Potato Salad with Bacon and Parsley

This June 2009 Real Simple recipe for potato salad with bacon and parsley has become an instant classic in our house (and, seriously, that June 2009 issue was a real winner!). This salad has all of the flavor of a classic mustard potato salad, but it's light enough to be truly called a salad, and not a heavy side. The addition of the bacon elevates the recipe into something almost gourmet. One note: children apparently are not fans of the red wine vinegar. Good thing I am.

Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta and Pine Nuts

Low-cal! Fast! Bacon! Good leftover!

There probably isn't anything more to say other than... this recipe is a keeper! I found it in the "Dinner Tonight" section of the Cooking Light website. It was also the first time I had ever heard of "cavatappi" pasta-- it's a combo between macaroni and spirals. Because I love crispy pancetta, I cooked it a little longer-- about 8 minutes -- and flipped the pancetta about halfway through so it would brown on both sides.

Confession time: I added a little extra pancetta. I think it still qualifies as "lower cal."