Slow Cooker Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Healthier Creamy Sauce

I was shopping at Sam's Club and I had a taste of Zatarain's Chicken with Creamy Sauce which they were providing for the shoppers to sample.  I really liked it.  I decided to come up with a healthier version of the creamy sauce and below is my attempt to do so without sacrificing the delicious taste of what I had at Sam's Club.  I made it also more convenient by doing a slow cooker version of the chicken and creamy sauce.  The broccoli and pasta are cooked separately and added at the end of cooking the chicken and sauce.  I used low fat cream cheese but if you prefer you can use instead cream or half and half.  The number of calories per serving was 447, which is decent for a complete dish of pasta, vegetables, fat and protein.  A side of green salad can complete the meal.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with Healthier Creamy Sauce

6 servings

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 4 oz low fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 12 oz broccoli florets, cooked
• 8 oz pasta ,cooked according to package directions (I used elbow macaroni)
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in the slow cooker EXCEPT the Parmesan cheese,  broccoli florets, pasta, salt and pepper. Cook at low setting for 6 hours or at high for 3 hours.  I cooked mine in an Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.  At the end, add the Parmesan cheese, broccoli and pasta and mix them with the rest of the ingredients.  Add salt and pepper to taste.