Crockpot Chicken, Artichoke and Spinach that won't kill the waistline

In response to my first request from my reader Kate Jones, I challenged myself to come up with a new crockpot recipe that was healthy and cheap.  And while this one might tote the line slightly on the healthy part I am so excited to share it with you.   This truly is one of those dishes that will have people going back for more.

When Kate gave me my new challenge my first thought was to look in my pantry and freezer and see what I had on hand, to give me some inspiration.  I saw that I had some chicken and some frozen spinach in my freezer and it got me thinking about one of my favorite appetizers 'Spinach and Artichoke dip'.  So I thought 'what if I could create a version of that dip that was slightly healthier and also make it a meal instead of just a dip'.

So I set off exploring the web for inspiration.  There were a few people that had similar ideas but either the ingredients they used were too fattening or it required more work then I wanted to put into a crockpot recipe so I decided to do what every good cook does, experiment. Not all experiments work well, you can ask my husband about that one.  I have had some dishes that had us going out for a takeaway instead. But you never know until you try. So I bought a few ingredients that I thought would be nice in the dish and threw everything in and waited to discover what I had created and whether or not it would be a disaster or something worth writing about. 

I can truthfully say not only was it a success but it was one of the simplest crockpot dishes I have made in a very long time.

Crockpot Chicken, Artichoke and Spinach 

4 Chicken breasts diced

10 oz. (300g) frozen spinach, defrosted with the water squeezed out

2-14 oz cans of quartered artichoke hearts

1 small onion minced

3 cloves of garlic minced

8 oz. of reduce fat cream cheese

6 oz. of fat free sour cream

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 c. water

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oragano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

This recipe is so simple, first I turned on my crockpot to high and added my sour cream and cream cheese while I prepared the other ingredients.  I diced my chicken into bite size pieces, chopped up my artichoke hearts and then added all of the ingredients into the crockpot with the now melted cream cheese.  Stir well and then reduce heat to low and go about your day.  When you are ready to eat your dish will hot and delicious waiting for you.  I served it over pasta but I believe it could also go very nicely over some rice.