This past Wednesday nite was Keno nite with the ladies and as always, we had a blast. What a great group of women to have as friends. We all get along so well and really enjoy our monthly get-togethers. This isn't the entire group, but it is the group that played this month. It was my turn to host (which for me means bring the food). It's a small group and we try to take turns having it at a different a member's house each month, but since I live so far away from the remainder of the group, it falls on one of the other girls to let me host it at their house. Lisa is always a very gracious hostess and I'm so grateful that she allows me to host at her house. This time I made a chicken enchilada casserole, a layered salad and a banana cream pie. All recipes were healthy and low-calorie. I figure if I go for making the 'healthy' stuff, we don't have to feel so bad about eating so much and these days everybody seems to feel pretty much the same way. The food must have been a hit because I didn't bring any leftover home and recipes were requested. See recipes below (and notice I used Pampered Chef cookware in honor of my personal consultant and daughter, Ashley).
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
18 corn tortillas, medium
3 cups enchilada sauce
5 cups colby & monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup onions, diced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil the chicken in water until done. Drain & chop into small pieces. Chop onion. Spray a 13x9" pan with cooking spray.Dip tortillas in the enchilada sauce one at a time, making sure they are completely covered with sauce. Layer covered tortillas in the bottom of the pan, it should take six. Add a layer of chicken, onion & cheese. You don't want the tortillas to be completely covered with any one of the ingredients but you should put about half of the chicken & onion & about 1/3 of the cheese. Add a another layer of the tortillas dipped in sauce. Press down gently all over the pan. Add the remaining chicken, onion and cheese mixture. Add remaining layer of tortillas dipped in sauce & press down gently again all over the pan. Add the remaining cheese on the top. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, starting to brown and the casserole is hot all the way through. # of Servings: 16. Note: recipe can be easily cut in half and lean hamburger or ground turkey can be substituted. Recipe courtesy of www.sparkpeople.com
Classic Layered Salad
Makes:8 servings, 1 cup each
8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
Cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas, thawed
1 pkg. (6 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Smoked Ham, chopped
3/4 cup KRAFT Mayo Real (Lite) Mayonnaise
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup KRAFT Shredded 2% Cheddar Cheese
LAYER lettuce, onions, peas and ham in large straight-sided clear glass serving bowl.
MIX mayo, Parmesan cheese & sugar. Spread over salad to seal; cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
TOP with cheese crumbles and tomatoes just before serving; toss gently.
Note: The variations are endless.
Banana Cream Pie w/Caramel Drizzle
1 banana, sliced
1 reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust
2 cups fat-free milk (or 2%)
2 pkg JELL-O Banana Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Free Topping, divided
1/4 cup fat-free SMUCKERS Caramel Ice Cream topping
Arrange banana slices on bottom of crust. Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat w/wire whisk 2 min or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup whipped topping. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Top w/remaining whipped topping and drizzle with caramel topping before serving. # of Servings = 8. Recipe courtesy of http://www.kraftfoods.com/
When my old Char-Broil grill bit the dust from using it so often, I thought I'd be able to do without one, however, I've been missing my grill buddy ever since. So, this weekend I bought this little baby while on a shopping trip at Wal-Mart. My thinking is that this is the perfect way to determine if this little thing will do the the trick or do I actually grill enough to justify buying a bigger one. Once home, I opened the box up and OMG! there were a 'gillion' pieces! After my initial shock at seeing so many pieces, I 
began putting it together. Basically, the instructions stunk, but the pictures were fairly good and although I had to take a couple of things apart and then put them back together again after seeing the errors of my ways, I accomplished the task of being able to hook up the gas and am now grilling my first meal, using my Pampered Chef Grill Basket, on this little baby - a single turkey brat and veggies. She's little but she rocks!
