King Ranch Casserole

Made exactly according to the Eating Well recipe

As I copied this recipe almost exactly from the website, I will not post it here. The only differences were:

1) I omitted the canola oil and instead sprayed the skillet with PAM - saves a few calories

2) I omitted the salt - why add extra sodium?

4) I went with a red bell pepper

3) I used fat-free cheddar - and more than 1/2 a cup. I used enough to cover the top layer of the dish

4) The recipe doees not specify what kind of chicken. I used chicken thigh as that was all that was in our freezer, but I think chicken breast would have worked better

Nutrition (according to the Eating Well website, based on 6 servings)

301 calories

5g fat

44mg cholesterol

458mg sodium

38g carbohydrates

6g fiber

25g protein

I'll admit, that close up probably doesn't look very appealing. But this recipe will definitely be used on a regular basis. For being low in both calories and sodium, it tasted really good. I like spicy food, but my tolerance for spice is low - this dish was just spicy enough to satisfy me without being too hot. My fiance commented that it tasted like there were beans in this - but I hate beans, so there were definitely none there! Must have been the flour/yogurt making this so creamy that tricked him.

Swiss Chicken Penne

Adopted from Eating Well



Ingredients:
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
12 oz whole wheat penne
1 cups cauliflower florets
PAM spray
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)
3 cups fat-free milk
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
1 tsp Dijon mustard

1. Poach the chicken breasts in a large pot: bring a pot of water with the chicken breasts to a boil (I cut them into halves first), and then reduce the heat a little and let them simmer until they are no longer pink in the center. This will make them easy to shred by just pulling them apart.

2. In another pot, bring water to a boil. Add the whole wheat penne and the cauliflower. When the penne is ready, drain it and rinse with cold water.

3. Spray a saucepan with PAM. Add onion and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. Then add the wine, milk, flour and pepper. Bring to a boil and stir until it becomes thickened. Reduce the heat and begin to add the cheese a little at a time until it is melted.

4. Add chicken and mustard to the onion sauce and then pour it over the penne to serve.

Nutrition (8 servings, from Calorie Count):
Calories: 400
Fat: 7.7g
Cholesterol: 87mg
Sodium: 148mg
Carbohydrates: 39.9g
Fiber: 5.2g
Sugar: 5.9g
Protein: 40.9g



This dish was fairly easy for me to make. I tried to get the chicken, penne and onion sauce all going at the same time and it was manageable. The final product was okay. I was looking for something healthy, and it tasted healthy - just a little bland. When I try new recipes I always ask my fiance, "Is this something you would want me to make again?" This recipe passed that test, but not with too much excitement. Next time I would try a different cheese with more flavor or maybe more pepper or some garlic to spice it up a little.