Bacon Ranch Chicken

Fun story about this recipe. For the most part, I'm the one who seeks out new recipes for us to try, and I usually pay more attention to the picture than the ingredient list. If the picture looks good, I usually assume that it'll taste good, even if there are some unusual flavor combinations or ingredients (such as Panko Pork, Red Pepper Tomatillo Tilapia, and Chipotle Pork with Pineapple Salsa). However, this also means that I don't really put much consideration into the "health content" of the ingredients; I generally operate under the assumption that cooking at home is inherently healthier than eating out, regardless of the recipe. Darrell, apparently, does not feel that way. When I gave him the ingredient list for this recipe so he could prep it for the crock pot, he questioned why we were fixing this recipe. I told him that it sounded good and that it came highly recommended from a neighbor (another thing that I value when it comes to recipes--recommendations!). He responded that there was nothing healthy about it in the least and that it probably wasn't worth our time to cook it. I told him that it was a little bit late for him to establish that because we already had all the ingredients and needed to make it anyway. So we did. And you know what? I'm glad we did. And so was Darrell. Sure, we probably won't prepare this as often as some of our other meals, because it really is loaded with some heavily processed items not very high on the health scale, but a little indulgence once in a while is just fine. And for a crock pot dish, it ended up having pretty good flavor, which is something that doesn't always happen. So maybe just ignore that health-conscious voice in your head every once in awhile and indulge in a little calorie-laden deliciousness.

Bacon Ranch Chicken
(from our dear neighbor, who got it from The Crock Pot Girls)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (the original recipe called for 2 tbsp bacon bits, but Darrell refused to used bits and insisted that it needed more bacon)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package spicy ranch dressing mix (or regular ranch, but we liked the little kick)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz container sour cream
1 package egg noodles, cooked

In a medium sized bowl combine bacon, garlic, ranch, soup, and sour cream. Mix well. Place chicken into a crock pot and pour sauce over the top. Cook on high 3-4 hours. Shred the chicken and add the noodles to the crock pot. Stir to combine and serve immediately.

Oh, and for anyone who is familiar with Boss's Pizza, this dish is (not surprisingly) very reminiscent of their Chicken Bacon Ranch pizza. That may or may not have been one of the main reasons I was so excited to try this recipe. I heart Boss's Pizza and love that there is one less than a mile from our house. Thankfully Darrell does a better job exercising self-restraint than I do otherwise we'd end up getting their pizza every few weeks, if not more often.