Friday, May 28, 2010

Three recipes in one week!


Tasty Tuna Casserole
Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook Copyright 2009

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni I used Smart Taste
1 can (12 ounces) white water-packed solid tuna
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, cubed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drain macaroni; stir into tuna mixture.

Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1-1/2 cups equals 334 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 56 mg cholesterol, 851 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 29 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 very lean meat, 2 starch, 1 fat. (I copied this info from online where the recipe called for reduced-fat cream cheese but the cookbook called for fat-free so the fat might be a bit lower with the fat-free.)
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This was one of the most difficult dishes to photograph. It's not exactly a pretty recipe but it has many other favorable features. It's healthy, not too expensive and quick and easy to prepare. It tastes pretty good too. I like the touch of oregano but you can experiment with the seasoning.

I thought this would dry out easily but it stayed moist until I packed away the leftovers. I'm not sure how well it will freeze but we'll see. It made quite a bit so I had no choice but to freeze the leftovers.

I really like this cookbook. It's organized by categories and then by calories per serving. I'm not sure how beneficial that is but in the end it really comes down to taking in fewer calories than you're burning, if you want to lose weight, so I think it's wise to emphasize calories. And despite the fact that this recipe uses a fat-free ingredient, this book doesn't rely heavily on fat-free products, which I think is a good sign. Fat-free products that aren't naturally fat-free just aren't natural LOL!

1 comment:

Sheila said...

I'm the only one in my family who loves tuna casserole so I don't make it for just myself--maybe I should some day. This recipe looks really good.