Blog Posts by CookingLight.com

Potato Salad 101

An all-American necessity at summer get-togethers and reunions, this creamy, old-fashioned potato salad uses pickle relish, eggs, and mustard.

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Old-Fashioned Potato Salad Recipe

Ingredients

2 pounds small all-purpose white or red potatoes
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish, drained
3 hard-cooked large eggs, chopped
3/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

See More: How to Make Potato Salad

Preparation

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. Cool and peel. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large bowl; sprinkle with vinegar and oil. Add celery, onion, pickle relish, and eggs; toss gently.

Chicken and Bean Burritos

Try also using this filling for tacos, quesadillas, or nachos. Adults can spike it with jalapeños.

See More: 100 Easy Chicken Recipes

Chicken and Bean Burritos

Ingredients

3/4 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup prechopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup lower-sodium canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, minced
2 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 ounce preshredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 1/4 cup)
Cooking spray
1/2 cup pico de gallo
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

See More: Superfast Kid-Friendly Recipes

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; toss well.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add chicken mixture; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally. Add beans and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until

Thai Steak Salad

A combination of fresh herbs-mint, cilantro, and basil-impart delicious fresh flavor. This salad would also be delicious with grilled chicken or lamb.

See More Superfast Salad Recipes

Thai Steak Salad

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 1/4 cups fresh bean sprouts
3/4 cup julienne-cut carrots
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

See More Superfast Asian Recipes

Preparation

1. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle steak evenly with pepper and salt. Add steak to pan; cook 6 minutes each side or until

Lighter Piña Coladas

You'll like our way of losing almost all the sat fat while keeping the delicious coconutty goodness. By Sidney Fry, MS, RD

Nothing says "escape" like a creamy, ice-cold piña colada: cocktail in hand, feet in the sand, music in the background (hopefully not that dreadful piña colada song, the last #1 hit of the 1970s, unless it's a guilty pleasure). Unfortunately, nothing says "better head to the gym" like a piña colada, too: 425 calories, 8 grams of saturated fat, most of which comes from the mysterious goo known as cream of coconut. We'll show you how we kept the vacation-worthy flavor while slashing fat and calories. At just 158 calories, it's all pleasure, no guilt.

Your lettuce is lifeless

Is your lettuce withered and shriveled? We'll show you how to perk things up. By Tim Cebula

Nice lettuce is a mighty pretty thing, until it shrivels and withers 'twixt store and salad bowl-or, worse, rots and blackens around the edges. Once opened, even relatively shelf-stable bagged lettuces suffer this fate. And lettuce leaves are prone to nasty bruising when roughly handled. This is among the most delicate of foods.

The main storage problem is usually too much moisture. Wet lettuce spoils faster as water condenses on the leaves and suffocates them. More moisture also means more gases, like ethylene, which speed up ripening and spoilage in fruits and vegetables. But here's the rub: Lettuce needs some water to stay crisp-otherwise leaves dry out and droop.

See More of the Most Common Cooking Mistakes

The solution: Keep lettuce moist, but just barely. Loosely wrap a head (or the contents of bagged lettuce) in slightly damp paper towels, and seal in a zip-top bag.

We took classic restaurant dishes, kept the meal appeal, and cut the calories by a huge amount. Here are the ingredients and techniques that make that possible.

Reuben Sandwiches

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/4 cup canola mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chili sauce
2 teaspoons finely minced dill pickle
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated onion

Sandwiches:
8 (3/4-ounce) slices rye bread
3 ounces Swiss cheese, shaved (about 3/4 cup)
4 ounces lower-sodium corned beef, thinly sliced (such as Boar's Head corned beef, top round, cap-off)
1 cup organic sauerkraut, drained well

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. To prepare dressing, combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well.
3. To prepare sandwiches, place bread slices in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet. Broil bread 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted. Turn bread over; broil for 1

Be brilliant in much less time: delicious dishes that have at their heart a work-done-for-you supermarket ingredient.

Speed up the cooking with versatile, healthy supermarket convenience foods that help you turn out vibrant, healthy main dishes. The prep time for each of our featured shortcut recipes is slashed to about 20 minutes. We guarantee that these helpful tips and products will help you turn out a delicious, made-with-care meal in no time. Here's one of our shortcut recipes to start you off, but click through to see the rest.

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

Ingredients
6 cups torn romaine lettuce
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup sliced celery
2/3 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground red

Seared Scallops with Wilted Watercress and Bacon

Watercress offers a refreshing change from spinach and other greens in this light and satisfying meal. Looking for a sustainable buy? Scallops are safe, but for the best choice, pick diver-caught scallops from Mexico.

See More Superfast Seafood Recipes

Seared Scallops with Wilted Watercress and Bacon

Ingredients

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops (about 16)
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 slices center-cut bacon
1/2 cup sliced shallots
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 (4-ounce) packages trimmed watercress

See More Superfast Salad Recipes

Preparation

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle both sides of scallops evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt, sugar, and pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes or until done, turning after 2 minutes. Remove