Here’s a classic deli sandwich turned into a bite-sized appetizer. I love serving these whenever I’m having company over or even as a fun lunch. They would be terrific to serve while watching football, too! These little gems are so delicious and simple to make. You can prep them in advance and pop them in the oven, just before serving. Each skinny, mini appetizer is only 61 calories, 2 grams of fat and just 1 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS!  Get ready for rave reviews. Everyone loves them!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients For The Thousand Island Dressing:

⅓ cup Nancy’s Skinny Ranch Dressing or reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chili sauce or ketchup

2 teaspoons pickle relish

1 teaspoon mustard

¼ teaspoon paprika

Ingredients for Reuben:

1 cocktail loaf of rye bread

1 (16 oz) can sauerkraut, drained

½ lb lean pastrami or turkey pastrami, thinly sliced and quartered (see shopping tip)

6 slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese, cut into fourths

Mustard for dipping, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, mix together all the Thousand Island ingredients.

3. For easy clean up, line a cookie sheet with foil. Place 24 cocktail rye on the cookie sheet in a single layer.

4. Spread each piece with 1 teaspoon of Thousand Island Dressing.

5. Place one piece of pastrami on top of each.

6. Add about 1 tablespoon of sauerkraut on top of that.

7. Add a small amount of dressing on top of the sauerkraut.

8. Top each with one piece of Swiss cheese.

9. Bake for about 8 minutes until cheese is melted. Place on a serving plate with a side dish of mustard, if desired,  for dipping.  Serve at once.

Makes 24 appetizers

Food Facts
Depending on who you talk to, the Reuben was invented in the early 1900s’ either at Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City or by Reuben Kay at a hotel in Nebraska during a weekly poker game.

Sauerkraut is made by combining shredded cabbage, salt and sometimes spices and allowing the mixture to ferment.

Healthy Benefit
Sauerkraut is an excellent source of vitamin C as well as some of the B vitamins. It does contain lots of sodium but you can greatly reduce it by rinsing under water before using.

Shopping Tips
I found very lean uncured pastrami containing “no nitrites” at Trader Joe’s. You could also use turkey pastrami.

Most supermarkets sell cocktail rye bread. It’s usually found in the fresh deli section. You can also use regular rye bread.  Just cut 6 pieces into quarters before you assemble each sanwich.

Sargento and Alpine make reduced-fat Swiss Cheese. Most supermarket’s carry this type of cheese along with Trader Joe’s.  If you can’t find it, substitute reduced-fat Jarlsberg, mozzarella, or provolone cheese.

Serving Tip
Most people will want to eat 2-3 appetizers. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

Weight Watchers (old points) 1
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 1

Skinny Thousand Island Dressing

Thousand Island was extremely popular in the 1950’s.  After you try this coral colored dressing you will quickly see why it has remained popular even today.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup Nancy’s Skinny Ranch Dressing or reduced-fat mayonnaise

¼ cup chili sauce

1 tablespoon sweet relish

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

½ teaspoon paprika

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until well blended.

2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

3. You’ll only need about half the recipe for the mini Reuben appetizers. Thousand Island dressing will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks. See serving tip for other uses.

Makes 1¼ cups

Food Fact

This recipe seems to have come from the Thousand Islands region in upstate New York and Canada that borders Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.  The dressing contains chunky ingredients that resemble thousands of tiny islands.

Serving Tip

Try this dressing on our recipe for Fiesta Salad.  You can use it as a spread for sandwiches, burgers and as a dip for raw veggies or shrimp.

Weight Watchers (old points) 1
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 1