Oriental Chicken Salad & Broccoli Casserole

Sorry I haven't posted since last week...I had a huge DAD (Drugs & Diseases) test this Wednesday, which I spent most of my time studying for (not that that helped). Anyways, tonight I made two recipes from Mary Etta Neiland (often known as "ME"). ME and her family have lived around the corner from my grandmother for years--in fact, my mom grew up playing with her sons. ME and her family also attend the church I grew up at, so suffice it to say she and her family have always been dear to mine. So it was no surprise that she was one of the hostesses of my Bridesmaid's Luncheon, where two of her delicious recipes--Oriental Chicken Salad and Broccoli Casserole--were served (as well as other yummy things). Those two dishes are what I made tonight...thanks ME!:

Oriental Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

· 4 TBS Sugar

· 1 tsp Salt

· ½ tsp pepper

· 5 TBS Vinegar

· ½ cup oil

Other

· 4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped

· 3 green onions, chopped

· 3 oz package sliced Almonds, toasted

· 1/8 cup poppy seeds

• 1 can Chinese Chow Mein Noodles

Directions

Day 1

Mix together dressing ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

1. Mix together other ingredients

2. 4 to 5 hours before serving, mix dressing with chicken mixture and refrigerate

3. Just before serving add 1 can Chinese Chow Mein Noodles

Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

· 2 (10 oz) package frozen, chopped broccoli

· 2 beaten eggs

· dried minced onion

· 1 can cream of mushroom soup

· ¾ cup mayo

· 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

· Ritz, crushed

· Butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Cook and drain broccoli, and then put into a casserole dish sprayed w/cooking spray.

3. Mix together other ingredients, and then top the broccoli with the mixture

4. Mix Ritz with melted butter, and sprinkle on top of casserole

5. Bake for 30 minutes

Ever since my Bridesmaid's Luncheon I've been wanting to make these, and I am glad I did! Soooo delicious!

Half & Half

This entry is entitled "Half & Half," because of the two recipes I prepared today, one was a low cal Hungry Girl recipe, and the other was a ... not-so-good-for-you recipe. The good recipe was Hungry Girl's take on Green Bean Casserole: "Rockin' Lean Bean Casserole," and the naughty one was a recipe entitled "Joy's Chicken" that was from a cookbook John's sweet grandma June gave me us as a shower gift. I'll go ahead and get the not-so-good-for-you one out of the way:

Joy's Chicken







Day 1

Ingredients

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp pepper
  

Directions

1. Wash chicken & pat dry.
2. Combine all other ingredients, and then coat chicken with mixture.
3. Let chicken marinate in fridge for 24 hours

Day 2

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups ritz cracker crumbs
  
• 1.5 cups saltine crumbs
• 1 cup butter*

*That's right, this recipe called for a whopping 1 cup of butter (that's two full sticks!) I did end up using that much, but both John and I felt like it was a bit too much (especially considering the calories).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Combine ritz crumbs and saltines crumbs, and roll chicken in the crumbs.
3. Place chicken in a casserole dish (10 x 15 is good) coated w/cooking spray.
4. Pour melted butter on top and bake for 1.5 hours.

Nutrition
Who would want to know?? I did use FF sour cream and reduced fat Ritz, but with all that butter, I shudder to think of the calorie and fat content.

The Verdict
Yummy!! John gave it an 8/10, and I'd give it about the same. If only it wasn't loaded in fat, I might make it more!


Rockin' Lean Bean Casserole










Ingredients

• Two 16-oz. bags frozen French-style green beans, thawed, drained & thoroughly dried
• Two 10.75-oz. cans Campbell's 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery Soup (98% FF Cream of Mushroom or 98% FF Cream of Chicken would work fine too)
• One 8-oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 bag (about 1 oz.) Crispy Delites Red Onion Chips or 1 oz. (about 25 pieces) onion-flavored soy crisps, crushed**

**I couldn't find either of these, so I subbed Sun Chips French Onion (+ a little onion powder) instead. They do have a bit more fat/cals, but not tons. It probably increased the points value by 1, maybe 2 points.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
   
2. Make sure green beans are thoroughly drained and completely dry -- use a towel if you need to. Then, place half of the green beans in a casserole dish (a 2 - 3 quart rectangular one works best).
   
3. Pour 1 can of soup evenly on top of the layer of green beans. Place half of the sliced water chestnuts over the soup layer.
   
4. Cover with remaining green beans, and then top with the rest of the soup. Evenly top with the remaining water chestnuts. Place dish in the oven, and cook for 45 minutes.
5. Top with crushed soy crisps, and return dish to the oven for another 10 minutes or so, until chips turn golden brown.
   

Nutrition
PER SERVING (1/10th of casserole): 76 calories, 2g fat, 431mg sodium, 13g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 4g sugars, 3g protein -- POINTS® value 1

The Verdict
Pretty good! A much lower fat/calorie version, but still tasty.

Guilt Free Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

So, when I first started this blog, I made a post about my favorite Enchiladas recipe (for that post, go here), which I initially found on All Recipes (entitled "Chicken Enchiladas V"). I have made these enchiladas multiple times since finding the recipe a few years ago, and have always loved how scrumptious they were. So, I just couldn't let the fact that I am reducing my cals/fat stop me from enjoying these, so I made a lower calorie/fat version. The recipe is below:

Ingredients (FF = Fat Free; RF= Reduced Fat)

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can 98% FF condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup FF sour cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (or 2 (10 oz) cans chicken breast chunks in water))
  
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 8 (8 inch) 96% FF Mission flour tortillas
• 1 bag RF Mexican Cheese Bland (Like Sargento)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl mix the soup and sour cream; set aside.
3. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and chili powder, and saute until tender. Stir in the chicken, chile peppers, and 2 tablespoons of the soup mixture. Cook and stir until heated through.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of the soup mixture in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam-side-down, in the baking dish. Spoon remaining soup mixture on top, and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Nutrition
Per Enchilada: 306 Cals; 10 g Fat; 3 g Fiber... 6 Weight Watcher's Points (I double checked to make sure my calculations are correct, so hopefully they are)

The Verdict
Considering all the swaps I made, I was pretty happy with these. They were still creamy and yummy, and not nearly as bad for you as the original! John liked them, too. =)

Product Rec: Jimmy Dean D-Lights Turkey Sausage Croissant

So, I love Breakfast sandwiches...but the calorie/fat value I do not love! So when I heard about the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches that are lower in calories/fat, I thought "Well, that'd sounds nice...but I bet they don't taste very good!" Well, I take back that thought now! At Kroger yesterday I bought their "D-lights: Turkey Sausage Reduced Fat Croissant" (ie, turkey bacon, egg whites, and cheese on a croissant). I tried it today, and it was very yummy! I could barely taste a difference in this and a normal sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich.

The nutritional breakdown is :
290 cals, 12 g fat, 6 g sat fat, 4 g fiber, 17 g Protein... 6 weight watcher's points

So, are they super healthy?? No. But they ARE better (health wise) than a normal breakfast sandwich, and the taste is still there! So, if you want to indulge, but not over-indulge, then these are for you!