Lightened King Ranch Casserole

Southern style favorites often carry more calories than most of us want to know about.Southern Living has slimmed down a whole bunch of southern dishes in their Lightened Southern Classics article. Here is one for Lightened King Ranch Casserole.

Light King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Serve with a veggie-loaded salad and vinaigrette. For added Southwest flavor, whisk a few dashes of hot sauce into the dressing.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Bake: 35 minutes
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
• 1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 (8-ounce) block reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preparation

Sauté onion and bell pepper in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender.

Stir in chicken and next 6 ingredients; remove from heat.

Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third tortilla pieces in bottom of a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with one-third chicken mixture and one-third cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

282 (32% from fat)

Fat:

9.9g (sat 5g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

21g

Carbohydrate:

26.4g

Fiber:

3.1g

Cholesterol:

54.4mg

Iron:

0.7mg

Sodium:

947mg

Calcium:

248mg

Southern Living, MARCH 2004