Country cooking: Make a healthy Cracker Barrel salad

Pam Smith serves up chicken salad with deviled eggs from the old country kitchen

Video: Under 600 calories for this tasty chicken dinner

Closed captioning of: Under 600 calories for this tasty chicken dinner

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>>> for "today's kitchen what's cooking." a satisfying salad can be healthy and nutritional alternative for your entire family.

>> here to put a zip in your salad keeping calories in check is cracker barrel nutritionist.

>> we've been waiting for you, pam.

>> you want to turn that chicken soon.

>> how many calories are we talking about?

>> less than 600 calories, which includes all of the salad fictionings, but also the dressing and even the deviled eggs and because it's the south, we are talking about saltine crackers .

>> got to have them.

>> you're sauteing chicken breast .

>> because this is grilled chicken and fresh vegetable salad , we want to start with the star chicken tenderloins. we just have those sauteing in the nonstick skillet. we'll come back. they cook so quick. only about four minutes, we are good to go. the real focus of a great salad is a great vinaigrette.

>> let's making dressing.

>> we are oftentimes subject to --

>> i'm going to start pouring because we only have two minutes.

>> honey and dijon mustard and a little bit of orange juice . how about a little salt and a little bit of cracked pepper. while you're doing that, i'm going to start with the oil. this is an upsidedown vinaigrette. we don't use very much oil which keeps the calories low. with all the great flavors. we have wonderful apple cider vinegar, balsamic and red wine vinegar . do we want to add the garlic and shallot?

>> dump it all in.

>> that makes the country vinaigrette that we are not only going to use to toss the salad in but also to use with this beautiful cucumber and onion. this is a great salad in and of itself. actually we serve this with great tomatoes.

>> we have one minute.

>> we are doing great. we can do this quickly. this is a corn relish , taking advantage of the fresh produce of the market. we are adding to it a chow-chow, a southern heritage tradition.

>> is it like a chutney?

>> yes. just a great flavor. parsley, a touch of garlic sauce.

>> show us our final dishes back here.

>> we'll put those all together. what we've done is we have plated that quite beautifully.

>> yes, you have.

>> this is what we serve with the beautiful cucumber and onions. you can eat well.

>> thank you for coming to see us. all right, tomorrow jennifer tilly comes bay.

>> elvis durant from z-100 morning

Show transcript

TODAY recipes

updated 7/18/2012 5:46:57 PM ET

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Nutritionist and author Pam Smith has helped restaurants create waist-friendly menu items for decades. Here, she shares a recipe for Cracker Barrel's chicken salad with country vinaigrette, corn relish and deviled eggs.

Recipe: Grilled chicken and fresh vegetable salad (on this page)

Recipe: Grilled chicken and fresh vegetable salad

Courtesy of Cracker Barrel Country Kitchen and Pam Smith

Ingredients

For chicken salad:
Country vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Cucumber and onion salad (recipe follows)
Corn relish (recipe follows)
Deviled eggs (recipe follows)
1 1/4 lbs. chicken tenderloins, trimmed of any fat
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper
12 cups spring mix of lettuces
2 large vine ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes
For country vinaigrette:
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbs. fresh orange juice
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbs. honey
2 cloves garlic (about 2 tsp.), finely minced, if desired
1 shallot (about 1 tbs.), finely diced
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 pinch celery seed
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
For cucumber and onion salad:
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 large English (Kirby) cucumbers, thickly sliced
1 Vidalia onion (or any sweet onion), thickly sliced
1/2 cup country vinaigrette
For corn relish:
8 ears sweet corn, cut off cob or 2 10 oz. packages frozen corn, thawed
1 small jar pimentos, drained
1 cup chow chow relish
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbs. fresh chopped parsley (or 1 tbs. dried)
1 tsp. garlic salt seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper
For classic deviled eggs:
6 large eggs
3 tbs. reduced fat mayonnaise
1/2 tbs. Dijon mustard
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Sprinkle of paprika

Preparation

For chicken salad:

Prepare country vinaigrette, cucumber and onion salad, corn relish and deviled eggs.

Season chicken tenderloins with kosher salt and black pepper. Spray nonstick skillet with nonstick spray, add olive oil and heat to medium high. Add seasoned chicken and sear until done.

When ready to serve, toss lettuce with 1/2 cup of the country vinaigrette. Divide into 4 large salad bowls or plates. Spoon onto each serving: ½ cup cucumber and onion salad on each plate, 1/3 cup corn relish, ½ cup grape tomatoes, 2 thick slices of vine ripe tomatoes and 2 deviled eggs. Top with hot seared chicken, and serve immediately. Enjoy!

For country vinaigrette:

Whisk together vinegars, orange juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, onion, salt and black pepper in a large bowl; Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

For cucumber and onion salad:

In bowl, toss cucumbers and onions with country vinaigrette. Chill for at least one hour, or up to 3 days.

For corn relish:

In bowl, stir together ingredients and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least three hours to marry flavors.

For classic deviled eggs:

In a saucepan, place eggs, and add cold water to cover. Bring eggs to a rolling boil; immediately cover and remove from heat. Let eggs stand, covered, for 17 minutes. Drain, and place eggs in ice water for 10 minutes before peeling or cool running under continuously running cold water.

Peel eggs, pat dry, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks, and place in medium bowl, mashing with a fork to a fine crumble. Add mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper to yolks and mix vigorously until well combined. Pipe or spoon filling into halves. Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.