Chicken Tamale Casserole ........

I came across some great recipes on the cooking light website (http://www.cookinglight.com/). I was looking for some new dinner options. This will help cure your craving for Mexican food with fewer calories.

Ingredients:

1 cup of reduced fat Mexican blend cheese, divided

1/3 cup 2% milk or fat free

1/4 cup of egg whites or egg substitute

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or ground red pepper

1 can of cream style corn - I used reduced sodium

8.5 ounce of corn muffin mix

4 ounce can of chopped green chiles, drained

1 can red enchilada sauce

2 cups of cooked chicken breast, shredded - I used ground chicken

fat free or reduced fat sour cream for topping

Cooking spray to coat dish

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine 1/4 cup of cheese and the next 7 ingredients (through the chiles) in a bowl , stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over the top. Next top with chicken and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup of cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces and top each with a dollop of sour cream.

Nutrition Information:

Calories - 354

Fat - 14.1 g

Iron - 1.7 mg

Cholesterol - 58mg

Calcium - 179mg

Carbs - 36.3g

Sodium - 620mg

Protein - 18.9g

Fiber - 2.5g

Enjoy!

Exercise update....

Well since I started tracking my meals and fitness daily on self.com I have lost a little over 5 pounds and up to at least one hour of cardio at a minimum of 5 days a week. I am starting to add in some strength training. I am tired of being flabby and need to get in shape for my health! I am going to attempt to run with my husband. Those of you who know Mark, he runs 5-6 miles at a time like it was a piece of cake! Me - not so much! I struggle to get a mile in without feeling like death! I don't understand I can go on the elliptical for an hour and feel great. I try and run and I can't breath and cramp up. I am sure there is something I am doing wrong! I missed the gym this evening but will do some crunches instead. It is not much but better than nothing! I will hit the gym for at least an hour of cardio first thing in the morning! Good night!

14 Hands Merlot - Washington State

Friday evening we went to pick up our monthly wines from WineStyles @ Friendly Center. We are members of their wine club. Benefits include 2 bottles of wine each month, discounts on everything in the store, special events, and 2 weekly wine tastings! It is a great deal for $34.99 per month. We were not able to go to the tasting on Thursday. Bummer! One of the wines they featured was the 14 Hands Merlot. We decided we would try a bottle while we were there. Great choice! You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck! With our discount, the bottle was $10.79 plus tax. I did a little research to find out more about this wine and its winemaker. Usually we do not pick wines from the Washington State region. The website says - crafted from premium grapes in the heart of Washington, 14 Hands is a special find! Indeed it is. I was curious to see how this wine gets its interesting name. While cruising through the website (http://www.14hands.com/), I stumbled upon the origin of their name. It is named after the wild horses that once made their home on the land upon which 14 hands grapes are grown, the wine retains the original spirit of its namesake. The website includes tasting notes for each of their wines. I discovered some wonderful information for the winemaker. The wine was aged in a combination of American and French oak barrels for 12 months. It is a blend of - 85% Merlot, 14% Syrah, & 1% other premium red varieties. Another interesting point is that this wine can only be purchased in specialty stores, at the vineyard, & restaurants. This cannot purchased at your local grocery store. So go support you local wine store! Happy Tasting!