CHICAGO DOG SALAD

CHICAGO DOG SALAD
Dressing:
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda *
1 1/2 tablespoons oil

Salad:
4 ounces coleslaw mix, about 3 cups loosely packed
4 ounces iceberg lettuce, chopped, about 2 cups loosely packed **
1 ounce red onion, thinly sliced, about 1/2 cup loosely packed
3 ounces grape tomatoes, halved, about 12
2 ounces dill pickles, coarsely chopped, about 10 chips or 1 large pickle
Salt and pepper, to taste
2-4 Kosher hot dogs, cut into bias slices ***

In a large salad bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, Splenda and oil. Add the cabbage, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and pickles; toss then season with salt and pepper. You can mix up the salad, minus the hot dogs, ahead of time but don't let it sit too long or it will lose its crunch.

Heat a large nonstick skillet that's been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray over medium heat. Arrange the hot dog pieces in a single layer; sear for a couple minutes per side until browned. Divide the salad between 2 salad plates and top with the hot dogs.

Makes 2 servings
Do not freeze

* Add the sweetener to taste. I used a little more in mine and I used liquid Splenda. If you use granular, be sure to add the extra carbs if you use more than 1 1/2 teaspoons.

** Rachael Ray called for romaine lettuce but I had some iceberg lettuce that needed to be used up.

*** I used Hebrew National hot dogs which have 1 carb each. If you can get Boar's Head hot dogs with zero carbs, you will save a carb or two per serving.

With 1 hot dog:
Per Serving: 299 Calories; 26g Fat; 9g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 9g Net Carbs

With 2 hot dogs:
Per Serving: 449 Calories; 40g Fat; 15g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 10g Net Carbs

This is a really fun and tasty salad. It would make a great picnic salad for low carbers. You could mix up the salad at home and then top it with hot dogs cooked on the grill at the park. The recipe idea came from an episode of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals. Here is the link to Rachael's recipe at Food Network. If you've got her "365: No Repeats" cookbook, it's on page 99. I rated this recipe 4 stars because it tastes good and also because it's a little out of the ordinary.

My friend, Nancy, tweaked Rachael's recipe a little bit when she made it and I did a little tweaking of my own. Here's a link to what may be the original Chicago-style hot dog. I've been to Chicago, but I've never had a Chicago dog. I have to say that the salad is great though and may even be better than the kind on a bun. Something that Rachael left out of her salad are hot pickled peppers, which seem to be part of an authentic Chicago Dog. Feel free to add them if you like. I liked the salad/slaw mixture so well that I may use the basic recipe to make coleslaw sometime. Click the photo to see a close-up.

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