Chicken Tamale Casserole

Chicken Tamale Casserole - from Cooking Light Magazine

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup fat-free milk
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• Cooking spray
• 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 354 (36% from fat)

Fat: 14.1g (sat 7.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 1.2g)

Protein: 18.9g

Carbohydrate: 36.3g

Fiber: 2.5g

Cholesterol: 58mg

Iron: 1.7mg

Sodium: 620mg

Calcium: 179mg

Easy Chicken Alfredo

Is anyone else not cooking as much the last couple of weeks? I totally haven't been. We have been eating out a lot. So back to cooking this week. And I don't know why, but every time I start cooking again after I have stopped for a little while, it always reminds me how much I enjoy cooking.

So I had bought 2 jars of Classico brand Alfredo sauce about a month or two ago and they have sat on the self in my pantry since then. So I decided I should probably do something with them so they weren't just taking up space in my pantry.

3-4 chicken breasts cut into strips

olive oil and butter for cooking chicken

salt and pepper for cooking chicken

cayenne pepper for cooking chicken

Italian seasonings for cooking chicken

1 box of spaghetti, angel hair or fettuccine pasta (I used thick spaghetti)

2 jars of Alfredo sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Boil water for pasta. Cook pasta while cooking chicken.

Salt and pepper chicken well. Sauté chicken in olive oil and butter. Just before chicken is done sprinkle about a tsp of Italian seasonings on the chicken. And then about 1/8- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (whatever you and you family can handle) The cayenne pepper I actually added completely by mistake. I went to grab my seasoning salt which is about the same color but more orange the reddish. Anyway, so after about 3 shakes I realized it was cayenne. Oops! I said...and then decided it wasn't a lot so I just went with it. And I'm REALLY glad I did. It added a great spice to the dish. My kids still ate it, so luckily it wasn't too much.

Then when the chicken was cooked through, I added the 2 jars of Alfredo sauce. Stirred it well to combine all the olive oil, butter and spices on the pan and chicken. Then tossed in the mozzarella, cuz it sounded good. And I LOVE cheese. Everything is better with cheese. Stirred that to combine. Then added the drained pasta. Mixed it all together and then let it sit on low covered for about 15 minutes.

Don't you just LOVE my new dark eggplant purple colored plates?? I do. Got them at Ikea for only 25$!! And it is service for 6. I'm temped to buy another set so I have service for 12. Ya know...for whenever I will have special occasion dinners in my home ;-)

Beve's Stir Fry

My Mom made this last night and it was so easy and the whole family loved it....  I forgot to take pictures.

She doesn't measure so add enough for your family to eat.

Cut up chicken breast (She used the precooked grilled chicken strips from Costco)
Stir Fry Veggies
~Fry in Skillet till cooked all the way through.
~add:
Mandarin Oranges (Whole can, juice and all)
Brown sugar (About 2 Tb)

~add
Water or chicken broth and cornstarch (about a spoonfull of cornstarch to about a cup of water or chicken broth) mix water and cornstarch together seperately with no lumps. 

~Boil till cornstarch mixture turns thick and caramel colored.
~Serve over rice

(She says she adds cayenne pepper but didn't because of the kiddos.)

Campbell's Roasted Tomato and Barley Soup

1 can (about 28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 large onions, diced (about 2 cups)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural GoodnessTM or Certified Organic)

2 stalks celery, diced (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice. Place the tomatoes, onions and garlic into a 17 x 11-inch roasting pan. Pour the oil over the vegetables and toss to coat. Bake for 25 minutes. 2. Place the roasted vegetables into a 3-quart saucepan. Stir in the reserved tomato juice, broth, celery and barley and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 35 minutes or until the barley is tender. Stir in the parsley. Serving Suggestion: Serve with multi-grain flatbread crackers and Cheddar cheese. For dessert serve with peach and blueberry crumble.

I haven't tried this one but I want to and don't want to have to look that hard for it.  LOL

A borrowed article from Saving Dinner

 Copyright (C) 2010 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

Food For Thought

More Fiber Please!
By Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

Dear Friends,

Boosting the intake of fiber in the diet should be tops on the list of anyone hoping to improve their nutritional profile.

Getting enough fiber in the diet will absolutely keep you regular--especially if you remember the other corresponding component to filling up with fiber--water. Think for a moment about your garbage disposal. In order to get it flushed out, you must run the water before turning on the switch. This is how you get things moving and flushed out. Your own personal waste disposal isn't much different--you need both to make things work: fiber and water.

Fiber is much more than just oat bran or whole wheat bread. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble fiber--one is soluble in water and the other is not. We need both in order to function optimally.

Soluble fiber sources includes apples, oranges, oatmeal, barley, dried beans and carrots. Insoluble fiber comes from bran, brown rice, popcorn, fruit and vegetable skins, and whole grains. No need to wring your hands over which fiber is contained in which food, just keep in mind that having a well-balanced diet with an assortment of fruits, vegetables and whole grains will help you get what you need fiber-wise.

The National Cancer Institute recommends 20-35 grams of fiber daily, but most Americans only eat 7-8 grams a day! So how do you get the fiber in? A part of the solution can be as simple as changing out the white stuff for the brown stuff: out with the white bread, white rice and white flour and in with the whole wheat bread, brown rice and whole wheat flour. This will pay off in huge dividends--you cannot afford to eat the white stuff. It's like pouring white glue into your intestines. Not only are you not getting the nutrients you need from your food, but you're also slowing digestion way down and setting yourself up for constipation and other fun stuff.

So bulk up--with fiber, that is. And don't forget the water!

Love,
Leanne

Chicken Basil Roll -Ups

1 pkg Crescent Rounds (these are new to me- they roll up round like a cinnamon roll, instead of triangular)

Filling:
1 can chunk chicken, drained (you could also use leftover chicken- just shred it)
1 cup ricotta
1-2 tablespoons basil pesto
1/2 cup- 1 cup grated mozzarella

(you could also mince up a mushroom or two and add into it, or even some green onion would be good)

Unroll each roll. Carefully spread a thick layer of filling on each section. Re-roll. Place filled rounds in a glass baking dish that has been sprayed lightly with non-stick spray. They will look like filled cinnamon rolls.
Bake at 350 until crescents are slightly browned, mine took about 20-25 minutes.

The "rolls" are great as is- or you can do what I did and make an accompanying "dip", using minced black olive and finely chopped tomatoes mixed together, seasoned with a dash or two of garlic salt.

Serve with a green salad.

(NOTE: Even my kids liked this one, and that is saying something...)