Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwiches 9 points/4 servings (1/2 c. each)
published in Light & Tasty October/November 2006, p48

Ingredients

2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
6 tablespoons Miracle Whip Light
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 dinner rolls
8 lettuce leaves

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the chicken, Miracle Whip Light, cranberries, onion, celery, salt and pepper. Cut tops off rolls; hollow out each roll, leaving a 1/2-in. shell. Line each with a lettuce leaf; fill with chicken salad. Replace tops. Yield: 4 servings.

Editor's Note: This recipe was tested with Miracle Whip Light salad dressing.

Nutrition Facts: 2 sandwiches equals 354 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 83 mg cholesterol, 796 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 25 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 very lean meat, 2 starch, 1 fruit, 1 fat.

*****
Made Sun, Feb 27, 2011. I ended up changing the recipe a little bit because we didn't have celery, and I thought that additions might be nice. Here are my variations:

- used 1 13 oz container of canned chicken (shredded)
- add 1 TB of sunflower seeds
- add 1 TB of coconut
- add 1/4 c. chopped pecans

My final product ended up being 8 points just for the salad while the original recipe is 9 points including the dinner rolls.

Everyone really liked the salad. Aaron isn't much of a carb eater, so I put his in a lettuce leaf and that worked really well. This was a nice change to the usual tuna sandwich after church on Sunday.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs LT02, 116, 9 pts (plus rice)

Ingredients

1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks
1 egg
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 teaspoons canola oil
2 large green peppers
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
6 cups hot cooked rice

Directions

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice (discarding remaining juice or save for another use). Set the juice and pineapple aside. In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 40 meatballs.

In a nonstick skillet, brown meatballs in oil; drain. Cut green peppers into chunks. Add broth, peppers and reserved pineapple to meatballs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the vinegar, soy sauce and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Add to meatball mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (3/4 cup meatball mixture with 3/4 cup rice) equals 456 calories, 10 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 58 mg cholesterol, 755 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 23 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2-1/2 starch, 1-1/2 vegetable, 1 fat.

*******
Made March 19th. This is a high point meal! As written, the recipe is worth 10 points. However, as I made it, it is worth 9 points for 8 servings. I used the Great Value brand meatballs instead of making my own and did not include the rice in point calculation because I only actually ate 1/2 c. of rice.

Because I used frozen pre-cooked meatballs, I just picked up the directions from "in a nonstick skillet..." and skipped cooking the meatballs. I just started adding the ingredients together. I left the peppers out because Matthew really doesn't care for them and I used red ones just the other day for the Asparagus Cashew Stir Fry. I thought I'd be nice and give him a break! lol

Once again Aaron wouldn't eat the meal, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I served it with california blend vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot mix) with mozz cheese and the Asian Peanut Salad.

Greek Pork Wraps

Greek Pork Wraps LT02, 151, 9.5 points

Ingredients

1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons Crisco® Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Canola Oil
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1-3/4 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pork tenderloin (1 pound)
1 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1 cup reduced-fat plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dill weed
8 flour tortilla (6 inches)
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Directions

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lemon juice, oil, mustard, 1-1/4 teaspoons garlic and oregano; add the pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours.

In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, salt, dill and remaining garlic; cover and refrigerate until serving.

Drain and discard marinade. Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill for indirect medium-hot heat. Grill tenderloin, uncovered, over direct-heated area for 2-3 minutes on each side. Move to indirect-heated area; cover and cook 10-15 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in foil; place on grill for 1-2 minutes on each side or until warmed. Slice tenderloin into strips; place on tortillas. Top each with 3 tablespoons yogurt sauce and 1 tablespoon green onions. Yield: 4 servings.


Nutritional Analysis: One serving (2 wraps) equals 402 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 77 mg cholesterol, 718 mg sodium, 34 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 34 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2 starch, 1/2 milk.

*******
Made March 2nd. The nutritional info yields 9 WW points and my recipe came out to 9.5 - not bad.

I bought a 2 lb pork loin roast for this and cut it in half. Unfortunately I missed an even cut and chose the smaller of the two for the recipe (13 oz). By the time it was done and had shrunk, the meat fed us all but it wasn't very filling. It made more of a two-person serving than 4. I should have gone ahead and cooked the whole thing.

I didn't use the grill, but instead used the stove and oven. For the 5 minutes of 'direct heat' I browned the pork over medium heat in a skillet and flipped it half-way through. Then put it in a covered dish in the oven for the 'indirect heat'. Because our oven is off and doesn't go above 300, it took about 30-40 minutes to get it cooked all the way through. My guess is that at 350 or even 400 it would have been done in 15 minutes.

I loved the dressing! It was reminiscent of Wendy's Chicken Ranch pita that they sold in the 90s. Oh how I crave those every now and then only to be left unsatisfied. Now I can make my own!!

The other exciting thing was that I used green onions fresh from our garden! woohoo!!

Unlike most of the meals I've made in this endeavor, everyone liked this recipe!! Aaron even ate 3/4 of his wrap! Matthew (who doesn't like pork) found it ok. His response was, "It's not mutton". Having had real Greek gyros, this wasn't quite up to par but it was a decent substitute. The wrap felt like it was missing something, and he said it needed lettuce and tomatoes. This recipe is a keeper and one that I'll experiment with in the future.