Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken Spaghetti

We all know I love cheese....seriously, its an addiction. I also love crock pot recipes because, lets face it, sometimes I get really lazy when it comes to cooking. SO, when I stumbled upon this little beauty on Pinterest I was delighted. You can read the original post here. I love getting on Pinterest, finding recipes and tweaking them to perfection, and that's exactly what I did with this little gem. This recipe takes about 15 minutes to prepare and then 2-3 hours to cook. It's also slightly spicy, but in my opinion, it was just enough to give it a little kick.

Ingredients:
-16 oz. Dry Spaghetti Noodles
-1 lb. Velveeta Cheese
-2 cups cooked chicken**
-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1 can Rotel
-4 oz. can mushrooms (stems & pieces, drained)
-1/2 cup water
-1 small onion diced
-pepper to taste

**I used chicken breasts and shredded them, but you can also cube the chicken. To make this recipe even faster you can buy pre-cooked canned chicken at the grocery store.

To start off, I sprayed my crock pot with non-stick cooking spray to prevent sticking. Then, I cut my Velveeta cheese into 1 inch cubes and threw them in the crock pot This doesn't have to be exact by any means! Next, I added the cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and water. Stir this mixture and set the crock pot to low.

While the cheese mixture is starting to melt together, place your chicken breasts in a pan of water and boil for about ten minutes. In order to get 2 cups of cooked chicken, I used 4 chicken breasts (2 of which were tiny), but this also doesn't have to be exact. Use however much chicken your heart desires! This is also a good time to get your noodles cooking. Cook them according to package directions (generally this means to boil them for 8-10 minutes). While your chicken and noodles are cooking, cut up your onion and throw it in the crock pot. At this time you can also add your Rotel and mushrooms.
Once you chicken is done cooking, shred it by using two forks to pull the meat apart. If you are having a hard time shredding your chicken, it needs to boil longer. When it is done, the meat should easily come apart. I like to use shredded chicken because then there is meat in every bite. If you are pressed for time, you can cube the chicken. Once you have your chicken shredded (or cubed) toss it in the crock pot. Stir everything together and add some pepper. I put enough pepper in to cover the top and then stirred everything together. Next, drain your noodles and then stir them in. Let the crock pot cook for 2-3 hours on low and ENJOY!!! We got a little hungry and started eating after it had been cooking an hour and a half... we just couldn't wait :).

Here is a picture of your final product:







This recipe keeps excellently in the fridge and can be taken for lunch the next day or eaten as leftovers for a few nights.

Tip: To make this recipe healthy healthier, use whole wheat noodles, 2% Velveeta, and reduced fat or fat free cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups.

Tip #2: To make this recipe REALLY spicy, use "hot" Rotel.