I can’t remember when my Mom first subscribed to Cooking Light, but her pile of ripped out recipe pages has been a fixture in our home for as long as I can remember.  When I received the news that the magazine was folding, my mind flashed back on so many small moments.  My mom sorting through her pile for dinner inspiration, me snapping a picture as I pulled the newest addition from the mailbox outside Joey and I’s first solo apartment, suggesting a subscription to my mother-in-law, many holiday meals based on recipes from the CL archive and far too many weeknight dinners that kept us fed both literally and creatively.  Would I be who I am without this magazine?

I’m not sure I can express how much this magazine has given me, from techniques, to tips, to recipes that I know I’ll cook for the rest of my life.  It has, of course, given me many flops.  Dinners that felt very cooking light and left me wanting twice as much sauce or seasoning as listed, but it has given me far more successes that kept me passionate about cooking and a believer in food that is both delicious and good for you.  As I flipped open the final issue, I felt a sadness so deep.  When I posted a picture of it on Instagram, I got responses from friends and family, whom I didn’t even know were subscribers, that let me know they were sad too.  This is a heartbreaking goodbye to a magazine that meant a lot to a lot of people.

I wanted to share some of our favorite recipes here, as a tribute and I hope, if you’re a Cooking Light enthusiast as well, you’ll share yours.  If we all keep cooking these recipes, Cooking Light won’t ever really be gone.

Simple Flaky Crab Cakes

Creamy Butternut, Blue Cheese and Walnut Cavatappi

Beet Wellingtons

Black Eyed Peas and Cornmeal Dumplings

Butter-Roasted Carrots

Fettuccine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

Cranberry-Almond Broccoli Salad

Orzo Salad with Spicy Buttermilk Dressing

Grainy Mustard Brussels Sprouts

Orecchiette with Peas, Shrimp & Buttermilk-Herb Dressing

Winter Salad with Roasted Beets & Citrus Reduction Dressing

Salted Caramel Brownies

Hasselback Apples

♥