Antibiotics, hormones, organic, etc: What U.S. food labeling terms really mean

All these terms can be confusing! Here are the official descriptions, directly from usda.gov:

NATURAL:
A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color, and that is only minimally processed. Minimal processing means that the product was processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product. The label must include a statement explaining the meaning of the term natural (such as "no artificial ingredients; minimally processed").

NO HORMONES - pork or poultry:
[By U.S. law], hormones are not allowed in raising hogs or poultry. Therefore, the claim "no hormones added" cannot be used on the labels of pork or poultry unless it is followed by a statement that says, "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones."

NO HORMONES - beef:
The term "no hormones administered" may be approved for use on the label of beef products if sufficient documentation is provided to the Agency by the producer showing no hormones have been used in raising the animals.

NO ANTIBIOTICS - red meat and poultry:
The terms "no antibiotics added" may be used on labels for meat or poultry products if sufficient documentation is provided by the producer to the Agency demonstrating that the animals were raised without antibiotics.

ORGANIC:

Organic products have strict production and labeling requirements, and are monitored by the government. Unless noted below, organic products must meet the following requirements: 

• Produced without excluded methods (e.g., genetic engineering), ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge. 
• Produced per the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). 
• Overseen by a USDA National Organic Program-authorized certifying agent, following all USDA organic regulations.

Raw or processed agricultural products in the “100 percent organic” category must meet these criteria: 

• All ingredients must be certified organic.
• Any processing aids must be organic.
• Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel.

On multi-ingredient products, different icons mean different things in regard to how much of the product is organic. Here's the official guide:

Sources: USDA definitions Organic requirements Understanding organic labeling

Mealprep: 40 recipes to stock your freezer and free your mind!

One of the best ways to eat healthy is to eat at home more. But for any busy person, this becomes a real challenge when it's 4:30 and you have no idea what to make for dinner. Prepping some ingredients and/or dishes ahead of time to stash in the freezer can save the day. Not only does it save you cooking time, it also saves you brain effort at the very time of day your brain is most overtaxed!

Sure, these mean a little more work on the weekend -- but you can do it at a leisurely pace, when you're rested and not rushed. Which I've found makes cooking so much more enjoyable! 

A week of dinners in the freezer, from The Kitchn. Recipes for: Baked Manicotti - Freezer Taco Kits - Twice-Baked Potatoes - Chile & Sausage Oven Frittata - Cranberry Pork Chops - Chicken and Wild Rice Bake. (Also includes side dishes, not listed here.) You can also find this same list of recipes with additional notes on how to turn prep day into a Freezer Meals Party.

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Here are tips for stocking your freezer with precooked and seasoned meats, which gives you more versatility than already-assembled dishes. Includes instructions (but not exact recipes) for twice-baked potatoes, two different ground beef mixes, a teriyaki marinade that you can use on any meat, poultry or seafood (lots of sugar in it, though), and shredded chicken plus broth. Also has a few nifty tricks for neater packaging.

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Here's Pioneer Woman's freezer cooking post. Not a lot of healthy stuff on the list, but I do love her tip for grilling whole chicken breasts and freezing them to have on hand for dozens of uses. I count about 11 main-dish recipes on her list, skipping the carb-laden ones.

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I also like this method for an easy way to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts, from Small Home Big Start. 

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Eight healthy freezer crockpot meals in 75 minutes, from New Leaf Wellness. Well, really four different meals, double batch of each. Beef Roast and Carrots - Chicken Fajitas - Mexican Chicken Soup - Garden Veggie Soup with Ground Beef.

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10 meals in 1 hour - super organized and detailed; even includes shopping list! Really just five recipes; double batch of each. Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken -  London Broil - Quick Taco Soup - Orange Glazed Pork Chops - Creamy Italian Chicken

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10 meals in 1 hour, take 2; the no-bake version; includes five warm weather recipes that are cooked either on the grill or in the crockpot—no oven required!

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A planned/non-planned approach. No recipes here, but some pointers for stocking your freezer with ready-to-go meat and cheese portions, then how to plan meals the weekend or night before, taking into account your schedule, the weather, and what's in your fridge that needs to be used up.

And here are a few ingredients to have pre-cooked and ready in the freezer:

• Carmelized onions
• Roasted garlic
• Perfect brown rice, in the oven

And a few things to know about food safety and quality:

• Learn about safe food storage
• How to avoid freezer burn
• Tips on organizing your freezer

Keeping a rotisserie chicken SAFELY warm for a few hours

I was looking this info up for myself; thought it was worth posting here.

What to do when you've bought a whole roasted chicken, still warm, but dinner doesn't start for an hour or more? Even putting it in a low oven is going to dry it out -- and they usually don't start out all that great. Putting it in the fridge requires more oven time to warm it back up, which will also dry it out. But is it safe to leave them out?

Here's what I found on a forum thread:

Original question: Dinner is about 1.5 hours away. The chicken was warm when I purchased it.

Normally, I buy earlier in the day and just stick it in the fridge. This time, though, it seems that it would be better to try to keep it warm. I keep picturing it lingering too long in the "bacteria growth" temp zone considering it won't be in the fridge very long before I pull it out to start reheating.

Is my thinking off? If it's okay to keep it warm, what's the best temp for the oven?

Answer 1: I just leave mine on the counter until dinnertime. Then I cut it into quarters, stick it on a cookie sheet and reheat in the oven at 350 F. I've been doing this for years and we're all still kicking.

Answer 2: It will be fine. It needs to sit out for a minimum of 2+ hours before you have to worry about getting sick.

Answer 3: Actually, you have 4 hours in the "temperature danger zone" from 40° to 140°F. If your store keeps the chicken at or above 140°, you have 4 hours after it is removed from the heater before it is considered unsafe. These are the numbers I was taught at culinary school and have followed without issue since.

Reply from original poster: Thank you all very much! Dinner was delicious! 

And a professional chef on another forum says:

Remember that the temperature danger zone is 40 to 140 F. When you buy a rotisserie chicken, it is being held at a higher temperature than that and they package them as such that they try to keep them warm for a decent amount of time. Then after that, once it drops to 140, it takes time for all those little buggies to grow, get married, and reproduce. The government states [the safe zone is] 4 hours to pass through the temperature danger zone. Add that to the 45-1 hour that it will take the bird to drop to 140, if left in packaging and considering the ambient room temp., and you have a considerable time before it becomes a microbe bomb. Of course, I probably wouldn't try to stretch it that long but 1-2 hours, following government safety standards, should be more than safe.

So, I tried it. I kept two rotisserie chickens in a tote bag on the counter, with a folded dishtowel below (to prevent heatsink from my granite countertop; if you have wood or laminate counters, no need for this). I also took one of those big flat insulated foil-looking bags and folded it over the top of the closed chicken packages, then clothes-pinned the top of the tote bag shut. It sat for about an hour and a half before dinner.

Result? The temperature was a bit on the lukewarm side. It would have been better with a bit of oven time, I think. Although the breast was dry, and oven time would have made this worse. Maybe oven time sealed up with some extra chicken broth.

As for intestinal problems, that was three days ago, and we're all good here!

photo credit: terren in Virginia via photopin cc

Quick, easy buffalo chicken quesadillas with avocado

image and recipe inspiration from halfhourmeals.com

This is one of my go-to recipes when I realize too late in the day that I haven't planned dinner. (AND it's one my husband calls restaurant-worthy!) I love it because it's a few simple things you can throw together and have dinner on the table in 20 minutes or less. Also, there's very little measuring involved.

I pick up some grilled chicken from the grocery store deli, grab an avocado and some appropriate cheese if I don't already have some at home. Tortillas and hot sauce are usually in my fridge. Butter: always!

For the chicken, you can use any already-cooked chicken you have on hand or can easily obtain. Grilled, roasted, whatever! Tear it apart with your hands; this lets you find and dispose of any parts that are overdone and chewy. It also creates a nice, uneven surface for the sauce to cling to. Or you can use already shredded chicken, if that's what you have on hand.

Quick easy buffalo chicken quesadillas

two small chicken breasts and one thigh, already cooked
1 T. butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
3-4 T. hot sauce (I like Cholula Chipotle)
1/2 avocado
4 flour tortillas, fajita size (6 to 7")
4-5 oz. queso fresco or Monterrey Jack, shredded

Put the 1 T. butter and the hot sauce in a small skillet over medium-low heat. While it melts, tear the chicken apart and slice the half avocado thinly. Once the butter is melted, stir it around to mix in the hot sauce, then add the chicken to the pan and toss lightly to coat. If you still need to finish your prep, turn the heat under the chicken mixture a little lower.

Put a large skillet on another burner, and turn the heat to just-under-medium. Let this heat up while you assemble the quesadilla.

Lay one tortilla on a cutting board or edgeless cookie sheet. Sprinkle about one fourth of the cheese on it; top with half of the avocado slices (1/4 of the avocado), then scatter half of the chicken on top of that. Sprinkle over this another fourth of the cheese, and top with a second tortilla. Press it down lightly, and if any chicken bits fall out, tuck them back in.

Lightly coat the large skillet with butter -- just enough for the size tortilla you're using. Carefully slide the quesadilla onto the hot skillet, and cook for a few minutes, till the color on the underside is GBD. (Golden brown and delicious!) Turn it over and heat the second side likewise.

Remove to a cutting board, and repeat the process for the other half of the ingredients.

When both quesadillas are done, slice them into sixths. (A rolling pizza cutter works nicely.) Serve with sour cream (and/or plain yogurt) and salsa on the side.

Serves 3 to 4.

Here are the nutrition facts, based on 3 servings per recipe, via myfitnesspal.com:

Nutrition Facts
Servings 3.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 455
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 23 g	35 %
Saturated Fat 11 g	56 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 89 mg	30 %
Sodium 871 mg	36 %
Potassium 294 mg	8 %
Total Carbohydrate 27 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 19 g	75 %
Sugars 0 g
Protein 36 g	71 %

Based on this recipe from HalfHourMeals.

Spinach salad with strawberries

This is my second-favorite salad of all time, a close second to quinoa and spinach salad -- and no surprise there, since they contain many of the same ingredients.

I think a big part of what keeps this one at the top of my list over other green salads is that I only buy strawberries when they're in season. (My test for whether they're good and ripe? If there's a box of them at table height and I can smell them when standing over them, they're good!) And since here in Kansas, good strawberries are only available April through June, this salad is a rare treat.

(SO jealous of my niece who lives in California, and can get amazing ripened-in-the-field strawberries year-round!)

It's good with or without chicken, and all ingredients can be adjusted to your taste.

Recipe: Spinach salad with strawberries

For each individual salad:
2.5 oz. baby spinach (or thereabouts)
sliced fresh strawberries, to your taste (maybe 1/2 a cup?)
1 - 3 T. feta cheese, seasoned or plain
red onion, sliced thin; amount to taste
1.4 c. pecan halves (or to taste)
half of a seasoned, cooked chicken breast (about 3 oz.) - optional
balsamic vinaigrette or onion poppyseed dressing, to taste

Combine all ingredients; toss; enjoy!
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Nutrition info, according to myfitnesspal.com:
Calories: 444
Carbs: 17
Fat: 32
Protein: 24
Sodium:  780
Sugar: 9

Emergency, quick, easy barbeque sauce

Everybody's got a bottle of BBQ sauce in their fridge, right?

Except, of course, if you've already been to the store, and the meat is in the oven, and you don't want to go back out again. True story.

But a little desperation is often the beginning of a great new recipe.

A little googling turned up a recipe which claims to be "A Very Popular BBQ Sauce." It looked quick and simple, so I used this as the starting point for my DIY BBQ sauce. I needed to scale it down, cut back on the sugar, and replace the hot sauce. I was very happy with the result! I think you will be, too.
.

Emergency BBQ sauce

1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. brown sugar (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)
3 T. red wine vinegar
3 T. water
1 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce (or more if you like it, or optional if you don't have it)
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 t. adobo sauce, or more if you like it spicy (optional; adds heat and smokiness)
1/8 t. salt

If you'll be applying the sauce to meat that's going back on grill or oven, you can just mix it up and add it in/on.

If serving as a condiment, it will benefit from a brief heating....

Put everything in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir till well combined and cook for one or two minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

Remove from heat and let cool.

photo credit: The mofoJT via photopin cc

12 Mediterranean Diet Recipes to Try

With more and more evidence pointing to the Mediterranean Diet as both good for you and easy to live with, I'll be exploring more of these recipes. Here are a few I've got my sights on...

Chopped Greek Salad with Chicken, from Eating Well.

Grilled Rosemary Salmon, also from Eating Well

Insalata Caprese II, via AllRecipes

Greek Island Chicken Shish Kebabs, via AllRecipes

Spinach and Feta Pita Bake -- sort of a 15-minute pizza; via AllRecipes (400+ reviews; 4.5 stars)

Mediterranean Chicken, made entirely stove-top; via AllRecipes

Fattoush Salad is ubiquitous in Wichita, and with good reason: Lebanese is our strongest ethnic influence here -- plus, it's delicious. Here's Kalyn's Fattoush recipe.

Greek Feta Yogurt Dip, from Jeanette's Healthy Living

Chicken Breast with Prosciuto, from Tobias Cooks

Zaatar and Lemon Grilled Chicken, from Sunset

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And a couple bean salads to try (no good pics):

Mediterranean Inspired Kidney Bean Salad, from Delectably Healthy

Bean Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, from the Mayo Clinic

Recipe review: White Bean Chicken Chili

I saw a yummy-looking recipe pinned on Pinterest the other day and thought it sounded like great food for a snow day. But when I looked up the recipe, it didn't sound so great. The recipe was scaled to feed a crowd, and used very little actual chicken.

I still loved the idea, though, so I hit AllRecipes and found this one there.

Photo from AllRecipes.

I made a couple minor tweaks: I only used one can of beans, and skipped the cayenne. I also used already-roasted chicken breasts from Dillon's deli to cut down on some time and effort. (The secret to getting juicy roasted chicken at the grocery store? Pick it up at 3:30 or 4 pm. By 5 or later, they've been sitting under heat lamps too long and have become nasty-dry.)

This was a hit with my husband -- and that's sayin' something, because he is an avowed soup-hater! And he even commented on how good the chicken was. He's not really a huge fan of chicken, either.

I liked it because it was fairly simple to throw together. And yes, yummy! (A tiny bit too spicy for me, but then, I'm a spice wimp.)

If you've already made traditional chili in the last week but you're not out of snow days yet, this is great cold-weather food! White Bean Chicken Chili, via AllRecipes. Husband and wife approved.

Six yummy salads with chicken

It's summer, and that means salad! Now that you know how to make easy roasted chicken breasts, here are six of my favorite salads featuring chicken breast:

Chicken club salad with creamy balsamic dressing

Make-ahead Tex-Mex salad

Orange-cranberry chicken salad

Chicken salad with Asian ginger-peanut dressing

30-second Caesar salad -- shown here with deli turkey, but you could make it with shredded or thinly sliced chicken, too.

Almost-Panera's Asian chicken salad

Do you have a favorite salad that uses already-cooked chicken?

Easy roasted chicken breasts

One of the best things you can do to make quick, healthy dinners more doable is to have some already-cooked chicken on hand. The stuff you buy ready-cooked at the grocery is loaded with salt, probably has corn syrup in it, and doesn't taste all that great. Here is the simplest, lowest-hassle, and most delicious method I've found for make-ahead chicken.

If you want to be super efficient, make enough to stash for future use, plus enough for dinner tonight, and serve it straight out of the oven -- it's great on its own, too!

Recipe (really, just a method):

Chicken breasts, roasted to use in recipes

Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Olive oil (about 1 teasp. per breast)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray or oil it. Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, in the pan with an inch more more between them. Brush the tops liberally with olive oil, then lightly with salt and pepper, according to your taste. Place a meat thermometer 2" into the fleshy part of the largest piece, trying not to hit bone. (Which would make the temperature misread.)

Bake uncovered until the internal temperature hits 165 F. If you don't have an accurate thermometer, the skin should be a light golden-brown...

...but the juices should also run clear. To clearly see the color of the juices, slip a white dish under the edge of one breast and poke a hole just above it. Let some juice run into the dish, and look at it in good light. This test looked a little pink, so I stuck the chicken back in for about five minutes.

But also be careful not to overcook it! That's what makes chicken tough and dry. If in doubt, pull it out a little on the underdone side. The outer and smaller parts of the chicken will probably be cooked through, with a little more pinkness in the center. Save the more-done pieces for salads and sandwiches; use the slightly underdone pieces for dishes that will get cooked some more, like soups, casseroles, and enchiladas.

If you're serving the chicken right away, though, make sure that everything you serve is cooked through.

To store for future use, let chicken sit at room temp or in the fridge till it's cool enough to handle. Pull off and discard the skin. Pull the chicken meat off the bone. Discard the bones. You can bag the meat and store as is, or cut into bite size pieces, or shred -- whatever works for your use. Store in tightly covered containers or plastic bags.

The FDA says that cooked chicken can be kept three to four days in the fridge, or up to four months in the freezer.

Tomorrow I'll post a round-up of six of my salad recipes that use chicken!

Recipe review: Hummus salad dressing, Mediterranean salad

Last week, Kalyn's Kitchen posted a recipe for Mediterranean Salad with Hummus Dressing, and I made it for dinner that night. I mean, hummus-based dressing -- how genius is that?

To suit our tastes, I made a few tweaks.

• Added a sliced roasted chicken breast, for added protein. (Picked up at the deli.)
• Swapped out red wine vinegar for the lime juice in the dressing. (To suit the hubs' taste.)
• Added a little Splenda; again for my husband. I love things sour; him, not so much. (I mean he doesn't like things sour; not that I don't love him so much!)
• Substituted sun dried tomato slices for the olives, since neither of us are olive fans.
• Sprinkled a little zaahtar seasoning on top.

It made a tasty, easy-to-throw together meal. Still plenty zesty, even with the tweaks. Two thumbs up!

Chicken club salad with creamy balsamic vinaigrette

Working from home has its perks and its challenges.

One of the perks is making yourself lunch every day.

One of the challenges is making yourself lunch every day.

For me, answering "What's for lunch?" usually starts with a peek in the fridge to see what protein options I have on hand. With the weather warming up, I feel like a salad pretty much every day, but it's got to have some protein.

On this particular day, I had a bit of roasted chicken, but just a small portion; not enough to make even one serving of orange-cranberry chicken salad.

So what else was in there? Some fully-cooked bacon. I'm okay with using bacon as a flavor accent, but it's not really healthy enough to be the main protein in a meal, IMHO. Hard boiled egg would round things out nicely.

So I grabbed a few eggs and boiled them. It just takes a few minutes, and ever since I got this handy little egg timer, my hard boiled eggs come out perfect every time. The product description says it best:

" Simply add the egg timer in with your eggs and boil... There's an easy-to-read scale within the timer. During the course of boiling, the timer changes colors, from red to purple, starting from the outside edge and moving to the center. When the color change reaches your desired spot on the scale, the eggs are cooked accordingly."

So although I just wanted one egg for my salad, I make a couple extra for deviled eggs, tomorrow's lunch, or who knows what. While the eggs were boiling, I fried up some of the bacon. Since it's fully cooked, that's not really necessary, but I like it crispy. (If I had a microwave, I could nuke it, but I don't.)

I chopped up some romaine, and sliced a little red onion very thin. Then, to whip up the dressing.

This is based on a super-simple dressing recipe I learned from a friend...

 Dressing option 1:

1-2-3 Dressing

1 part sugar
2 parts balsamic vinegar
3 parts olive oil

You just combine those in a jar and shake them up. Easy-peasy, right?

But there are two things I don't like about that. First of all, it's got sugar. And although you can sub another sweetener, I've found that sweetener-based dressings don't cling to the greens like the sugar-based version does.

Also, it tends to separate easily. So here's my solution:

Dressing option 2:

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 packets Splenda (or sweetener of your choice equiv. to 4 t. sugar)
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. mayo
2 T. olive oil

Put the sweetener and the vinegar in a small jar. Swirl it around until the sweetener is mostly dissolved.

Then add in the mayo and shake it up well, until no more white flecks can be seen on the inside of the jar. Then add the olive oil and shake again.

This makes enough for the generous dressing of one good-sized salad, or two smaller ones.

The addition of the mayo helps both with making the dressing cling to the salad, and keeping it from separating.

So, by this time, your eggs should be done. Rinse them with cold water for a minute or so, then shake the pan so the eggs smack against each other, to crack the shells. Then remove the shells, and slice up as many as you want for your salad.

Assembly time: romaine, chicken, egg slices, bacon, sliced onion. I wasn't in a cheese mood on this particular day, but you could certainly add feta, bleu, Swiss, or shredded cheddar to this. Then drizzle dressing over the top and toss lightly.

There you have it: a fresh, healthy, delicious salad, in less time than it would take you to drive to a bistro and read the menu!

I call that a perk.

You might also like:
30-second Caesar salad
Ginger-peanut salad dressing
Make-ahead Tex-Mex salad

Make-ahead Tex-Mex salad

On days when I know I'm going to be busy the last few hours before dinner -- or on days when I'm not sure exactly when the hubs will get home, but I want to have dinner ready to go at a moment's notice -- I have several recipes that I can get all prepped earlier in the day, then throw together in a matter of minutes.

This is one of them: call it taco salad, or Tex-Mex salad, or easy ensalada... it's yummy in any language!

The first step is to chop the romaine. I use about 3/4 to one whole heart-of-romaine head for each person. And since I'm just prepping for two people, I go ahead and put the chopped romaine right into the bowls we'll be eating out of. (I'm just showing one bowl here, but I make two. Cross your eyes if you want to see two.)

Next I whip up the salad dressing. This is easy-peasy!

I put a big plop of sour cream or Greek yogurt in a small mixing bowl, then add an approximately equal amount of salsa. I don't measure it, I just eyeball it, but I'm guessing I probably use about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of each. Then I add in a teaspoon or two of taco seasoning. (Try my recipe for taco seasoning.) Stir it all together; you're done!

Then all that's left is to rinse and drain a can of black beans, slice some red onion nice and thin, and set out a small bowl of pepitas (de-hulled pumpkin seeds that have been roasted and salted). If you're not watching carbs, you could use some tortilla chips, but I think the pepitas give a nice little crunch and saltiness while being a little healthier option.

I also take a couple of cooked chicken breasts and slice them up. Some days (if I've planned ahead), I'll use chicken that I've roasted or grilled. Some days (if I don't feel like so much cooking), I'll pick up a couple roasted chicken breasts at the deli counter at the grocery store.

Then I cover the perishables with cling wrap and stick them in the fridge.

And when it's time for dinner, pull everything out, pour some shredded cheddar-jack cheese in a bowl -- or if you're lazy like me, just set the package out -- and each person can assemble their salad as they like.

(The chicken was not present for picture day.)

Since this dressing is so thick, I like to put it on the greens first then turn it over a few times to coat all the leaves, just like you would a Caesar dressing.

Sorry; no pic of the finished salad. We were too hungry! Mmm-mm!

You might also like:
Ginger-peanut dressing
Chicken club salad with creamy balsamic vinaigrette

Ginger-peanut dressing

Here's a simple salad dressing that rivals any restaurant Asian salad! My favorite salad combo to serve it with -- and the one shown above -- is, for each serving:

- one heart-of-romaine head, chopped (I save the bottom 4" to use as dippers with hummus, etc.)
- one regular or two small green onions, sliced thin
- one or two handfuls of slaw mix with carrots
- chopped bell pepper to taste
- chopped nuts of your choice and to taste: peanuts, cashews or almonds
- chopped cilantro to your taste
- optional: 1/2 to 1 whole cooked chicken breast

Just toss all this together and serve immediately, or cover and chill till you're ready to serve.

Just before serving, drizzle on the dressing. This recipe makes enough for about four servings.

Recipe: Ginger-peanut salad dressing

1/4 c. rice vinegar
2 T. minced fresh ginger root
2 T. sugar-free peanut butter
1 T. honey
2 pkts. Splenda
1 small garlic clove
1/2 t. sesame oil
1/2 c. canola oil

Combine all ingredients except for canola in a blender and process till smooth. With the blender running, drizzle in the canola oil.

Best if chilled for a couple hours before serving.

Orange-cranberry chicken salad

I came up with this recipe one day when I was craving curry chicken salad for lunch, but couldn't find any recipes that didn't call for chutney. How could I do a quick fake for chutney? I tried onions sauteed till soft, then combined them with orange marmalade. Pretty good!

An alternate and easier approach is to just use green onions, and skip the sauteing step. I've tried both, and it's good both ways.

You can use the nuts of your choice. I prefer the contrast of salty cashews, but since they just disappear in the salad, I decided to use pecans for the photos. Again, both are tasty, and you can use your choice. Sliced or slivered almonds would work nicely, too.

To keep the carbs down, I use a sugar-free marmalade and make sure my mayo has a minimum of sugar and no corn syrup. One of these days, I want to try making mayo from scratch. But not today.

Recipe: Orange-cranberry chicken salad

2 c. cooked, cubed, cold chicken
1/3 c. yellow onion, diced fine (or 5-6 green onions, sliced thin)
1/3 c. mayonnaise (more if your chicken is dry)
2.5 T. sugar-free orange marmalade
1/2 t. hot curry powder
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
dried cranberries & nuts to taste
hearts of romaine or whole grain crackers, optional

If using yellow onion, saute till translucent. If using green onion, reserve a bit of the green tops for garnish, if you like.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the onion, mayo, marmalade and spices; stir till well combined. Add an extra tablespoon or two of mayo if your chicken is on the dry side. Stir in the chicken, and green onions, if using. Add dried cranberries to suit your taste. Don't add the nuts until just before serving.

You may eat it right away, but the flavor improves if chilled it for an hour at least. It's also a great dish to make a day ahead.

Just before serving, stir in the nuts. Garnish with green onion and extra cranberries, if desired. Serve with hearts of romaine or whole-grain crackers.

Serves 2.

You might also like:
30-second Caesar salad