Stroganoff Light

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

*This recipe is made in a 5-quart or 6-quart slow cooker.*

## Ingredients

* ½ cup minced onion
* 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or the equivalent)
* 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (one can is 10.5 ounces net weight)
* 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (one can is 10.5 ounces net weight)
* 2 cans mushrooms, undrained (stems and pieces will do just fine—mine were Signature, 4 ounces each can)
* 2 teaspoons finely minced or crushed garlic (I used jarred garlic)
* 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream (I used Knudsen)
* 2 8-ounce packages brick cream cheese (I used Philadelphia in the silver package)
* 1 teaspoon vegetable or olive oil
* 2 chicken bouillon cubes
* 24-ounce package of wide egg noodles, cooked
* 1 Tablespoon salted butter
* Salt and black pepper to taste

## Preparations

1. Spray the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place the minced onions in the bottom of your prepared slow cooker crock.
3. Place the chicken breasts on top of the onions.
4. Open the 2 cans of condensed mushroom soup and the can of condensed cream of chicken soup.
5. Place the soups in a large bowl and stir them together.
6. Open the cans of mushrooms, but don’t drain them. Stir the mushrooms and liquid into the bowl with the soup.
7. Cover the chicken with the soup and mushroom mixture.
8. For the slow cooker: Cook on LOW for 5 hours. **(See Hannah's 1st Note)**
9. One hour before you want to serve your Stroganoff Light, take out the chicken breasts and cool them for 10 minutes on a carving board. Then cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.
10. Place the chicken pieces back in the slow cooker.
11. Add the crushed or minced garlic and the cup of sour cream.
12. Cut each brick of cream cheese into 8 pieces. Place the pieces in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave them on HIGH for 1 minute. Then let the bowl sit in the microwave for an additional minute.
13. Stir the pieces of cream cheese smooth and add them to the crock of your slow cooker.
14. Mix everything together and put the lid back on the crockpot. Then turn the slow cooker up to HIGH. Your Stroganoff Light will need to cook for another 30 minutes.
15. While you’re waiting for your main dish to finish cooking, find a pot large enough to hold the water for your package of noodles. **(See Hannah's 2nd Note)**
16. Place the required amount of water in the cooking pot.
17. Add a teaspoon of vegetable or olive oil to the pot.
18. Add 2 chicken bouillon cubes, center the pot on a stovetop burner, and turn the burner on HIGH heat.
19. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or a refreshing drink and sit somewhere where you can watch the pot to make sure it doesn’t boil over on the stove.
20. Once the water heats to the boil, stir the water again to mix up the chicken bouillon, and cook the noodles according to the package directions. **(See Hannah's 3rd Note)**
21. Once the noodles have cooked, drain them in a colander or a large strainer, in the sink.
22. Dump out the water in your cooking pot, add a Tablespoon of salted butter and return the noodles to your cooking pot.
23. Cover the cooking pot and set it on a cold stovetop burner. Stir the noodles to coat them with the butter.
24. When Stroganoff Light has finished cooking, add the salt and pepper to taste and give it a final stir. You may add hot sauce (I used Slap Ya Mama) at this point. **(See Hannah's 4th Note)**

* **Hannah’s 1st Note**: If you work and won’t get home in 5 hours, it’s okay as long as the slow cooker is on LOW. This dish will hold for up to 9 hours on LOW.
* **Hannah’s 2nd Note:** If you read the directions on the noodle package, it will usually tell you how many quarts of water should be used to cook the noodles.
* **Hannah’s 3rd Note:** You will have to watch the pot of water to make sure it doesn’t foam up from the noodles. I usually sit by the stovetop and stir it with a long spoon while the noodles cook.
* **Hannah’s 4th Note:** You have a choice to make. You can either dish up your entrée in the kitchen on plates that you will carry to the table, or you can serve it in a bowl with a ladle and a separate bowl for the noodles so that your dinner guests can dish it up themselves.

**Yield:** This recipe makes at least 8 servings. If you have leftovers, refrigerate the main dish in a covered container and the noodles in a separate covered container.

* **Hannah’s 5th Note:** To reheat noodles, simply put them in a strainer and dip the strainer in boiling salted water until the noodles are hot again.
* **Hannah’s 6th Note**: If you have Stroganoff Light left and you’ve run out of noodles, you can reheat it as a casserole. Simply put a layer of frozen hash browns in the bottom of a pan that’s been sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and ladle on the leftover stroganoff. Cover your pan with foil and bake it at 350 degrees F. until it’s nice and hot. (Try it for 30 minutes and test it—the baking time will depend on how full your pan is.) When your leftovers are hot enough, use a large spoon to serve your casserole and be sure to scoop up some of the yummy hash browns on the bottom.