Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

I was thinking something mexican but didn't have too much in the house.  I searched the web and found a recipe that I could use.  It has some low points for some of the ingredients, so I said lets try it!  And it tasted great!!

There's only 6 ingredients:

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole
(adapted from allrecipes.com)
5 cooked chicken breasts
1.5 cups of rice
1.5 cups of water
1 onion chopped
1.5 cups salsa
1 can Campbell's Healthy Request Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups of reduced fat cheddar cheese

1.  Cook chicken breasts if not already cooked.
2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3.  Cook rice.  I used White Minute Rice.  I cooked per their instructions for 1.5 cups of rice with 1.5 cups of water.
4.  Mix the soup, onions and salsa together.
5.  In a lighted greased 9x13x2 dish, layer the following:  half of the rice, half of the chicken, half of the salsa soup mixture, then half of the cheese.  Repeat again making sure the cheese is on top.

6.  Cook in preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.
7.  Top with sour cream or salsa.  For a spicier casserole, top with hot salsa or Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
The entire recipe excluding any toppings was a total of 65 Points Plus.  I had 10 servings from my casserole, so each serving was 7 Points Plus.

Notes for making next time:
This was OK but needs some more flavor.  Need to add some more spice or a hotter salsa.

Chili

My husband LOVES chili.  And the spicier, the better for him.  Me and spicy foods do not agree but I will make this for him.

2 key ingredients are: 

Bush's Chili Beans (Medium or Hot)

And jalapenos:

Please note that you should wear gloves if handling jalapenos!!  I did not and then touched my eye (and I was wearing my contact lenses).  My eye was burning.  Then my fingertips started to burn where I was holding the jalapenos.  Please do not make the mistake I did!

Chili
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

2 pounds lean ground beef ( I used ground sirloin)

1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (15 ounce) can chili beans, do not drain or rinse

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

3 chopped jalapenos (with seeds from about 1.5 jalapenos)

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 cup chili powder

1.  Brown ground beef.  Drain and crumble.

2.  In a large pot, add all of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 1 and 1/2 hours.

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
The entire recipe was a total of 68 Points Plus.  So I had 12 servings with 1 cup per serving.  So each serving was 6 Points Plus.

Notes for making next time:
Make variations - don't add the jalapenos, change the chili powder to mexican chili powder, etc.  My hubby likes this in all the different variations!

Crock Pot Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Food Blogs - I LOVE them!!  I didn't know they even really had them until a friend posted hers on Facebook.  Now, I'm hooked!!  I love to see what people are making and how they make it.  I love pictures with recipes too since I tend to eat with my eyes.  So when my friend posted her Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches on her blog, I knew that I was going to make them!

Before cooking anything, I tend to look out at the web to see the different options I have for the recipe.  I found these:
Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Buffalo Sandwiches

Crock Pot Shredded Buffalo Chicken
 (adapted from My Kitchen Escapades)
5 frozen Chicken Breasts
1 - 12 oz Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce
1/2 to 3/4 of package of dry ranch dressing mix

1.  Put chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.  Add dry ranch and hot sauce on top.  Cook for 5 hours on low.  Occasionally stir and turn the chicken breasts.
2.  Take only the chicken out of the crock pot and shred with 2 forks on a plate.  Place the shredded chicken back in the crock pot in the sauce.  Cook for another 2 hours on low.
3.  Use buns, rolls or a wrap to make your sandwich.  Add any toppings you would like...cheese or coleslaw.  We only added lettuce.

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
The entire recipe excluding the bun or wrap was a total of 20 Points Plus (Hot Sauce is FREE).  I made each serving size 1/2 cup that totals 8 servings.  That made each serving only 2 Points Plus!

Notes for making next time:
Very good but too spicy for me (but not my hubby).  Next time, put in some butter to cut down the hotness or decrease the amount of hot sauce.