I Love My Crock Pot

Yesterday was a FABULOUS day!  My daughter came to visit with the two most perfect grandkids a grandmother could ever ask for.  We played and played, took a nap, visited with friends, and played and played, sang songs, drew pictures, and, of course, we ate.  I tried a new recipe from theskinnycrockpot.com.  My daughter is always a good one to try new recipes on.  It was good, but I think next time I'll make a few little changes to the recipe.  I'm going to post the recipe with the alterations that I'll make next time.  It made so much that I put the leftovers in the freezer for dinner another night.  I LOVE IT when that happens! It was even nicer that the recipe was mostly made in the crock pot so I had more time with my babies.

Chicken Zucchini Ziti 

1  24 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
1  box wheat penne pasta, cooked
2 cups cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 cups shredded or cubed chicken, optional
2 large zucchini (1/4” slices)

1 onion thinly sliced or chopped
3/4 tablespoon oregano 

3/4 tablespoon basil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cook pasta, drain, and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl combine cottage cheese, mozzarella, oregano, basil and black pepper. In the Crock Pot, spoon 1/4 of spaghetti sauce onto the bottom, add 1/3 penne pasta, 1/3 shredded chicken, 1/3 of zucchini slices and onion, and top with 1 cup cheese mixture.  Repeat until you have 3 layers. Top off with remaining spaghetti sauce and cheese.

Cover and cook on high for approximately 2 – 2 1/2 hours.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Note to self:  As you spread the cheese mixture be careful to keep it away from the edge of the crock pot by about an 1”. Cheese tends to burn if touching the sides while cooking.

I couldn't take the picture before part of it was scooped out.  My camera was being used at the time to upload a video of my grandson sending Poppaw a message.  Poppaw loved it!  I hate he wasn't here in person.