Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 1997

This casserole has the cheesy goodness of enchilada without the carbs from the corn tortillas. If you wish to add the tortillas use three corn tortillas, cut in half. They would get added in on top of each layer of white sauce except for the topping. You would need to add 2 WW Blue points to the total.

Makes 4 servings                                                    4 WW Blue points / serving

Cooking spray

3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, poached, leftover or rotisserie, shredded

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup homemade chicken stock or purchased broth

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 (14.5 oz.) can tomatoes, drained, chopped

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained

2 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 tsp. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. ground coriander

1 cup fat free skim milk

1 egg white, beaten

3/4 cup reduced-fat Mexican blend shredded cheese

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

1/4 cup fat free salsa

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the onion and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken, stock, cayenne and tomatoes, cook 10 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporated.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Reserve 2 tsp. scallions.\; add remaining to the chicken mixture; set aside.
6. Combine flour, salt, cumin and coriander in a saucepan.
7. Gradually add the milk, whisking until blended.
8. Place over medium heat; cook whisking constantly until thickened, about 7 minutes.
9. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the egg white, whisking constantly. Set aside.
10. Spread 1/4 cup of the white sauce in the bottom of a small casserole dish.
11. Top with 1 cup of the chicken mixture.
12. Top with 1/4 cup white sauce, 1 cup chicken mixture, 1/4 cup cheese twice; End with layer of white sauce.
13. Bake, uncovered in the oven for 40 minutes or until bubbly.
14. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and scallion, bake 5 minutes.
15. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Enjoy !

 

Zucchini Pizza Casserole

Zucchini Pizza Casserole

adapted from SparkPeople

Do not expect this to eat like a pizza. It has pizza flavors but it is certainly a casserole. You can not taste the zucchini at all so it is a good way to hide a vegetable from a picky eater.

 

Makes 3 servings                                           4 WW Blue points / serving

2 cups shredded zucchini

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

1 egg, whisked

1 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese

1 ounce reduced fat Mexican cheese blend

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

3/4 lb. ground chicken breast, separated 1/2 lb. and 1/4 lb.

3/4 tsp. Penzeys Italian sausage seasoning

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 cup Easy Pantry Pizza Sauce

1/3 cup julienned bell pepper pieces

2 oz. reduced fat Colby jack cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Mix the zucchini, salt, eggs, Parmesan cheese, Mexican cheese blend and Italian seasoning.
3. Press the mixture into the bottom of a pie pan.
4. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix 1/4 lb. ground chicken with sausage seasoning and red pepper flakes. Form the mixture into small balls. 
6. In a skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the "sausage" balls until cooked through 5-7 minutes depending on the size of the balls.
7. Remove balls from the skillet to paper towel to drain. Cut each ball in half when cooled. Set aside.
8. In the same skillet, add more cooking spray and cook 1/2 lb. ground chicken with the onion until the onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.
9. Pour the meat-sauce mixture over the cooked crust.
10. Top with "sausage" ball halves, peppers and Colby jack cheese.
11. Return to the oven and cook until the casserole is heated through and the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
12. Allow the casserole to stand for a couple of minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

Make Ahead Pasta Dish

My go to recipe when I need a make ahead pasta dish comes straight from Pasta (1994) American Express Publishing Corp, NY.  I almost always go to this meal when I need to make a dinner for a family in need. Unfortunately the double batch unfortunately here means that it was for two families at the same time. It has been a rough start to 2013 for many people.

Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce and Mozzarella

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot chopped fine
1 rib celery, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped fresh flat parsley
2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. ground fennel seed or 1½ tsp. whole seed
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ cup dry white wine
4 cups canned tomatoes with their juice, chopped
¾ lb. rigatoni
6 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
½ lb. grated mozzarella cheese (2 cups)
In a medium frying pan, heat the oil and butter over low heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley and basil and cook until very soft, about 20 minutes. Raise the heat to moderate, add the ground beef, fennel seed, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir in the parmesan. Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of boiling, salted water until almost done, about 12 minutes. Drain. Lightly oil a 3 qt. oval baking dish. Toss the past with the meat sauce and put half of it in the baking dish. Top with half the mozzarella. Cover with the remaining pasta and top with the remaining mozzarella. Bake at 350 until very hot, about 20 minutes.

Sunday Breakfast Casserole

Yesterday, I used half a package of refrigerated crescent dinner rolls to make chocolate crescents for Nick for breakfast. I needed to figure out something else to do with the rest of the package before they dried out. If you have a full roll of crescent dough double the ingredients and use a 13"x9" baking pan.
Serves 4

1/2 pound sausage roll
1 cup shredded reduced fat* Italian blend cheese

1/2 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

Cooking spray
2 eggs, beaten
6 Tbsp skim milk 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

Dash of freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crumble and cook sausage until browned. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towels.
Coat a 8"x8" baking pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of the pan with crescent roll dough, firmly pressing perforations to seal. Sprinkle with sausage and cheese. Mix the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together until well blended; pour over sausage. Bake 15 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into squares; serve hot.

*(as if the reduced fat will really help with this recipe)