2021 Heart Healthy Recipe Book 2 | Page 8

SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN PARMESAN WITH EGGPLANT AND ANGEL HAIR PASTA

This recipe is the best of both worlds . Chicken Parmesan , eggplant Parmesan , and pasta are rolled into a tasty meal , for which the slow cooker does all the work .

Servings : 6

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant ( peeled , finely chopped )

• Cooking spray

• 28-ounces canned , no-salt-added crushed tomatoes , ( 1 can )

• 1 tablespoon salt-free Italian seasoning ( divided )

• 1 / 4 teaspoon salt-free Italian seasoning ( divided )

• 2 pounds boneless , skinless chicken breasts ( 2 large chicken breasts ), all visible fat discarded

• 1 / 8 teaspoon salt

• 1 / 8 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 12 ounce packaged , whole-wheat angel hair pasta , broken into quarters ( 1 package )

• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

• 1 / 4 cup shredded , fat-free mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Peel the eggplant and finely chop it into small pieces , about 8 cups .

• Coat the bowl of a large slow cooker with cooking spray . Add chopped eggplant , crushed tomatoes , and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning to the slow cooker bowl . Use a spoon or spatula to combine . Add chicken breasts into the slow cooker , snuggling them into the tomato and eggplant mixture . Sprinkle remaining ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning , salt , and pepper onto the chicken . Set the slow cooker to cook low for 7 to 8 hours , or to high for 3 to 4 hours .

• When almost ready to serve , remove chicken from slow cooker onto a plate , along with ½ cup tomato-eggplant sauce . Break the angel hair pasta into quarters and stir pasta into the tomato sauce . Add chicken back into the slow cooker on top of pasta , pouring that ½ cup tomato-eggplant sauce over chicken . Top with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese .

• Cover and cook until pasta is done , about 15 to 25 minutes . ( The pasta will cook on the quicker side if the slow cooker is set to high heat .)

• Cut each chicken breast into 3 portions and serve with eggplant pasta .

Quick Tips Cooking Tip : When using a slow cooker , always place items that take the longest to cook on the bottom near the heat source . In this case , the eggplant takes longer to cook than the chicken .

Keep it Healthy : Switching whole-wheat pasta in place of a typical one made from white flour adds a variety of vitamins and more fiber . Consider trying spaghetti squash instead of pasta . You can microwave the squash in just a few minutes .

Tip : Many spice blends contain added salt , so it is important use a salt-free Italian spice blend .