Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen

My first issue of Cooking Light finally came this week! I was so excited to see my very own copy in the mailbox last weekend and quickly thumbed through it, then later sat down and bookmarked all the recipes I wanted to try. It is a fantastic issue, with a section about growing your own tomatoes and basil (two things I want to do this summer!) and a section about making your own pasta with K.C.’s own Lydia! I am trying to do a better job about bringing my lunch to work this week. I had been taking Lean Cuisines for the last couple of weeks, and although they are easy, pretty tasty, and easy to track w/WW, they aren’t that healthy with all that sodium and preservatives. So I chose this recipe so that I would have plenty of leftovers for lunches. Each serving is over a cup of salad which is more than enough! I really loved this recipe. It is easy on the dressing, and Tyler would prefer more so next time I might divide it and do double the dressing for him. I found the flavors that stood out the most were the red pepper, the goat cheese, and the arugula. This would be a great recipe to take to a summer picnic.

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

2 cans fat free chicken broth
1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast strips (such as Tyson)
1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup prechopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (I used dried)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese