Happy New Year!

We have been MIA for quite a while - the holidays were, as usual, crazy but wonderful.  Seeing people's faces as they open a gift that they really wanted is so great.  And being around children that understand that Christmas is not only about trees, candy and lots of presents but also the birth of Jesus Christ, is such a refreshing experience.  Both April and I traveled to see family, celebrating the season of giving and missing those that we've lost in the last year.

Even though there was the threat of a winter storm (which totally passed us over without incident), we got together to share a meal and have some much needed "girls time".  The casserole was amazing; even Alden liked it (he said his favorite were the peas, aka zucchini)!  It was the perfect one-pan meal - the only thing it might have needed is a green salad to accompany it.

April and I got to do a lot of planning for the next couple of months of Victim Nights - watch your email for an invitation to dinner! 

Mexican Chicken Casserole
adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, Jan/Feb 2011

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 cup zucchini, diced

1 cup sweet red pepper, chopped

3 cups roasted chicken breast, shredded

1 Tablespoon garlic, minced

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Ground Cumin Seed

4 oz Diced Green Chilis

1 ¼ cups Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
12 corn tortillas

1 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 tub fresh salsa (from the refrigerator section)

Preheat oven to 350. To prepare casserole, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, corn, zucchini, and bell pepper; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Add chicken, garlic, chili powder, cumin, enchilada sauce and green chilies; sauté 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat.

Spread 1/2 cup salsa over the bottom of a 13”x9” baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of the tortillas over salsa. Spoon half chicken mixture evenly over tortillas. Top with 3/4 cup salsa. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of each cheese. Repeat layers, starting with remaining tortillas and ending with remaining cheeses. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until bubbly. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. 

Makes 8 servings, with a PointsPlus value of 7 each. 

Suz: Yum!  I found this recipe a couple of weeks ago and have been patiently waiting for our first RV of 2011 to try it; it did not disappoint!  The flavors were perfect together and the feta gave it a nice salty kick - I think you can substitute queso fresco if you like.  Definitely something I will make again, and it would work well with a rotisserie chicken - took about 15 minutes to put it together, then another 25 in the oven.  I do have to admit that I eyeballed a lot of the measurements, specifically with the veggies and the chicken.  I used one whole red pepper, one whole zucchini, and 3/4 of an onion.  I roasted 3 chicken breasts (about 1 pound) and used all of them, I think it was a little over 3 cups of chicken.

April: If you don't try this one you're missing out. That is all I have to say.

Alden: Didn't like the feta but otherwise seemed to really like the meal which is wonderful.

Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake

from Weight Watcher's: Easy Homestyle Cookbook

Cooking Spray

1tsp all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup butter or stick margarine softened

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons of poppy seeds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

2/3 cup powdered sugar

4 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Coat an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 teaspoon of flour. Set aside.

3. Combine granulated sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer for 4 minutes or until well-blended. Add egg whites and egg, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon drind and vanilla; beat well. Combine 1 2/3  cups of flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 350 for 1 hour or tooth pick can be inserted in center and comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes on cooling rack ; revoved from pan. Poke holes in top of cake using a skewer.  Combind powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir well. Brush over warm cake. Let cool completely.

Yield:12 servings with 1 slice each.

Old points value of 5.

April: Very simple recipe but quite tasty. I doubled the batch because I knew we would be crazy eating it. The 1 lemon rind that I used was able to make the amount of juice it called for both batches... however I thought it tasted too sugary so I added more lemon. I would recommend mixing the sugar and juice while it's on the cooling rack... I think it would have gone over better if I hadn't waited so long. While putting in the poppy seeds I thought it was calling for too much but it actually ended up being perfect. It has a banana bread texture to it and yet has that crisp sugary shell of a pound cake.

Suz: Yum.  I had to restrain myself from having a second piece.  Will pass this recipe along to my lemon-loving mother!

Alden: Why doesn't it have icing all the way around? It should.