Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Vermicelli

This is a super easy slow cooker dish that I just kind of made up one day.  If you are a food snob, please turn away now, because this recipe involves throwing chicken into a slow cooker and dumping a bottle of sauce on it.  Not fancy by any means, but it's a quick and easy way to get dinner on the table on a busy weeknight and it tastes really good too.

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken with Vermicelli

Ingredients:

4-6 pieces of chicken (drumsticks or breasts)

½ bottle of Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato Marinade

¼ cup plus 2 tbsp parmesan, divided

4 servings vermicelli

1 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

Place chicken in slow cooker.  Cover with marinade and 2 tbsp parmesan. Turn to coat. Cook on low for 4-6 hours (bone-in will take longer than boneless).

When chicken is done, remove from slow cooker and set aside.

Cook vermicelli according to package directions.

Pour cooking liquid out of slow cooker into a small saucepan.  Combine cornstarch with cold water and add to liquid. Bring to a boil until thickened. Add ¼ cup parmesan.

Drain pasta and toss with sauce.  Serve chicken on top.

Makes 4 servings.

In the past I have avoided pairing chicken with spaghetti.  It seemed like it just didn't "go".  Spaghetti should be eaten with beef, if any meat at all.  But one day I didn't have anything planned for supper for some reason, so I put some chicken in the slow cooker and then raided the fridge to see what kind of sauce I could put on it.  We were out of barbecue sauce, but this half a bottle of marinade caught my eye, so I thought, "Why not?".  It's really tasty and when you thicken the cooking liquid with cornstarch, it makes a lovely light pasta sauce.  

I think the first time I made this I used drumsticks, but the second time I used breasts.  They both work well.  

I was surprised at how much I liked this.  I learned that chicken does go with spaghetti!  My family really likes it too, so it's one of my go-to easy slow cooker meals.

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