Thanksgiving Day is one of the best times of the year. It is a day filled with family, fellowship, fun, and of course, food. After all, Thanksgiving without a feast would be just another day.
To help you begin thinking about your holiday menu, we asked two of our favorite Hendersonville cooks, Towana Bowles, wife of Hendersonville Lifestyle publisher Lynn Bowles, and Debbie Murray, wife of Hendersonville Lifestyle editor Rick Murray, to share two of their favorite comfort food recipes.
Both of these delicious dishes are easy to prepare, and they are sure to be crowd-pleasers at any holiday occasion.
So, without further ado, gather your ingredients, break out your crock pot and prepare to dazzle your guests!
Towana’s Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients:
· 1 ½ lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
· 8 cups of chicken stock
· 4 cloves of garlic, minced
· 1 medium onion, diced
· 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
· 3 stalks of celery, diced
· ½ tsp. dried thyme
· ½ tsp. dried rosemary
· 2 bay leaves
· 8 oz. spaghetti, broken into thirds
· 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
· Juice of 1 lemon
· Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken into a 6-qt. slow cooker.
2. Stir in chicken stock, garlic, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.
3. Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred, using two forks.
4. Stir pasta and chicken into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for an additional 30-40 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
5. Stir in lemon juice and parsley.
6. Serve immediately.
Debbie’s Crock Pot Chicken & Stuffing
Ingredients:
· 4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
· 1 box of cornbread stuffing mix
· 1 can of cream of chicken soup
· ¼ cup of butter
· 2 cups and ¾ cup of chicken broth (divided into two containers)
· 1 ½ tsp. poultry seasoning or ground sage
· ½ cup sour cream
· 1 tbsp. dried and minced onion
Directions:
1. Place chicken in crock pot, cover and cook on low heat setting until almost fully cooked. Depending upon the size of the chicken pieces, the cook time will be 5-7 hours.
2. Heat 1 ½ cup of chicken broth with butter, onion and poultry seasoning until boiling. Remove the mixture from heat and add stuffing, stirring with a fork until fluffy.
3. Mix soup, sour cream and remaining ¾ cup of broth together and pour over the chicken in the crock pot.
4. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the crock pot.
5. Cook for an additional hour, or until chicken is fully cooked.
6. Serve immediately.