Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken (small batch)

 

I think I am pretty late to the Marry Me Chicken party. Its not something I have ever made, although I have been hearing about it for a while now. Marry Me Chicken is your favorite cut of chicken doused in a Parmesan and sun-dried tomato cream sauce alongside bacon and angel hair pasta. 

This slow cooker version resembles that only in that it has a deliciously creamy sauce filled with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. There is no bacon here, although you could certainly crumble some crispy bacon over the top of each serving.

I have always loved using my slow cooker to make delicious meals on busy days. They are a great way to do some hands-off cooking, leaving you free to do other things. 

  

I had some chicken breasts and was looking for a delicious way to use them in the slow cooker the other day and came across this Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken recipe on a blog called, Taming Twins. It looked right up my alley, and I had been wanting to try Marry Me Chicken, so the timing was right.

I did make a few changes.  First of all, I cut the recipe in half to make only two servings. That worked beautifully. I also added some North American measurements as the original recipe was in metric. (British/European.)

I also added some frozen chopped spinach at the end to give a bit of extra texture and an additional pop of green color.  This worked beautifully and I ended up with a spectacularly delicious dinner.  I served this with rice which I cooked in my Pampered Chef Rice cooker in the microwave.

I enjoyed half myself and took the other half to my next-door neighbor who was most appreciative. She really enjoyed it also.  I call this a winner winner chicken dinner! Rich, creamy, and delicious!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SLOW COOKER MARRY ME CHICKEN (SMALL BATCH)

Not a lot of ingredients and most of them pretty simple as well. This is a half-sized batch, making two servings. Simply double to serve more people.

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 TBS plain all purpose flour
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed (about 1 tsp)
• 5 sun dried tomatoes in oil, patted dry and finely chopped (Do not use the ones not in oil as they will be too tough.)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 2/3 cup (180ml) boiling water
• 1/2 chicken stock cube, crumbled

To add at the end:

• 1/4 cup (50g/2 ounces) cream cheese, crumbled
• 2 1/2 TBS (25g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp chopped basil leaves
• a handful of frozen chopped spinach (optional)
• salt and black pepper to taste (I did not need any)

 

You will need a smaller crockpot for this recipe. I do not recommend doing this small batch in a large slow cooker.  Mine is a 2 QT Crockpot brand which I bought on Amazon.

I use it all the time. It works beautifully.

I dare say you could also do this in the oven, although you would have to keep a closer watch on it. I would cook it in a very low oven, no more than 325*F/160*C. It wouldn't take any longer than an hour I don't think.

 

My chicken breasts were not overly large, only about 3 ounces each/85g. Cut them into bite sized pieces.  Do not use a large amount of salt. The stock cube will be salty, so be judicious.

I didn't have fresh garlic cloves, so I used the refrigerate organic crushed garlic.

DO use the sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. They are much more supple. Pat them dry and then chop them finely.  The dry packed ones would not soften enough and come out chewy. 

Adding the spinach was my idea. I wanted a bit more green to make the dish pop a bit more and I knew that spinach would go with the rest of the ingredients.  I had a pack of frozen chopped spinach and so threw some of that in at the end with excellent results.

I did not have any fresh basil, so used freeze dried basil leaves.  They worked fine.

 

HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER MARRY ME CHICKEN

Another dump and go kind of a dinner with a few things stirred into it at the end.

My chicken breasts were both about the size of my hands. I have smallish hands. Cut them into bite sized pieces and toss them together with the flour, salt and black pepper. Pop them into the bottom of the crockpot.

Add the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, oregano, paprika, crumbled stock cube and water. Give everything a good stir together.

Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the chicken is cooked through.

Whisk in the cream cheese, Parmesan, basil leaves and spinach if using. Stir until the cheese melts into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Serve hot with rice, noodles or potatoes.

  

Crockpots/Slow cooker meals are perfect for busy days. I often throw something into the crockpot on Sunday mornings so that a delicious dinner is waiting for me when I arrive home after church. Here are a few other recipes which I enjoy.

CROCKPOT SAUERKRAUT SOUP - All you need is a jar of sauerkraut, some fresh veg, stock, tomato puree and a bit of smoked sausage and you have the makings of a deliciously simple dinner. In fact, you could not get much easier than this. This is one very simple and delicious soup!

CROCKPOT CHICKEN & STUFFING - Delicious and simple to throw together. This is a quick and easy dump and go dinner. Chicken and stuffing cook to perfection in the slow cooker, with a simple cheesy sauce. All you need on the side is perhaps a vegetable and some potatoes and a delicious dinner is served!

Yield: 2 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken (small batch)

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 2 H & 30 MTotal time: 2 H & 40 M

Rich, creamy and deliciously perfect for those days when we have a lot on our plates to do and know we won't have a lot of time to spend cooking. This is simply fabulously tasty!

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 TBS plain all purpose flour
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed (about 1 tsp)
• 5 sun dried tomatoes in oil, patted dry and finely chopped (Do not use the ones not in oil as they will be too tough.)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 2/3 cup (180ml) boiling water
• 1/2 chicken stock cube, crumbled

To add at the end:

• 1/4 cup (50g/2 ounces) cream cheese, crumbled
• 2 1/2 TBS (25g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp chopped basil leaves
• a handful of frozen chopped spinach (optional)
• salt and black pepper to taste (I did not need any)

Instructions

1. My chicken breasts were both about the size of my hands. I have smallish hands. Cut them into bite sized pieces and toss them together with the flour, salt and black pepper. Pop them into the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Add the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, oregano, paprika, crumbled stock cube and water. Give everything a good stir together.
3. Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Whisk in the cream cheese, Parmesan, basil leaves and spinach if using. Stir until the cheese melts into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
5. Serve hot with rice, noodles or potatoes.

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