remember, I'll throw some sliced mushrooms in there because I like them and think they go good with this dish.

If you make ahead and freeze, just remember to take out of the freezer 24 hours before you plan on making and throw it in the fridge to thaw. Keep in mind if you want to put it in the slow cooker in the morning, taking it out the night before will probably not be enough time to thaw. I have also done this, and I just ran the bag under some hot water to loosen it up enough to get it out of the bag and into the crock pot. I did not notice a difference in the taste of the dish when I did this, so no biggie!

Boil up your noodles (I have used penne, fettucini, & farfalle, but it's all the same, whatever you have in your cupboard will do) right before dinner time and you're set! Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top if you like and enjoy!