Light Broccoli Three Cheese Bake

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but my goal this Thanksgiving was to really try to cut out some of the fat and calories that are so often synonymous with big holiday meals. Now I know some of my foodie friends are absolutely REPULSED by the idea of traditional "green bean casserole". You know what I'm talking about... the kind that uses Cream of Crap condensed soup and those crispy onion bites? Yeah, that stuff. I just LOVE that stuff!

But instead of trying to lighten up a classic (because I'm sure I'd just be disappointed with the outcome) I decided to go in a different direction. I knew I wanted healthy, I knew I wanted green veggies, and I knew I wanted at least a few of those crispy little onion bites! Well what do you know, I think we found a winner...


Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup fried onions (from 2.8-oz can)





• 2 bags (24 oz each) Green Giant frozen Broccoli & Three Cheese sauce





• 1 package (3 oz) fat-free cream cheese, cut into cubes





• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, if desired





• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350°F.




• In 5-quart Dutch oven, mix broccoli, cream cheese, bell pepper and red pepper sauce. Cover; cook over medium-low heat about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking, until sauce chips are melted. Transfer to ungreased 2- to 3-quart casserole.

• Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle onions around outer edge of casserole; bake 5 minutes longer.

If you want to make this ahead of time like I did, just finish the first two steps of directions and pop in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. The next day I simply brought to room temperature and finished the last step.

While this was definitely not a direct substitute for my dearly cherished, calorie laden vegetable side dish, it was still very good. And at only 60 calories a serving you don't feel like a gluttonous heathen going back in for seconds.

I know some of you are rolling your eyes right now about the bagged broccoli with cheese sauce, and that's okay! You're probably the same people who would rather go hungry than eat traditional green bean casserole, which it okay too. But this is one of the perks of hosting the holiday at your own home... you get to decide what goes on the table ;)

Source: Eat Better America