Easy Tuna Casserole - 30 Days 30 Recipes - Day 22

This recipe was so easy to prepare.  I made it when I was in the middle of doing a million other things to get ready for my son's birthday party.   So even when you're pressed for time, this tuna casserole could be a good option.

As far as taste goes, it's decent.  My husband doesn't like peas, so I typically omit those.  I wanted to make the recipe as stated, however, so I chose to add them. He wasn't thrilled, but he was quite hungry so he just ate it. Also, he did really enjoy the onions.  We didn't all sit down together like we usually do, so the kids didn't try this one.

Will I make this easy casserole again?  Sure.  It didn't make me jump for joy, but it's a decent go to that's really easy to throw together.  My husband suggested subbing in green beans and omitting the peas.  That might work.

One last thing: like the other meals I have tried with cream of mushroom soup, I'd like to try making my own.  Here's one I'm planning on trying.


Find the original recipe on page 15: 100 Favorite Weight Watchers Recipes.


Taste Score: 6/7
Ease of Preparation Score: 10


Easy Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can tuna in water, drained (I used a pouch)
1 cup macaroni noodles, uncooked
1 can peas, drained (I used equivalent frozen peas)
1 onion, chopped
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup skim milk
6 tablespoons reduced fat cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl being sure to cover macaroni noodles.  Spray an 8x8 baking dish.  Transfer mixture to baking dish and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake* for one hour.

*Original recipe says to cover, but I did not and enjoyed the crunchiness of the edges.


Nutrition Information
Serves 4:
1 serving =
236 calories
3 grams fat
31 grams carb
3 grams fiber
19 grams protein

Weight Watchers POINTS - 4
Weight Watchers Points Plus - 6
Weight Watchers Smart Points - 7

Nutrition Information is approximate and is calculate using caloriecount.com.


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Pumpkin Butter - 30 Days 30 Recipes - Day 21

Ok, I guess I'm on a pumpkin kick.  And my family is still not a fan of it!  My first impression was that this recipe was going to be WAY too sweet.  Then I put it on an english muffin and had a bite. It's delicious!  I can imagine it being good on a fresh homemade roll or maybe a biscuit.

I had to use canned pumpkin because pumpkins are not in season right now.  Besides, it's so much easier and there are no added ingredients in the can, just pumpkin.

Lastly, the amount of sugar seemed high to me for a "diet recipe", but in light of the small serving size the amount was just right.  I will probably be eating this pumpkin butter for a while because I'll be the only one eating it, but that's OK.  It's so tasty!  This recipe was very easy and made me long for the days of autumn.

Find the original recipe on page 27: 100 Favorite Weight Watchers Recipes.

Taste Score - 10
Ease of Preparation Score - 10


Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients:

1 1/2  cups fresh pumpkin (I used 1 can)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
dash salt

Cook pumpkin until tender, drain off liquid and mash.*  Add remaining ingredients.  Cook over medium heat until desired consistency is reached.  This may be canned or kept in the refrigerator for several weeks.

*Skip this step if you are using canned pumpkin and simply mix all ingredients together.

Nutrition Information:
Serves Approximately 32 (about 1 tablespoon)
21 calories
0 grams fat
5 grams carb
0 grams fiber
0 grams protein

Weight Watchers POINTS - 0
Weight Watchers Points Plus - 1
Weight Watchers Smart Points - 1


Nutrition information is approximate and is calculated using caloriecount.com.

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What We Ate For Supper This Week

Sunday - Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff, spinach, rice or Shirataki rice

Monday - leftovers, chicken nuggets

Tuesday - Pasta (I had shirataki rice), red sauce and sausages, cake for dessert.

Wednesday - Pizza and subs

Thursday - turkey meatloaf, corn, pasta salad

Friday - burgers, hot dogs, fruit, baked beans, etc. at friends' house

Saturday - Easy Tuna Casserole, salad

Easy Tuna Casserole

Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff

Pumpkin "Pie" - 30 Days 30 Recipes - Day 20

This recipe is certainly a keeper.  I am pretty sure that over three or four days I ate this entire recipe by myself.  My husband isn't a fan of pumpkin and my son didn't try this one.  My daughter tried it and she said she didn't like it.  I'm not sure I believe her!  Anyway, in this case, I am not taking my family's opinions into consideration.  They are not pumpkin pie lovers!  If you like pumpkin pie and are looking for a lower calorie alternative, this is definitely the recipe to make!

In the future the only tweaks I would make would be to try this one out with a different sweetener.  I've made one similar to this with granulated Stevia in the Raw and it was not good.  Too much stevia can really make things bitter.  I may give it a whirl with liquid stevia, which tends to be less bitter, or even monk fruit extract.  I'll let you down if I do that.  Splenda is just fine with me, but I do like to mix up my sweeteners just to keep all things in moderation, as they say!


Find this recipe on page 4: 100 Favorite Weight Watchers Recipes.


Taste Score - 9 (just because it's not actual pumpkin pie)
Ease of Preparation Score - 9



Pumpkin "Pie"

Ingredients:

1 15 ounce can pumpkin
5 ounces evaporated milk
3/4 cup Splenda granulated
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a deep dish pie plate with nonstick spray.  Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Pour into pie plate and bake 35 minutes or until set.

Nutrition Information:
Serves 8
1 serving =
58 calories
3 grams fat
6 grams carb
1.5 grams fiber
3 grams protein

Weight Watchers POINTS - 1
Weight Watchers Points Plus - 2
Weight Watcher Smart Points - 2

All nutrition information is approximate and is calculated at caloriecount.com.


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Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff - 30 Days 30 Recipes - Day 19

This recipe was definitely quick and easy to prepare.  It paired nicely with spinach.  My family ate it with white rice, but I made shirataki rice for myself for a no calorie option.  This meal, while not my favorite, is a good go-to dinner if you have to throw something in the crockpot in the morning.  It's tasty and goes well with most vegetables or starches.  It's simple and I think most people would enjoy it.  It's very similar to most meals made with condensed cream of mushroom soup.  That's not a bad thing, just something to note.

So would I make it again?  Probably. Next time I might look into making my own "cream of" substitute and try it with that.  I've done it in the past, but lost track of the recipe.  Here's a link for one that looks pretty convenient.  I'll let you know if I try it!


Find the original recipe on page 11: 100 Favorite Weight Watchers Recipes.


Taste Score: 7
Ease of Preparation Score: 10



Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken breast halves
1 can Healthy Request low fat cream of mushroom soup
16 ounces light sour cream*
1 envelope onion soup mix

Put frozen chicken breasts on bottom of crockpot.  Mix other ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour over chicken.  Cook on low 7 hours.  Serve over rice or noodles.


*I used light sour cream, but the original recipe called for fat free.  If you use fat free, it brings the POINT value to 4, Points Plus to 5, and Smart Points to 4.  I was using what I had on hand, but in the future I might use the fat free to save calories.


Nutrition Information:
Serves 6
One serving =
285 calories
19 grams fat
6 grams carb
0 grams fiber
23 grams protein

Weight Watchers POINTS - 7
Weight Watchers Points Plus - 8
Weight Watchers Smart Points - 8


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