Meg Goes Nom Nom

Featuring dozens of quick-to-prepare, healthy recipes, the May 2014 issue of Cooking Light might just be my favorite ever!

I’ve already tested four recipes from this issue, all with success. Today I’m here to share the results with you. You’ll find links to all of the original recipes embedded below as well, in case you’d like to try your hand at any of them.

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1. Chicken, Tortellini, and Spinach Soup with Pesto

• Recipe from Cooking Light

Perhaps the easiest of the four is this simple soup. Basically:

• Sauté boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 1” pieces)
• Add minced garlic; sauté 30 seconds
• Add chicken stock and cheese tortellini; simmer 6 minutes
• Season with salt and pepper; stir in spinach
• Top with tomato and a dollop of prepared pesto

I substituted fire-roasted diced canned tomatoes for the fresh, chopped tomato with success.

My rating: 7.1/10 noms

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2. Seared Salmon with Sweet Corn and Bacon Sauté

• Recipe from Cooking Light

Preparing the corn relish in the bacon drippings makes this extra special. A splash of wine wine to deglaze the pan adds a brightness to the dish as well.

Sear the salmon in a heavy nonstick pan, undisturbed, to attain a crispy exterior. This is a nice light, summer dish!

The recipe was not quite enough to make a complete meal, so I served some rice on the side.

My rating: 6.9/10 noms

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3. Vietnamese Caramel Pork

• Recipe from Cooking Light

As a sequel to my revelation that I do, in fact, like pork tenderloin, I used the other half of the two pound cut of meat I had on hand to prepare this dish.

While I don’t think “Caramel Pork” is the best name for this dish (no caramel flavors present in mine!), I do think this is a great dish! The sauce has complex flavors, yet it is prepared using ingredients many have on hand (or can easily obtain) such as soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and fresh ginger. The crunchy, raw napa cabbage served atop the dish is a nice touch and adds great texture.

Spoon the pork, veggie, and sauce mixture over a package of precooked rice (about 1/2 cup of rice per serving will do) to make things easy on yourself (and to soak up that extra sauce!). A squeeze of fresh lime keeps the flavors bright and fresh.

My rating: 7.5/10 noms

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4. Chicken-Broccoli Mac and Cheese with Bacon

• Recipe from Cooking Light

Natch, I saved my favorite recipe for last!

Mac and Cheese with Bacon… from Cooking Light. Are you skeptical? Well, in fact, there is a bit of a “trick” employed in this dish, to keep things on the “lighter” side.

“A little bit of turmeric enhances the color here; it’s a bit of a trick that makes you perceive the sauce as cheesier than it actually is.” –Cooking Light

Trust me when I tell you that you won’t taste the 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric at play in here.

One especially nice feature of this dish is that it is primarily prepared on the stovetop, and only requires 3 minutes under the broiler. No lengthy baking time (which tends to be customary when it comes to Mac and Cheese) required here!

This dish really is a complete meal, between the chicken and bacon, filling pasta, nutritious broccoli, and an indulgent – yet modest – five ounces of cheese. A keeper!

My rating: 7.9/10 noms

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Have you tried any new recipes lately?