chicken tortilla casserole - day 5!

I had to use this dish as the last of the 5 posts because it's one of my faves...you know I can't go a whole five days without my [wannabe] Mexican food! This dish is so tasty, without all the extra calories. In fact, when you see it come out of the oven, it's hard to believe it's only 203 calories per serving!

Of course, I found this recipe on one of my favorite sites: Spark Recipes. I followed the recipe exactly, but when I make it again, I am going to use more spices and flavors like onions and garlic! 

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my 5 days of healthy dinners! I'm open to suggestions for another themed blog roll! And don't forget to leave comments or I won't know that I have followers. Your comments keep me encouraged and posting! :) 

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

1 can cream of chicken soup [98% fat free]

1 can diced green chilies [4.5 oz]

4 oz sour cream, fat free

1/2 cup fat free milk

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed or shredded COOKED

6 cor tortillas, medium [approx 6" dia], torn into bite size pieces

1/2 diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup diced tomatoes, no salt added

6 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese [use a little more for extra flavor, being mindful of addtl. calories!]

Heat oven to 350F. Spray glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix soup, chilies, sour cream and milk until blended. Stir in chicken, tortilla pieces and bell pepper. Stir in tomato and 1 cup cheese. Spoon and spread mixture in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake uncovered for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

testing 1, 2...

Welcome! I've designed this blog to simply be a cooking blog. Whether or not it turns into more, only time will tell. But before I start, you must know, I am not a chef or a French pastry artist. I am simply a new wife with one goal: learn to cook [better]. Since I seem to naturally have kind of a "knack" for it, I've decided that expanding my horizons would be an excellent way to fill in some of the down time during my post-college job hunt. Needless to say, my husband agrees! I will shamelessly admit that I don't try recipes that are not accompanied by a picture so I will always take pictures of my finished product to post with the recipes.

With all that said...whether you are a new wife, old wife, mom, college student, any, all, or none of these, whatev- and you share the same desire with me to cook [better ;)], you can use my experience as a handy resource knowing that the recipes have actually been tried AND taste yummy [because you know I wouldn't post them otherwise!]. Again, thanks for stopping by and hope you come back soon!

PS) I was going to wait until I found a cute blog design to publish the first recipe but I just can't wait any longer! Summer is almost up (everyone from Texas thinking praise the Lord!) and I have the most YUMMY summer recipe to share with you. I made these for my friend Meagan who came to visit for the day and I have to admit this is one of the BEST recipes I have ever tried. AND it's healthy!! Double points, right? Hubby went on and on about it when I heated up the leftovers for him. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! I found it at Sing For Your Supper and the original recipe is by Cooking Light. Here it is:

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas 
cookinglight.com

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. olive oil

12 ounces chicken breast

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup fresh corn kernels [I used frozen] 
1 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 cup salsa

3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, divided

4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas

cooking spray

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese [I used Monterrey Jack cheese]

[I also added 1/2 can black beans and diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce]

Step 1: Preheat broiler.

Step 2: Combine first 3 ingredients [in small bowl], stirring well.

Step 3: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; saute' for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn and zucchini [and beans, if using] to pan; saute for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tbsp. cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. 
Step 4: Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 tsp. of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately. [You can top with lettuce & tomato after broiling OR place underneath chicken mixture before broiling]