Chicken Tetrazzini

(This picture stolen from a Cooking Light page online. I'm not that good.)

In an effort to eat more healthily, I've started adding more fruits and veggies to my diet, and I've been trying more recipes from my Cooking Light book. I've also developed a 7-star point system to reward myself for doing good health things. If I get 7 stars in a day, I get a bonus star. For some reason, the goal of having an 8-star day has been really helpful for me. And rewarding myself for the good things I do instead of getting down on myself for the one or two slip-ups has been really nice, too.

Of the many healthy recipes we've tried lately, this one was definitely a winner.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

1/2 T. butter
Cooking spray
1/2 c. finely chopped onion (I used a whole onion)
1/3 c. finely chopped celery
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
3/8 t. salt
12 oz. presliced mushrooms (I used 2 10-oz. packages)
1/4 c. dry sherry
1/3 c. flour
1 1/2 (14-oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I used an equivalent amount of broth from bouillon cubes)
1 1/8 c shredded fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 c. block-style 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3 1/2 c. hot cooked vermicelli (about 1/2 a pound) (I used a very thin spaghetti, and it was fine)
2 c. chopped cooked chicken breast (about 3/4 pound)
1 slice white bread (I used wheat)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large stockpot coated with cooking spray. Add onion, celery, pepper, salt, and mushrooms, and saute 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry, cook 1 minute.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup, level with a knife. Gradualy add flour to pan, cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk (mixture will be thick). Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
4. Add 7/8 c. Parmesan cheese and cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until cream cheese melts. Add pasta and chicken, and stir until blended. Place in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.
5. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs form. Combine breadcrumbs and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle evenly over pasta mixture.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings. Serving size: about 1 1/3 cups. (This was originally a double recipe for 2 casserole dishes, but I halved it all. Sorry if that makes some of the measurements a little wonky.)

Calories 380, fat 12.2 g, Fiber 2g.