Rich, cheesy and saucy, with hearty chicken and healthy quinoa in a hot, comfort food casserole!
Yield: 6servings
Ingredients
1teaspoonolive oil
1/3cupchopped onions
2garlic cloves, minced
15ozcan tomato sauce
8ozcan tomato sauce
½teaspoonItalian seasoning
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonlemon juice
½teaspoonsugar
¼teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes
2oz1/3 less fat cream cheese, cubed
6tablespoonsgrated Parmesan cheese, divided
1cupshredded 2% Mozzarella cheese
3cupscooked quinoa
10ozcooked, shredded chicken breast
3tablespoonsseasoned bread crumbs
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 2 QT baking dish (such as 7x11 or 9X9) with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large skillet or saute pan (with a cover), bring the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for around 4 minutes, stirring occasionally until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and stir together. Continue to cook for another 30-60 seconds until garlic is fragrant and starts to turn golden.
Add both cans of tomato sauce and reduce heat to low-medium. Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt, lemon juice, sugar and red pepper flakes. Add the cubes of cream cheese and stir until dissolved into sauce. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of the Parmesan cheese and ½ cup of the shredded Mozzarella. Stir in until cheese is melted and absorbed into sauce.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the quinoa and shredded chicken and stir together. Pour the sauce over the top and stir until well mixed (chicken and quinoa should be fully coated in sauce). Transfer the quinoa mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly in the dish. Top with the remaining ½ cup shredded Mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
Place the bread crumbs in a dry skillet over medium heat and brown bread crumbs for a few minutes, stirring frequently until golden. Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over top of the casserole and bake in the oven for 35 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Notes
To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!Nutrition Information:349 calories, 33 g carbs, 7 g sugars, 11 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 28 g protein, 5 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)MyWW SmartPoints per (1/6th of the recipe) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 7 SmartPoints/ Purple: 4 SmartPointsWeight Watchers Points Plus: 8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)