Wednesday, April 22, 2009














My good friend, Becky, over at Casita de Alaniz (she's actually a "real life" amigo, too!) has some wonderful recipes. Over a year ago she shared her Chicken & Rice recipe with me and I was hooked.
Now, I know every good southern girl has her own recipe for Chicken & Rice, usually including a can or two of Cream o' Mushroom (a casserole standard in Texas), but Becky's recipe was different and...sooo yummy.
Becky & I recently chatted about lightening it up. She said she uses the brown Minute Rice (which helps since the fiber content would knock down the POINTS). Although I couldn't find the brown version at HEB last week, I recalculated it on the Weight Watcher site using the reduced fat soups and skim milk.
I seriously couldn't tell the difference. And neither could the fam. This will continue to live on as a family fave-- now a bit lighter!

Becky's Chicken & Rice...WW Style!

8-10 thawed chicken tenders or 3 large chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 can 98% fat-free cream of celery soup
1 can 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cans (yes, cans) Minute Rice (can use brown)
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix, dry
1 1/2 cans skim milk (it will rinse the rice out)

Combine soup in mixing bowl, add rice and then milk.

Man, I love how Becky thinks. She and I are so alike....this totally saves you a dirty measuring cup by using the can. She's one resourceful gal.

Mix well with wire whisk. Add package of onion soup mix, stir well and sprinkle with a little salt (I use Accent in place of salt a lot these days) and pepper.
Spray 9x13 casserole dish with Pam. Pour half of soup/rice mixture in the bottom.

Then lay chicken pieces on top of soup layer. Follow with remaining soup/rice mixture on top of the chicken to cover. Cover tightly with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for an hour and a half. Take foil off last 30 minutes to make the top a little browned.
Allow to sit a few minutes before serving.
6 generous  heaping servings.



POINTS value: 6 points per serving.

Weight Watching TIP OF THE WEEK:
Not all 100 Cal packs are the same. A few of them are PACKED with fiber to make them only ONE little point per serving...how awesome is that?
Two AWESOME fiber-packed 100 Cal packs are from our friends at Hostess and Mrs. Freshley's Snack Away brand. 

These Peanut Butter Wafers are only 1 point each (and actually only 90 cals) while their competition at Little Debbie with their 100 calorie peanut butter bars are 3 points each!
The hostess 100 cal cake packs are truly wonderful...we love the strawberry ones. 
Now, I am certainly not advocating that these are necessarily healthy, it would probably better to eat a piece of fruit. However, sometimes a treat is great. And it's fun to feel like I am eating "naughty" when I am really eating quite nice.
Happy snacking!

Oh, and I am so excited to report that I made one of my mini-goals last night at the meeting! I reached my 30 pound mark-- actually even went over a bit to make it 31.2 pounds lost so far. And I am still using all of my extra points every week-- every last one. 



4 comments:

Alisha Stewart said...

Looks yummy and easy (just my style). Congrats on the 30 pound mark. You look great!

Melissa said...

I'm so happy for you that you've reached a goal! Great work!!!

Amanda said...

Hooray!!! That's so awesome Kristi! 31 pounds is fantastic. Can't wait to try the new recipe. I made the green chile encilada casserole this week and it was super yummy!

Arly said...

We three say congratulations on the poundage lost!!! Way to go Aunt Kristi!! (that's from Nathan, although it came out more like : ttthhhhiiiiiiiipppppffffddddsssdtygyggghhhh)