Crock Pot Chicken Marsala

I have always loved chicken marsala. In fact, you might remember this appetizer recipe for Chicken Marsala Meatballs that I posted a couple weeks ago. Eating this dish elicits fond memories of childhood, visiting a popular Italian chain restaurant with my family and thinking it was the height of elegance to order chicken marsala. There we'd be: me, my mom and dad, my two sisters, my grandma, grandpa and uncle eating our salad and breadsticks. Out would come the holy grail of Italian food; my 9-year old self was in heaven! Chicken marsala is really quite basic, but flavor-packed due to the addition of bacon, mushrooms and of course, marsala wine. 

Fast forward a few years and you'll find me making a version of this childhood favorite in my favorite kitchen tool, the crock pot. Typically, chicken marsala is thickened with flour but I opted not to do that because I served it over egg noodles and I wanted plenty of sauce for them to soak up. If you like a thicker sauce, feel free to thicken it with flour at the end. Either way works and doesn't make a difference in the flavor (or the childhood memories). Buon appetito!

Crock Pot Chicken Marsala (adapted from momswithcrockpots.com)

4 oz. bacon

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

16 oz. sliced mushrooms

1/2 c. dry marsala wine

1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

12 oz. egg noodles, cooked according to package directions (for serving)

Chop the bacon into small pieces and brown in a small skillet over medium heat. Remove to a paper towel to drain. While the bacon cooks cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and place it in a 6 qt. slow cooker that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Add the mushrooms, wine, chicken broth, parsley, salt, pepper and bacon. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-4 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

6 servings (468 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com