Italian Ranch Chicken and Vegetables Recipe

I have a ton of fresh veggies on hand right now so I've been trying to come up with recipes where I can use a large variety of them together.  This recipe combined 5 different vegetables in one dish!  The spices blended well together and the dish was very moist and tasty.

If you are concerned about the sodium content in the mixes, you can always substitute with homemade versions of both seasoning mixes.  I added no additional salt or seasonings to this dish and found it seasoned just to my liking!

Italian Ranch Chicken and Vegetables

prep time:  15 minutes ~ cook time:  4 hours/high -8 hours/low in crock pot

makes:  8 servings ~ Weight Watchers: 6 Points Plus

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup roughly chopped carrots

1 cup roughly chopped asparagus (discard woody stems)

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup chopped cauliflower

1 small container of sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup fat free chicken broth

1 envelope ranch dip mix

1 envelope Italian dressing mix

1/2 cup dry instant brown rice

Directions:

1.  Wash and cut chicken into smaller pieces (at least 8 pieces) and place in bottom of slow cooker.

2.  Wash and cut all vegetables and place them in slow cooker on top of chicken.

3.  Sprinkle both envelopes of seasoning mixes on top of vegetables.

4.  Pour chicken broth over entire dish.

5.  Set slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.  

6.  Thirty minutes to 1 hour prior to serving add the rice and 

gently stir to make sure it is covered by fluid.