Healthy Green Chile-Chicken Casserole

This is a really delicious, and HEALTHY casserole that the whole family will love. With chicken, tortillas, green chiles, and low-fat cream of chicken soup, it's creamy and has a lot of great flavors. I'm currently trying to lose all of that stubborn baby weight and have been trying out a lot of new low calorie dishes. But I hate the typical diet food that doesn't have any flavor. This one far exceeded my expectations and was great!

This dish makes 12 large servings, with only about 330 calories in each one. And it can be prepared ahead - just cover with cooking spray-coated tin foil and refrigerate until needed. If you go that route, you'll need to bake it covered for an hour, then uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes until bubbly. And it makes for great leftovers!


Green Chile-Chicken Casserole
(from Cooking Light magazine)

1 and 1/3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned chopped green chiles, drained
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fat-free sour cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (10 1/2-ounce) cans condensed 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup, undiluted (such as Campbell's)
1 garlic clove, minced
Cooking spray
24 (6-inch) corn tortillas
4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)
2 cups (8 ounces) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

3. Spread 1 cup soup mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas over the soup mixture, and top with 1 cup chicken and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Spread remaining soup mixture over cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Paula's Cheddar Broccoli Casserole

So... everyone knows I'm pregnant, right? Well, I happened to notice a new cooking group that was just assembled. This one is going to be cooking exclusively from Paula Deen's cookbook, The Lady and Sons, Too. I just so happen to own that cookbook and just so happen to be a Paula Deen fan. She has a reputation for making food that isn't exactly healthy. And since I'm not currently watching my calories due to the whole pregnancy thing, and I really do want to try out more recipes from that cookbook of hers... I decided, what the heck? I might as well join! If anyone's interested in feasting once a week with us, the link is here: My Girl, Paula!

The first week's selection is Paula's Swiss Broccoli Casserole. I'm really not a big fan of swiss, so I went the safe route with cheddar. In hindsight, there really wasn't a lot of cheese, so I may have been okay with using the swiss. The only thing I was a little unsure of as I was assembling the casserole was the layer of sliced hard-boiled eggs that went inside. Seemed a little out of the ordinary, but I went with it.


The casserole was really quite tasty and made a nice side dish to the steak my husband grilled. My husband did comment that the taste was a little "eggy", but I personally didn't find the egg taste overpowering at all. I thought the crunchy onions gave a great flavor, and it kind of reminded me of a green bean casserole, but with broccoli. We barely made it through half of the casserole, so we have a ton of leftovers.

And have I ever mentioned how it's impossible to take a decent picture of a casserole?



Swiss Broccoli Casserole

Two 10-oz packages frozen broccoli spears, cooked and drained
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
2 cups french-fried onion rings
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
10 and 3/4 oz. can cream of celery soup
2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350° F. Arrange the broccoli in a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Layer the eggs, 1 cup of the onion rings, and then the cheese over the broccoli. Combine the soup and milk, mixing well. Pour this over the cheese and bake for 25 minutes. Top with the remaining onion rings and bake for 5 minutes longer.

Up next week: Strawberry Cream Shortcake

Baked Chicken and Rice with Black Beans

Every once in a while, a meal comes along that really surprises you. Those types of meals are not typically casseroles, but today ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be surprised.

Baked Chicken and Rice with Black Beans is a fantastically easy and simple main dish. The ingredients are all easy to find and you get four of your food groups all in the same dish. You've got your rice, your meat/beans, cheese, and veggies.

But let's not make any mistakes here - this doesn't count as healthy food. Perhaps it would if we weren't using 2 whole cups of Monterey Jack cheese. I suppose you could cut back on the cheese, but I didn't go that route. I wanted all that flavor.

You begin by chopping up your green peppers, carrots and onions. Sauté them in oil for about 10 minutes.


Cook your yellow rice according to the package directions.


Mix all of the ingredients, pour into a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. This is key - you want that gooey, melted goodness.


My husband took one bite and remarked, "Oh WOW." Let me just clarify that my husband is a fan of my cooking... but it's very rare that I get such an enthusiastic response to things. It was incredibly good. I'll be making this A LOT. Not only is it wonderfully good, but it's really easy too. I love that.



Baked Chicken and Rice with Black Beans
(from Southern Living)

10-oz. package yellow rice mix
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
10-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
2 cups (8 oz.) grated Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare rice according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, sauté onion, bell pepper, and carrot in hot oil in a medium skillet over medium heat 10 minutes or until tender.

3. Combine hot cooked rice, onion mixture, chicken, beans, diced tomatoes and chiles, and 1 and 1/2 cups cheese in a large bowl. Spoon into a lightly greased 3-quart or 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

4. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole

Why is it that when the weather gets cold, all I crave is heavy food? Casseroles, pasta, hearty soups. They just make ya feel all warm and cozy inside.

But let's get straight to the point here - this recipe is NOT light and NOT healthy. Hey, I never promised all health food here. But I did use whole wheat spaghetti. It was kinda like ordering a Big Mac and large fries with a Diet Coke. Every little bit helps, I guess. But at any rate, it was darn greasy and good! Just what I was in the mood for.


If you reeeeally insist on being boring and lightening it up, you could use turkey pepperoni and low-fat cheese. And the recipe fills a 9x13-inch pan, but unless you're feeding an army, you could cut it back and bake it in a 8x8-inch square pan or even a bread loaf pan. But... who really wants to be that boring?

Enjoy!

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole
(adapted from Southern Living)

12 oz. uncooked spaghetti
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pound package of mild ground pork sausage
2 oz. pepperoni slices (about 30)
26-oz. jar tomato and basil pasta sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz. package shredded Italian three-cheese blend

1. Cook spaghetti with 1/2 tsp. salt according to package directions. Drain well, and place in a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.

2. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Add pepperoni, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until slightly crisp.

3. Top spaghetti in baking dish with sausage; pour pasta sauce over sausage. Arrange half of pepperoni slices evenly over pasta sauce. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices evenly over cheese. Cover with non-stick or slightly greased aluminum foil.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

Makes 8 servings.

Tex-Mex Ravioli Casserole

I guess I must be in a casserole mood lately. This one is tasty and is a little "different." I'll consider this to be semi-homemade because of the use of frozen raviolis. I saw this recipe and wanted to try it, but I was a little unsure how it would taste. It would either be really good, or really weird. I mean... does ravioli really go with salsa and beans? Well, I guess it does because it was good!

I must warn you that the recipe calls for a TON of cheese on top of this casserole. I'm going to type out the recipe as is below, but know that I used less cheese and still thought it was a lot. Otherwise, everything in the recipe came together great and the leftovers were superb. Give it a try, you just might like it!


Tex-Mex Ravioli Casserole

16 oz. jar mild salsa
10 and 3/4 oz. can tomato puree
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
28 oz. bag frozen cheese ravioli, unthawed
2 - 19 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Combine first 3 ingredients. Pour 1/2 cup sauce mixture on bottom of a lightly greased 2-quart oval or 11x7-inch baking dish. Top evenly with frozen cheese ravioli. Layer with black beans, chopped cilantro, green onions, and remaining sauce mixture; top evenly with shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses.

2. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Remove foil, and bake 5 more minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

For the entire past two weeks I have been addicted to watching the Olympics. It seems like all of the good stuff is on late at night, and since my son is a stubborn early riser (5 a.m. - ouch!), I can never stay up long enough to watch it all. But thanks to the invention of DVR, I've been taping it all and watching it during the day while doing my normal things. With all of the fun of the Olympics, I've been getting lazy and resorting to a lot of one-dish fast and easy meals. But this casserole is way too delicious to write off as something just "thrown together."

This casserole is just plain awesome! I really like one-dish meals that are hearty and satisfying and good for any occasion. This casserole is comprised of layers of tortillas, beans, chicken, and cheesy goodness. It's all topped off with a salsa and cilantro mixture. I opted for some spicy salsa which gives it that extra kick, but you can go for mild if you're not a fan of the heat. And as a bonus, this makes for really great leftovers!

Look at this cheesy goodness...


Chicken Enchilada Casserole
(adapted from Cooking Light magazine)

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 and 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
Dash of ground red pepper
2 (15.5-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
18 (6-inch) tortillas, divided
Cooking spray
2 cups (8 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (16-ounce) jar green salsa
10 Tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute. Stir in beans; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chicken, 1/2 cup green onions; stir well.

2. Layer 6 tortillas on bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 6 tortillas.

3. Combine milk, chopped cilantro, and salsa in a blender, and process until smooth. Pour over top of tortillas. Cover and bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, and remaining 1/2 cup green onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with sour cream.

Makes 10 servings. About 350 calories per serving.