Hamburger & Noodle Casserole

My mom would make this delicious noodle casserole when we were growing up. I have changed the noodles and the cheese, but have kept pretty much everything else the same. It is something I still love to eat and it is easy to make. I usually make it in a big casserole pot, but unfortunately that was in the fridge with leftovers from another meal. I decided to make this in my glass 9x13 pan and think it actually worked better. It was much easier for me to see the serving size which is great when you are trying to eat healthy. The casserole turned out to be higher points plus per serving than I was hoping for, but one serving does fill you up. It is a tasty and quick meal that I still enjoy even if it is a higher points plus value than some dishes. I hope you enjoy it too!

Hamburger & Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound 95% lean ground beef

1 box Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Rigate

2 10-3/4 ounce cans of Campbell's Healthy Request Tomato Soup

Chili powder

1 1/2 cups Kraft 2% Milk Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

1. Cook noodles and brown ground beef.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, combine cooked noodles, ground beef, tomato soup, and chili powder to taste. Put mixture in 9x13 pan. Evenly spread cheese over noodle mixture.

4. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and noodles are hot. Enjoy!

Servings: 8 Pieces of Casserole • Serving Size: 1 Piece of Casserole • Weight Watchers Points+: 10

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

As you have probably picked up on, Craig and I love pizza! I think I could really eat it every day. Unfortunately, most pizza has a pretty high points plus value per piece. This pizza is only 4 points+ per piece which is great for pizza and it tastes good too! Not only is this particular pizza delicious, it is also easy to make. Delicious, easy, and healthy... What more could you ask for? I hope you enjoy it too!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza dough

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up in small pieces

3/4 cup barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays)

1 3/4 cup 2% cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 15x10 inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Stretch pizza dough to cover pan. Bake for 7 minutes.

3. Top pizza dough with barbecue sauce, then chicken, then cheese. Bake for 15 minutes. Cut into 12 pieces. Enjoy!

Servings: 12 Pieces of Pizza • Serving Size: 1 Piece of Pizza • Weight Watchers Points+: 4

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu reminds me of my days in college because it was often served for Monday night dinners at my sorority. I always enjoyed the Chicken Cordon Bleu but have not even considered making it now that I am on Weight Watchers because I assumed it was unhealthy and difficult to make. I recently came across a couple of recipes that sounded 1. points friendly and 2. not so difficult to make. However neither recipe was exactly what I was looking for so I combined the two, changed a few things and came up with this delicious dinner! Craig also thought it was great and is already asking when we can have it again! I hope you enjoy it too!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

4 slices Hormel Natural Choice Smoke Deli Ham

4 slices Sargento Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 egg whites

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

2 tablespoons dried parsley

Cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Slice chicken breasts in half. Place chicken breast halves between two pieces of wax paper and flatten by rolling with rolling pin to desired thickness (about 1/4 inch works well).

3. Place ham on top of chicken breast. Fold cheese slice in half and place on top of ham. Wrap chicken around ham and cheese so they are trapped inside chicken breast. Use toothpicks to keep chicken wrapped. Season chicken breast wraps with salt and pepper.

4. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and dried parsley. Set aside. In another shallow bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form.

5. Dip chicken breast halves in egg whites then roll in bread crumb mixture. Set in pan. Lightly spray chicken cordon bleus with cooking spray. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Enjoy!

Servings: 4 Chicken Cordon Bleus • Serving Size: 1 Chicken Cordon Bleu • Weight Watcher Points+: 5

Cheesy Italian Chicken Pie

My fiancé, Craig, loves Italian food. In fact, he says he could eat spaghetti every day. I, however, think once in a while is enough. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but it just isn't something that I could eat every day (unless you consider pizza Italian because that is a whole different story). Over the weekend, reruns of a couple of my favorite food shows featured Italian food. On the Travel Channel's Food Paradise, they showed an episode dedicated to the best Pastas and on Bravo's Top Chef-All Stars, the chefs challenge involved New York's ultra exclusive Italian restaurant, Rao's. So now I am in the mood for some good (but still healthy... the wedding is less than 5 months away now!) Italian food. I got this recipe from my sister so I thought I would give it a try. While it doesn't contain pasta nor is it very authentic, it satisfied my Italian craving. I hope you enjoy it as much as Craig and I did!

Cheesy Italian Chicken Pie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, cut-up

1 1/4 cups part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

8 oz canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup Bisquick Reduced-Fat Baking Mix

1 cup skim milk

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.

2. Mix chicken, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and tomato sauce in large bowl. Spoon into pie plate.

3. In another bowl, stir Bisquick, milk, pepper, and eggs with wire whisk until blended. Pour over chicken mixture.

4. Bake for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and bake 5 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut in to 6 slices. Enjoy!

Servings: 8 Slices of Pie • Serving Size: 1 Slice of Pie • Weight Watcher Points+: 6

Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

Pizza is one of my very favorite things. I love this Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza but the way it is "supposed" to be made isn't very weight watcher friendly so I decided to lighten it up! I chose to use Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust dough from the refrigerator section for convenience. You could make your own pizza crust as my original recipe suggests. I also chose to use turkey bacon so I could add more, but you could use regular bacon and just use less. My lightened up pizza turned out great! It was delicious! I hope you enjoy it too!

Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1 can refrigerated Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust dough

1 3/4 cups 2% milk mozzarella cheese

6 slices turkey bacon, cooked crisp

1 pound 95% lean ground beef, browned

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 cup 2% milk cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll pizza dough and press into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake for 8 minutes. When you take the crust out of the oven, sprinkle mozzarella cheese over inside of pizza crust. Crumble the bacon evenly over cheese and then top with ground beef. Drizzle barbecue sauce evenly over ground beef and finally top with cheddar cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and slice into 8 pieces. Enjoy!

Servings: 8 Slices of Pizza • Serving Size: 1 Slice of Pizza • Weight Watchers Points+: 7