Applebee’s® Low-Fat Asian Chicken Salad
As the seasons change so does the menu, at this popular 1064-unit casual restaurant chain. Youĺll find this item in the ôLow-Fat and Fabulousö column during the summer months where itĺs been a favorite since 1997. As with any salad, the waistline violator is the traditionally fat-filled dressing thatĺs drizzled in gobs over the top of very healthy greens (a tablespoon of dressing is usually around 10-12 grams of fat each). So if we can just figure out a cool way to make the dressing fat-free, weĺre well on our way to making huge salad ľ four of them to be exact ľ with only 12 grams of fat on the entire plate. Most of those grams come from the chicken breast, while the crunchy chow mein noodles pick up the rest. Just be sure to plan ahead when you make this one. The chicken should marinate for a few hours if you want it to taste like the original. Get ready for some big, meal-size salads.
1 cup teriyaki marinade
4 chicken breast fillets
Fat-Free Asian Dressing
2 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dry pectin
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
3 cups shredded red cabbage
3 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped green onion
1 1/3 cups crispy chow mein noodles
1. Combine teriyaki marinade and chicken breasts in a medium bowl or resealable plastic bag. Marinate chicken for 3-4 hours.
2. Prepare the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a rolling boil while stirring often with a whisk, then remove the pan from the heat to cool. When dressing has cooled, pour it into a covered container and chill.
3. When chicken breasts have marinated, preheat barbecue grill to high heat. Grill chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, or until done.
4. Combine the romaine and iceberg lettuce, red and green cabbage and 1 cup of shredded carrots in a large bowl with the dressing. Toss well.
5. Divide the tossed greens among four plates. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of green onions over each salad, followed by 1/3 cup of crispy chow mein noodles.
6. When the chicken breasts are done, slice each one, widthwise, into bite-size pieces. Sprinkle the sliced chicken breasts over each salad.
7. Place a 1/4 cup pile of shredded carrots in the center of each salad.
Nutrition Facts
Serving size ľ 1 salad
Total servings ľ 4
Fat (per serving) ľ 12g
Calories (per serving) ľ 575
Applebee’s® Bananaberry Freeze
Ah, if only kitchen cloning was an exact science. While working on this one I saw the same bartender make the drink two different ways on two different days. Only after a firm grilling did I get her admitting to her personal “improvement” to the chain’s secret recipe. The official clone includes the ingredients found below. But if you want to add a little pineapple juice — as some independent thinking bartenders are apt to do — you might discover you have indeed created a tastier version of this refreshing smoothie. On that day the cloning gods shall be looking the other way.
But, for heaven’s sake, be sure your banana is soft and ripe. This is a detail the gods won’t ignore.
1 10-ounce box frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
1/3 cup pina colada mix
2 cups ice
2 ripe bananas
Garnish
whipped cream
2 fresh strawberries
1. Use a blender to puree the entire contents of the thawed box of frozen strawberries.
2. Add 1/3 cup pina colada mix and 2 cups of ice to the blender.
3. Cut the end off end banana — set these pieces aside to use later as a garnish — then put the bananas into the blender.
4. Blend on high speed until the ice is crushed and the drink is smooth. Pour into two tall stemmed glasses, such as daiquiri glasses.
5. Slice each strawberry halfway up through the middle and add one to the rim of each glass.
6. Cut each banana slice halfway through the middle and add one to the rim of each glass next to the strawberry. Top with whipped cream and serve with a straw.
Makes 2 servings.
Applebee’s® Baked French Onion Soup
Don’t even try to find this one on the menu at Applebee’s, because it isn’t there; though it’s the most popular soup served each day at this huge restaurant chain. This is the first of several big-time soup clones we’ll unveil here in the next few weeks to help get you through the cold winter months. And they’re all a cinch to make. Just be sure you have some oven-safe soup bowls for this one, since we’ll have to broil it a bit before serving. Under the gooey melted provolone of the original version you get from Applebee’s is a unique round crouton that’s made from bread similar to a hamburger bun. So that’s exactly what we’ll use in our clone.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 medium white onions, sliced
8 cups beef broth (Swanson is best)
1 cup water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 plain hamburger buns
10 slices provolone cheese
10 teaspoons shredded parmesan cheese
1. Add 3 tablespoons oil to a large soup pot or saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the sliced onions and sauté for 20 minutes until the onions begin to soften and start to become translucent. You don’t want them to brown. 2. Add the beef broth, water, salt, garlic powder and black pepper to the pan and bring mixture to a boil. When soup begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. To make the croutons cut off the top half of each top of the hamburger bun so that the bread is the same thickness as the bottom half of each bun. Throw the tops away. Now you should have 10 round pieces of bread — 5 bottom buns, and 5 top buns with the tops cut off. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the bread in the the oven directly on the rack and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until each piece is golden brown and crispy. Set these croutons aside until you need them. 4. When the soup is done, spoon about 1 cup into an oven-safe bowl. Float a crouton on top of the soup, then place a slice of provolone cheese on top of the crouton. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of shredded parmesan cheese over the provolone. 5. Place the bowl into your oven set to high broil. Broil the soup for 5 to 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown (you may need to broil longer if you are making more than one bowl at a time). Sprinkle an additional 1/2 teaspoon of shredded parmesan cheese over the top of the soup and serve. Repeat process to prepare remaining servings. Makes 10 servings.
Applebee’s Pico de Gallo
Notes: This is a great summer relish to serve with chips, or even on a hamburger.
INGREDIENTS:
3 large tomatoes diced, 1 large onion diced
2 Tbsp. diced Jalapenos, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (diced)
2 tsp. Salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
*********
Preparation Instructions: Mix all ingredients together in large container until well blended. Allow to sit for at least 6 hours, it is better if allowed to sit overnight.
Almost Snickers
12 ounces Low fat ice cream — softened
1 cup Low fat Cool Whip
1/4 cup Crunchy peanut butter
1 package Sugar free Chocolate pudding
3 ounces Grape Nut cereal
Mix together ice cream, Cool Whip, peanut butter and pudding.
Fold in Grape Nuts.
Spread in 8×8 inch pan and freeze.
A1-Sauce
1/2 C Dark Molasses
2 Green onions — chop
3 Tbsp Coarse salt (kosher)
3 Tbsp Dry mustard
1 Tsp Paprika
1/4 Tsp Cayene
1 Clove garlic — crush or
1 Tsp Garlic powder
1 Anchovy fillet; chop — or
1 tbsp Anchovey paste
6 tbsp Fresh taramind — or
1 tbsp Taramind extract
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Fenugreek
1/2 tsp Powdered ginger
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1 tsp Powdered cloves
1/2 tsp Caradamen seeds
3 drops Tabasco
6 oz Rhine wine
2 oz Rose wine
1 pt White vinegar
1 tbsp Kitchen Bouquet
1 tbsp Postum Powder
Put all spices (except last 6 ingr.) through blender till fine powder.
Place over low heat with half vinegar and simmer 1 hr; adding rest of vinegar alittle at a time as mixture is reduced in bulk. Stir in tabasco, wines, kitchen bouquet. Cook 3 min to dissolve. Remove from heat. Pour into crock or tuperware container (2qt) Let stand covered for 1 week. Then strain thru cheese- cloth, six times. bottle and cap tightly. Keep refrigerated indefinely.
Freeze to keep for years.