This was a very close contender for my first week of fall picks! It practically screams cheers easy Saturday football food – to me. Ironically, it was my least-buffalo-loving daughter that got the recipe from my sister-in-law and brought it home to me. She prefers it tasting very little at all like buffalo, but don’t worry! I will show you how to take it either way – wimpy to wings-style.

Clemson plays their first game on September 2nd and even though this didn’t quite make the cut for my fall favorites, it will still be on my plate come game day.

It’s comforting mix of noodles, cheese, chicken and wing sauce will have you coming back for more. Much heartier than the popular buffalo chicken dip you often see at game day parties. Easy to make and serve from the crockpot!

[It has crossed my mind that an unusual amount of my recipes have included chicken, pasta or cheese. There is a good reason for this. #1 – my son is a cheesetarian. He prefers cheese in all things. #2 – I keep chicken and hamburger on hand at all times so a large number of recipes include one or the other. However, if you will give me the benefit of the doubt, I will show you that there are other sections in my recipe book. I pinky promise.]

Here’s what you need: (my picture is missing the chicken and box of linguine although they are pictured later on)

1# boneless skinless chicken breast

3 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. buffalo wing sauce* (see note)

1 Tbsp. ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. celery seed

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

8 oz. cream cheese

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

16 oz. linguine noodles

*for wimpier tastes – use only 1/4 c. extra mild buffalo sauce (Texas Pete Extra Mild Wing Sauce). for medium taste add one additional 1/4 c. extra mild buffalo sauce before adding noodles at the end of the recipe. for those with real buffalo expectations add 1/4 – 1/2 c. regular buffalo wing sauce (Frank’s RedHot Wings Buffalo Sauce) instead of the extra mild sauce listed. No need to add both.

Place chicken in the slow cooker. There’s the exciting chicken picture I knew that I took for you!

Add broth, wing sauce (check note for desired heat level), ranch mix, garlic powder, celery seed, salt and pepper to the chicken.

Cut up the cream cheese into cubes or slices and place over the chicken.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top.

Cover with lid. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred on a cutting board. Put the shredded chicken back in and stir.

Prepare linguine according to package directions in boiling water in a pot on the stove.

Drain the noodles and add them to the chicken mixture.

The cheese sauce will thicken as it sits.

At this point, you can turn the cooker off and serve. Or you can refrigerate the pasta and reheat the next day – adding a little water if the sauce becomes too thick.

I’ve found that I prefer this recipe with slightly less than one pound of chicken and slightly less than one box of linguine because I like the extra sauce. You might like to start with this recipe and then tweak it slightly until you find your perfect ratio of cheese to noodles to chicken.