You don’t need me to tell you what a weeknight warrior the slow cooker is. But perhaps you need me to remind you that you can – and should – mix up the sauces a bit. The wonder of a slow cooker is that you can put in two ingredients (a meat and a sauce) and you’ve got a full meal. But the mind always goes to two sauces: cream of mushroom soup and salsa. But don’t forget that just about any jarred sauce will work, a theory I tested out with Trader Joe’s lemon pesto.
Simply dump boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot with a full jar of TJ’s lemon pesto. I added a little salt and garlic as well. Cook on low for 7 hours and in the last 30 minutes toss in a package of cremini mushrooms and half a cup of fresh grated parm. (You could even add the mushrooms at the beginning of the process – just depends how firm you like em.) You may want to add some corn starch or cream in the last 30 minutes to thicken it a bit, but that’s up to you and your health goals. I didn’t do that and my sauce was thinner but no less delicious. I served mine over farro with a side of seasoned steamed broccoli. Note: the broccoli would have normally gone into the crock pot, but I knew my child would have no longer eaten it so I went the deconstructed route.
Peaches to Apples 