GIBSONBURG – This five-ingredient recipe will make enough to feed a family – or can be reduced if cooking for two.

Joanne Kessen said her daughter-in-law served this Creamy Italian Chicken at a birthday party some 20 years ago.

“We thought it was so good, and I think I probably enjoy it more than they do,” she said. “The flavor is just phenomenal.”

The three hours it simmers in a slow cooker is shorter than normal, and Kessen attributes that to the bite-sized chunks of chicken.

“The recipe doesn’t tell you to cut it into pieces, but I do,” she said, adding that the chicken is so tender it can be cut with a fork.

The original recipe also said that the chicken can be shredded. The shredded option can be made into sandwiches. The sauce also will be good on pork chops, Kessen said.

While the recipe calls for four chicken breasts, two can be used to reduce the leftovers.

She cooks it for herself and her husband, Charlie Kokomoor, whom she married about a year ago. She said Charlie doesn’t cook much but does enjoy grilling.

“He likes pretty much whatever I cook. He’s not too fussy,” Kessen said.

When Kessen cooks, she likes to keep it simple, including her macaroni casserole and barbecue beef.

Kessen said she actually likes to bake more than she cooks.

“But you can’t do that all the time, or you get huge.”

She does cakes, cupcakes and cookies.

“I like it all, I don’t know if I have a favorite,” Kessen said.

Kessen has four sons, all within a three-hour radius, and 13 grandchildren. Her family loves her cutout cookies for the holidays.

“They all like the cookies.”

The Christmas cookies are her mom’s recipe, she said.

Her mom was always baking something, and Kessen said she has a lot of her recipes. Her mother taught her how to cook.

She was the oldest of 10 children, growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and her mother needed all the help she could get, Kessen said with a laugh.

She also learned by taking cooking projects in 4-H.

Kessen moved to Wood County in 1977 when her first husband got a job at the Cooper plant in Bowling Green.

They lived in Pemberville before moving close to the Wood-Sandusky county lines.

She joined the Quilting Eagles in 2008, after retiring as a teacher in 2007 at St. Aloysius School.

“I knew a lot of those ladies. My kids went to Eastwood and a lot of the ladies taught at Eastwood.”

She also substituted at Eastwood before getting the job at St. Al’s.

Kessen also belongs to the Black Swamp Quilt Guild.

“I prefer quilting much more to cooking,” she said.

The Creamy Italian Chicken will feed quite a few people, and with just her and Charlie, she doesn’t make it very often.

When Kessen does cook, they end up eating a lot of leftovers.

“Then I don’t have to cook so often and I have more time for quilting,” she said.

Creamy Italian Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup water

Small package dry Italian dressing mix

1 can mushroom soup

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

Directions

Mix together water and Italian dressing mix and pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours. Add soup and cream cheese and cook for 1 more hour.

Serve over egg noodles.

Creamy Italian Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup water

Small package dry Italian dressing mix

1 can mushroom soup

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

Directions

Mix together water and Italian dressing mix and pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours. Add soup and cream cheese and cook for 1 more hour.

Serve over egg noodles.