Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces and place in the slow cooker.

Add 1/2 an onion, chopped.

Sprinkle the dry Italian salad dressing mix over the chicken and onions. Rub the seasoning in with your hands.

Add 2 tablespoons white wine, off to the side so that you don't wash all the seasoning off. (I used cooking wine. You can skip the wine entirely if you want, but I do like the depth of flavor it adds. There's no need to replace it with anything, not even water. I promise. Just don't skip the butter.)

 Sprinkle the chopped butter on top of the chicken.

Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high heat for about 3 hours, or on low heat for about 4-5 hours.

When the chicken is cooked and tender, open the lid and add a package of cream cheese. Put the lid back on.

Make the white sauce. (OR you can skip the homemade sauce and add a 10-ounce can of cream of chicken soup to the crock pot at this point.)

In a medium skillet, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat.

Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and saute for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Whisk in 1/4 cup flour until a paste forms.

Slowly (slowly) add in 1/2 cup chicken broth while whisking constantly.

Add the milk slowly, whisking the whole time.

When the sauce has come together, remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Add the white sauce to the crock pot. If the cream cheese is softened, you can use a wooden spoon to gently stir it all together (try not to break up the chicken too much). If the cream cheese is not smooth, put the lid back on and let it heat up for another 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles according to package instructions.

Serve the chicken over the hot noodles and garnish with parsley, if desired. You can also serve it with rice, mashed potatoes, polenta, etc. Sometimes I like to garnish servings with a bit of sour cream, especially if you are eating leftovers on day 2 or 3 and the sauce has dried out somewhat.