I love using the crockpot to make dinner for those busy nights all families have pretty often. The reason why the night is busy doesn’t matter, just the convenience of starting dinner during a quiet part of the day. One of our favorite meals for the crockpot is Italian Chicken and Potatoes. We usually add carrots too, but they’re optional.

When my kids were still on baby food, this was one of my favorites to make and grind up in my food mill. I kept it super mild, of course, but chicken that has cooked in a crockpot is very easy to grind up. It made a much better tasting baby food than that jarred stuff. I wasn’t ambitious enough to make a lot of baby food, but I did some.

This is a delightfully lazy meal to make. Cutting up the potatoes is the only part that takes some work.

The carrots are optional. These days my kids don’t like cooked carrots, but I do. I didn’t add them this time, but most times I do.

Otherwise, you just have to put in the chicken, throw on some spices, Italian dressing, and Parmesan cheese, then add the carrots and potatoes, and adding more spices, Italian dressing, and Parmesan cheese.

I honestly don’t measure things very often for this one. This is crockpot cooking, not baking. So long as you don’t overdo the spices or something, it should be fine.

One of the things I loved most about making this recipe with small children underfoot was how flexible the start time was. If I didn’t think to start it early enough in the day, it could be cooked in the crockpot on high rather than low, and still be ready for dinner.

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Crockpot Italian Chicken and Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup Italian salad dressing
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 4 potatoes; peeled cut into wedges
• 1 lb baby carrots optional

Instructions

• Place chicken in bottom of crockpot.
• Sprinkle with half Italian dressing, spices, and the grated cheese.
• Put potatoes and carrots (optional) over chicken. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients.
• Cook on low 6-8 hours.

1) Place the chopped carrots, squash, and parsnip in a medium-size, deep saucepan.

2) Fill the pan with water until it reaches about three centimeters above the vegetables.

3) Bring the ingredients to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until everything becomes soft.

4) Use a masher to slowly mash the vegetables into a puree.

5) Constantly stir until all of the ingredients are well mixed and of a smooth consistency.

6) Add the corn flour and water mixture, making sure to keep the mixture simmering until the soup has become thick and pasty.

7) Add enough salt to suit your taste.

8) Sprinkle ground black pepper and parsley on top of the soup when you are ready to serve.