Layered Mexican Chicken... and Leah Bug!

Mornin y'all
I know lots of you wanted the recipe to the Layered Mexican Chicken I made last night from Weight Watchers, so I'll post it here for you.  I halfed the recipe because it was too much for just me.  The PointsPlus Value is 7, and this recipe serves 12 (I made one for 6).  Prep time 20 min, cooking time 45 min, level of difficulty moderate (it wasn't difficult at all!  If I can do it, anyone can).  I had 15 points left for the day, so I let myself have two pieces.  Yummylicious!

2 sprays olive oil cooking spray
2 pounds uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 C fat-free sour cream
2 C shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese, divided
8 oz chopped green chilies, two 4 oz cans (really make the dish pop!)
2 tsp ground cumin (I didn't use this because I didn't have it)
1/2 tsp black pepper
13 medium corn tortillas, cut in half each (I used whole wheat 96% fat free)
1 C salsa

Preheat oven to 350°.  Coat lasagna pan with cooking spray.  Place chicken in medium saucepan and fill with enough cold water to cover chicken.  Set pan over high heat and boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 mins.  Drain.  When chicken is cool, shred with a fork (the recipe calls to dice the chicken, but I like it shredded better).

Transfer chicken to large bowl and add beans, sour cream, 1 C cheese, chilies, cumin and pepper; mix well and set aside.  Arrange 10 tortilla halves in bottom of pan, overlapping pieces to cover surface.  Top tortillas with 1/3 chicken mixture, layer 8 tortilla halves, top 1/3 chicken mixture, and place remaining tortillas on top, spoon remaining chicken mixture on top, sprinkle with remaining C of cheese.  Bake until bubbly and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces.  Serve with salsa on the side.

I really liked this dish, but thought it was a little dry.  I think maybe next time I mix in some salsa verde with it and see if that gives it some more "sauce."  I like sauce, and salsa is 0 points.  Booyah!

So I had to share a few pictures of my niece Leah Bug in her new Thanksgiving dress.  Her momma took these, so they are courtesy of What the Bell Photography.  =)  She is so stinking cute!

Hope y'all have a super fab day!  xoxo

Leah Bug's Thanksgiving Dress

I just wanted to share with y'all a really cute dress I made for my niece Leah Bug.  Her momma asked for a dress that she could wear for Thanksgiving.  I think it turned out pretty darn cute and I can't wait to see what it looks like on her!

Look at that!  2 posts in one day!  Don't expect that on a consistent basis :P

I'm good at starting blogs...

I am sooooo good at starting blogs. I'm also really awesome at forgetting about my blogs and just leaving them out there in blog-la-la-land to fend for themselves and rot away in blog darkness. I think I've had like 7 in the past few years, all for different reasons. I can't even remember the names of the other blogs, let alone log in information to actually access them and update. So I suppose I'll start yet another blog and see where the wind blows me. It's a crafting blog for all things craft-a-licious. I recently started sewing, and I'm totally in love with my new hobby. It took 28 years to find something that truly relaxes me and puts my mind at ease. =) I've also recently started meditating, which is another awesome relaxation technique, but not so much crafty as a great way to wind down after a long day and go to sleep.

I digress. My sister recently started blogging about her single life in the dirty C-bus, and she inspired me. She also hasn't updated hers in a few weeks, but whatever. You can tell just how polar opposite we are in our lives right now: she writes about her dating escapades with the single guys in Columbus, and I write about what I sew on lonely Friday nights while my hubby is working.

But I think I'll also use this blog as a venting forum for whatever I like, because it's my blog and I wanna. I can talk about my weight loss journey with the wonderful Weight Watchers (down 20 pounds today, booyah!). It doesn't have to all be sewing and needles and thread and ribbons and rainbows and unicorns.

So welcome to my newest blog journey. Maybe I'll actually keep up with this one, set some kind of attainable blogging goal, say an updated blog entry twice a week...

My new thing this week are peasant style dresses. They could not be anymore precious than they already are. I can't wait to get off from the "real job" today and go home and create something cute and funky!

Hope y'all have a sparkling, happy day!  Oh yeah... check out my facebook page where I upload lots of goodies that I've been making: The Queen Bee Bowtique.  If you see something you're interested in, just send me a FB e-mail or e-mail me at mrsbuckeyebell@yahoo.com.