King Ranch Chicken Casserole from Halfmysize.com

Mexican foods are my most favorite ethnic dish!!

And this one really hits the spot for me.

I use to make a similar dish years ago and lost that recipe somewhere along the way, so I was tickled when I found this recipe - with nutritional info included!

It's simple and delicious and could be made a day ahead and refrigerated.

I don't care for fat free cheese - it doesn't melt nicely, and I don't think it tastes too great either, so I opted to use the 2% reduced fat 'fiesta blend' that I had on hand. 

I also used whole wheat tortillas, and just have myself convinced that kinda 'evens' out the recipe not using the ff cheese.  *-*

If you want to use FF cheese - I would suggest mixing a small amount of 2% with it, and it'll make for a tastier dish.

I also cooked my own chicken...you don't have to use canned.

(I'm not real fond of the way the ingredients aren't listed in order according to the order you use them, but I copied this as it is in the cookbook)

KING RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE

(From halfmysize.com and The Better Baker)

1 - 10 ozs. can chicken breast, drained

1  can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

1 - 14 ozs. can diced tomatoes with green chilies

8 corn tortillas, cut or torn into fourths

1 c. fat free shredded cheddar cheese

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. celery, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  In nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute onion, garlic and celery until tender. Add soups, tomatoes and chicken; heat and mix thoroughly.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Spray 9" X 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Make a layer of tortillas in bottom of dish.  Pour 1/2 of soup mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/2 of shredded cheese over soup mixture. Repeat layers; ending with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.   Serves 6

Nutritional info per serving:

Calories: 205; Fat: 2.4 gr.; Fiber: 2.5 gr.

We have a new grandson!

Hello Blogging Friends!

We have been sent another sweet miracle from heaven!

# 8 grandchild....

SAMUEL GREGORY TAYLOR was born yesterday - March 3, 2011 - weighing in at 10# 14.2 ozs! 

(My hubby is retired from the military and is very fond of Sam's initials...

S.G.T. =)

Isn't he just a dumplin??  A BIG dumplin, yes...

Our daughter Deb was 38-1/2 weeks along and was dealing with gestational diabetes and high BP.

She was induced and had him naturally after about 4 hrs. labor.

Which is only right since she's had hours and hours of contractions for the last month!

They live almost 3 hrs. from us so we were on the road there when we got the call he had just arrived. 

His hair looks brown, but in the light, it definitely has a red cast to it.

We are partial to redheads - my husband is one of 10 in his family with red hair...none of our 3 children had red hair, but each of them have atleast 1 child with red/auburn hair.  

We just LOVE it!

It's just an added bonus to getting our precious gift.

While I stood at the nursery window with his two big sisters, Claira - 6 and Kaity - 3 - watching little brother get his first bath, Claira proclaimed "This is just the best day ever!"...then she looked up and said "Thank you God"...still brings me to tears to think I got to share in that special moment in time. 

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above....

Nana Marsha holding 2 hr. old Sam

IT JUST DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!

Healthy Carrot Banana Bread (or Muffins) from Halfmysize.com & more...

These were moist and delicious! 

I did tweak the recipe some, and made it even healthier than the recipe calls for....and also made muffins instead of a loaf.

Seriously, I don't have to look far - only a page or two - in this cookbook to find something I have to make...and then, it's a toss up which one to make first! 

For us, muffins are like dessert, so this recipe really hit the 'sweet tooth' spot. And the flavors seemed to blend very nicely - I wasn't sure about this combination, but was very pleased with the result.

I always have bananas in the freezer and I had some open unsweetened applesauce in the fridge, so I was tickled to be able to use up some of those ingredients as I made these tasty treats.

I'll share how I lightened them in the body of the recipe, but first I want to remind you of something I recently shared at another one of my posts.

Remember when I mentioned substituting ground flax seed meal for an egg when you're baking?  It adds fiber and also Omega-3  fatty acids - which are good for you - and I needed to make my walk match my talk. *-*

So this was one of the changes I made....I mixed 1 Tb. ground flax seed meal with 3 Tb. water for one of the eggs. 

(This works well if you substitute it for no more than half the eggs called for you in your baked recipe).

HEALTHY  CARROT BANANA MUFFINS

(by The Better Baker from

halfmysize.com)

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 c. sugar

(I used 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/2 c. Splenda)

1/2 c. egg substitute

(I used 2 large egg whites and the flax seed meal mixture)

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

(I used 1/4 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 lg. ripe bananas, mashed

1 c. grated carrots

In a mixing bowl, combine applesauce and sugar; add egg whites and flax seed meal mixture and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas.  Stir in carrots.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Put mixture into muffin pan. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes.  Yield: 12 muffins

Nutritional info per serving: (according to the recipe in the book)

Calories: 176; Fat: 1 gr.; Fiber 2 gr.

Here's the original recipe that makes it into a loaf.  And figured 12 servings.

Tip: When using Splenda to bake, because it bakes faster you should always cut baking time.

THEN....I found a sugar free recipe for cream cheese frosting in this book, and
made that too.  Instead of slathering a muffin with butter, we slathered them with sugar free frosting and it was super duper. 


I made half the recipe and it was plenty for our dozen (minus 2 already eaten!) muffins -

CREAM CHEESE ICING

8 ozs. fat free cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar substitute (I use xylitol)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-8 oz. tub fat free whipped topping

Cream together cream cheese, sugar substitute and vanilla. Fold in whipped topping.  Spread onto cooled cake or cupcakes (or muffins). Yields enough icing for one 2-layer cake or 24 cupcakes.

My tip: Do not beat fat free cream cheese with a mixer.  I used my whisk.  I remember all too well the first time I used ff cream cheese...the pie I made was runnier than all get out because I was unaware and had used my mixer.  FF products have more water in them.

So....I suggest you use a whisk to mix the first three ingredients, then fold in the whipped topping with a spoonula...as Rachel Ray says.   A curved-on-both-sides spatula scraper...it sorta looks like a big spoon. 

(Just a suggestion of course...but not a necessary one).

It may not be as smooth as you think it should be, but atleast it won't be runny.

Linked to Totally Tasty Tuesdays

No Bake Butterscotch Cookies from Halfmysize.com

These cookies are fabulous! I keep mine in the freezer and pop them in my mouth for a tasty and satisfying treat! They don’t freeze hard, but tend to last a little longer than if I keep them in view….

NO BAKE BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES  
(From Halfmysize.com and The Better Baker) 

1 cup sugar
1 cup sugar substitute (xylitol, stevia, etc) 
3/4 cup light margarine
2/3 cup evaporated skim milk
1 pkg. (4 serv. size) sugar free fat free instant butterscotch pudding mix
3-1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup butterscotch baking chips

 In a large saucepan, bring sugar, splenda, margarine and evaporated milk to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Stir in pudding mix, then oats, mixing well after each addition. Stir in butterscotch chips, mixing until chips are melted. Drop by heaping teaspoonsful onto waxed paper to cool and harden. Yield: 36 cookies

 Weight Watchers points per cookie = 2 (Pre-Points Plus)

 Nutritional info per serving: Calories: 100; fat: 2 gr;  fiber: 1 gr.

Ham and Havarti Croissants from Halfmysize.com

CAN WE EVEN BELIEVE IT'S MARCH ALREADY????

(I'll do the chocolate thing later....it's just what my cutsie calendar
says=)

(This is the first recipe to start off 2 weeks of sharing recipes from Halfmysize.com cookbook - they're all wondermous! and E.A.S.Y!

I JUST learned that Hungry Girl has a show on the Cooking Channel -
check her out!

YES!!!  and YES!!! again....

These are soo delicious - I can hardly wait to serve these to my adult children - they will love them too!

Simple and easy too, these would make a great appetizer or even an entree.
For breakfast too!

Something this tasty and only three ingredients???

BELIEVE IT!!!!!!

I haven't ever used havarti cheese, and had planned to use the 2% 'fiesta blend' cheese that I had on hand, when I spied some pepper jack that worked very nicely for this quick dish instead. 

Crescent rolls are definitely my second favorite ingredient (with cream cheese in first place.)  How can you go wrong using them? 

I just LOVE them!!

This is what they looked like as I was making them...

I cut up the cheese into little strips so it would roll up easier.

Ready to bake...

I do hope you'll try them - we will be eating them again soon!

NO doubt about it!

If you want, you could add a little mustard before baking?

HAM AND HAVARTI CROISSANTS

(From halfmysize.com and

The Better Baker)

1 can reduced-fat crescent rolls

16 slices Healthy Choice honey ham

4 ozs. jalapeno havarti cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375. Unroll crescents and separate into 8 triangles.  Place 2 slices of ham on each crescent.  Top evenly with grated Havarti.  Roll crescents according to package directions.  Bake for about 14 minutes or until crescents are done.

Serves 8

(or 2, if no one else is around to eat them=)

Nutritional info per serving: Calories: 193; Fat: 9.9 gr. Fiber: 0 gr.

Linked to Melt in Your Mouth Monday

        Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Totally Tasty Tuesday

Ingredient Spotlight

Gooseberry Patch Roundup - Appetizers

Weekend Potluck

GBP Roundup - Lightened Up