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.