Week 1

I'm writing this post in retrospect since week 1 happened a month ago. But I wanted to share the recipes I tried and what I thought of them in terms of ease of preparation and taste. Here they are, enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from recipe zaar recipe # 81115

My notes & review: I cooked this filling completely the Sunday before use. I also doubled this recipe and froze a tupperware full of filling for easy enchilada assembly in the future.
**** This recipe was easy and the results were tasty. Will make this again and again. Freeze/thaws great.

35 min | 20 min prep

SERVES 2 -4

cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (about 1/2 lb)
1 cup reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 small can green chilles
1 cup picante sauce
3 ounces neufchatel cheese, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 cups bottled green taco sauce or red enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas

• Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and saute onions until soft.
  

• Meanwhile, mix chicken, 1/2 c. cheddar, picante sauce and cream cheese.

• Add to onions and cook over low heat until cheese begins to melt. Spoon about 1/3 cup filling on each tortilla and roll up. Place enchiladas (seam side down) in a 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle with taco sauce or enchilada sauce and remaining cheese.

Taco Bake
Recipe from: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/taco-bake-63779.aspx
** Not impressed. The Mac n cheese got mooshy and was unnecessary, IMO. Also not very good for you at all.

1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

1 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix

3/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

1 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

Make It

Heat oven to 400°F. Prepare Dinner as directed on package. While Macaroni is cooking, cook meat with taco seasoning as directed on package.

STIR sour cream into prepared Dinner; spoon 1/2 into 8-inch square baking dish. Top with layers of meat mixture, 1 cup cheese and remaining Dinner mixture; cover with foil.

BAKE 15 min.; top with salsa and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
makes 6 servings, taken from WW site, origins unknown.
* We really didn't like this. The chicken had little flavor and the stuffing was soggy. I am willing to accept that this might have been because it sat in the fridge in a pan waiting to be baked for 4 days. Maybe this isn't a great OAWC recipe.

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained, we buy no salt added
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top stuffing mix
1/2 c. water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3 breast halves)
1 t. dried basil
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic. Set aside. Cut the raw chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks.
In a greased 9 x 13 pan, place the chicken and then sprinkle it with the cheese and basil. Top the chicken with the stuffing.
Heat your oven to 400 degrees and put the casserole in for 30 minutes.

Bubble Up Pizza Casserole

8 servings; Taken from WW site, credit unknown
**** This was really tasty. Cheesy, good comfort food. VERY similar to the "Deep Dish Pizza Casserole" recipe that circulated a few years ago but no crust.

1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
16 oz tomato sauce
1/2 tsp dried basil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Veggie Toppings (mushrooms, peppers, olives, any of your favorites – BE CREATIVE)
17 slices Turkey Pepperoni (optional)
15 oz. refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, uncooked, quartered
1.25 c FF or soy mozzarella, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In skillet, brown meat over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in onion, tomato sauce, basil, garlic and Italian seasoning.

2. Add veggies (mushrooms, peppers, black olives, etc…whatever you like) and pepperoni. Add quartered biscuits; stir gently until biscuits are covered with sauce. Spoon mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until biscuits are done. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I made this last night and it was very tastey. The Husband liked it too. It's very lowfat.