Creamy Bacon Ranch Chicken and Pasta

Over the last year or so, I discovered the joy of cooking with my slow cooker. I went on a kick where I was trying out new recipes on my family several nights a week. I had found this recipe on the Crockin' Girls website, and figured just by the recipe name (Bacon Ranch Chicken) that it would have to be delicious. Of course, I have made some modifications to the recipe and it has made it's way into our regular dinner rotation. I use more bacon, more garlic and have substituted Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. The great thing about this recipe is you can make this dish as sinful or as skinny as you like. I've listed both the skinny and sinful options in the recipe. Enjoy!

Creamy Bacon Ranch Chicken and Pasta

What You'll Need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  (I use frozen.)
• 1 cup of Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt (skinny) or Sour Cream (sinful)
• 1 can (98% Fat Free - skinny) Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 packet dry Ranch Dressing mix
• 2 large cloves of Garlic, minced (approx 1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 6-8 Slices of Bacon (sinful) or Turkey Bacon (skinny), cooked and crumbled
• 1 package whole grain ribbon noodles or egg noodles

Chicken Rigatoni in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

The other day I was trapped under a sleeping baby while my older son was watching Curious George. After Curious George ended, a cooking show came on. I'm always looking for inspiration so I decided to watch it. The woman went on to make a delicious rigatoni dish with chicken, herbs, tomatoes, cheeses and heavy cream. I thought it sounded amazing but I wanted to try to make it just a little bit healthier. So I decided to substitute Greek yogurt for the heavy cream and I was thrilled with the "skinny" results. Enjoy!

Chicken Rigatoni in a Creamy Tomato Sauce 


What You'll Need:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs,
  cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of Rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon of Savory
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes (I used the Fire-Roasted Garlic because I love the flavor.)
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek Yogurt 
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
• Rigatoni pasta, cooked to package directions