From Alice

• ½ stick butter, margarine, or other solid fat
• 4 oz (½ container) tofu cream cheese (we use Tofutti)
• 4 cups (1 container) chicken or vegetable broth
• 4-6 Tbsp flour for thickening. (Try Wondra next time.)
• 3 cans tuna (we use albacore in olive oil to avoid undisclosed “vegetable” broth contamination)
• 1 bag frozen shelled edamame
• ½ bag petite baby carrots, diced
• 1 package penne or rotini
• Spices of your choice.

Directions:

This fills one 6-quart slow-cooker.

Chop your carrots and bring a saucepan of water (enough for your pasta) to a boil.

Melt the margarine in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add flour to make a roux. Add cream cheese and stir until melted together.

Slowly add chicken broth, stirring, to keep the sauce creamy and well-mixed. Bring to a boil and cook for at least 2-3 minutes to cook the flour.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta, keeping it al-dente or ever-so-slightly undercooked rather than overcooked. Drain.

Add carrots to a saucepan of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the edamame and cook according to package directions, erring on the side of too long rather than too short. Drain.

Mix pasta into sauce in slow-cooker pot.

Drain tuna and mix into pasta and sauce.

Mix in veggies.

Cook in slow-cooker on low for 3-3.5 hours. This cooks down any extra sauce and melds flavors. An extra 2-3 hours on “keep warm” won’t hurt it, but you might want to stir it once or twice in there.