Zesty Chicken and Vegetables in the Crock Pot

I've been having a difficult time getting myself motivated to cook dinner lately.  I realized that I was in a rut and was getting really bored with making the same things for dinner over and over again.

The fall weather always puts me in the mood to cook, but with this new season, I wanted to find some new dinner ideas to incorporate into last week's menu plan.

While checking out some recipes I found online, I was looking for two things.

• One, the recipe had to be pantry-friendly. I didn't want to have to hit the grocery store for a bunch of ingredients we didn't have, when I have a pantry full of food just waiting to be added to a recipe!
• And Two, I wanted to use my crock pot. I wanted to be able throw dinner together in the morning so I could enjoy the rest of my day with Grace.

This recipe definitely fit my criteria.  After a quick check of my fridge, I saw that I had slightly more than enough Zesty Italian dressing to put together this simple, crock pot meal! 

I increased the veggies (with the addition of onions and green beans) and used 1/4 more of the dressing since it was the last of the bottle.  Since our refrigerator door is always stuffed to overflowing with condiments, there was no way I was going to put JUST a 1/4 cup of dressing back into the fridge.  Plus, with the added veggies, I figured a little more liquid wouldn't hurt. 

Zesty Crock Pot Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
• 6 potatoes, diced
• 5 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion
• 3 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
• 3/4 c. Zesty Italian Dressing
• frozen cut green beans, thawed

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together in crock pot. 
• Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. 
• Near the end of cooking time, add in the thawed green beans.  Cook until beans are heated through. 

Notes: 

• My crock pot seemed to cook this really quick.  My guess is because my crock pot is too big for this recipe.  Next time, I will either double the recipe or use a smaller crock pot and allow to cook longer.  Or, just use this quicker cooking meal for one of those mornings that I can't seem to get the crock pot started early enough! 
• I loved the simplicity of this meal and the fact that I had all of the ingredients in my pantry and freezer.   
• This recipe is a keeper! 

I'll be linking this post to the following blog hops and linky parties: 

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Tasty Tuesday Party
• Totally Tasty Tuesdays
• Delectable Tuesday