The prep work is the most time-consuming part, but all in all it's still a fairly simple meal. This was also the first time we'd ever cooked up kale -- and 14 cups of uncooked kale is a CRAPLOAD of kale (as you can see in the ingredients photo)! And then it withers down to nothing.

The meal was delicious! The garlic bread crumbs were a perfect topper.

Ingredients gathered together	Julia frying up the pancetta
Garlic bread crumbs	Wilting the kale
Adding cannellini beans and pancetta	Voilà!

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

Time for some goulash.

The recipe is pretty simple and straightforward, nothing fancy. In fact, it's nearly identical to the smoky turkey shepherd's pie, except for a swap of just a few ingredients. We served it over egg noodles.

Ingredients for beef goulash	Browned beef, onions, carrots and celery
Red peppers, flour and chicken broth added	Beef goulash over egg noodles

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

Jonas has been watching what he's eating the past few weeks, so today we decided to try a recipe from ATK's light cookbook.

(If you're not familiar with ATK's "schtick," they take popular recipes and experiment with them over and over in order to determine the very best way to prepare it in terms of time, ease of cooking and -- most importantly -- taste. In general, they do not sacrifice taste in favor of healthiness, so although they deigned to publish a light cookbook, the recipes inside should still taste pretty darned good.)

Spaghetti and meatballs is about as simple as it gets. The most arduous part is probably mixing the meat, spinach and herb mixture by hand, especially if you don't let the meat cool to room temperature first (agh! cold hands! cold hands!). After that, it's a snap: fry 'em up, cook the sauce, and there you go.

Julia modeling her new apron	Jonas rolling meatballs
Jonas looking decidedly mischievous	Yummy homemade meatballs, just out of the frying pan
Homemade tomato sauce	Light(er) spaghetti and meatballs with grated parmesan

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen's The Best Light Recipe cookbook

Again, a look at the name of the recipe is a Rachael Ray dead giveaway. This was a really tasty dish, although slightly too spicy for comfort. Next time, go easier on the jalapeños!

The sandwich was poached and then shredded BBQ chicken on a hamburger bun. All went well except the chicken wasn't fully cooked after poaching for the suggested amount of time, so it was difficult to shred and had to be cooked longer during the BBQ step. The potato salad was made of red peppers, jalapeños, scallions and red potatoes and was awesome! It was really fresh-looking and -tasting.

Julia scrubbing red potatoes	Vibrant red potatoes for the potato salad
Julia artfully arranging the ingredients	Jonas chopping scallions
Pretty arrangement of ingredients	Chicken breasts poaching in chicken broth and beer
Jonas cooking the shredded BBQ chicken	Yummy potato salad

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

With a name like that, you know this recipe is from Ms. Rachael Ray. And let me tell you it was GOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

Since there are three separate components (burgers, fries, slaw) to this meal, it is a bit time-consuming. However, Julia didn't have much trouble with the timing. The steps are laid out well enough that there were no frantic moments, and it all came together smoothly.

That said, this was possibly the spiciest and most filling meal in memory!

The many, many ingredients for turkey chili burgers, slaw and fries	Browning the turkey
Jumbo, mouth-watering cheese- and red pepper-filled turkey burgers	Red pepper slaw -- SPICY!!
Funky fries: fries baked and then tossed with butter and parsley	Ta-daa! Turkey chili burgers with red pepper slaw and funky fries

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

This recipe caught Julia's eye when it showed up on her feed for Betty Crocker's recipe of the day. It wasn't entirely homemade, as half of the recipe comes from the contents of a box of hamburger helper, but it contained a number of fresh ingredients as well. It was a quick and tasty dish fitting for cooking up after a long day at work.

Ingredients for beef pasta and mushroom soup	Julia chopping fresh parsley
Browning ground beef in the stock pot	The soup containing everything it needs except pasta and mushrooms
Voilà! Beef pasta and mushroom soup, topped with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Recipe source: Betty Crocker

For this recipe we were working with two recipes from two different sources. The brisket came from a WS cookbook and the potatoes from ATK (see sources below). The mashed potatoes are made with an astonishing 22(!) cloves of garlic!

At one point the brisket in the oven for 2+ hours, so this meal definitely wasn't quick and painless, but it wasn't too tricky to prepare either. The end result was slightly drier than anticipated, so we may have needed to baste more frequently.

Ingredients for braised brisket with port wine	Julia peeling 22 roasted garlic cloves
Cookies?! How did those get in this recipe? :)	The brisket and its pot companions, just before heading into the oven
Garlic mashed potatoes, ready to serve	Jonas carefully slicing the brisket
Jonas carefully slicing the brisket

Recipe sources: Brisket: Williams Sonoma Simple Classics, Garlic mashed potatoes: America's Test Kitchen

This recipe was definitely a keeper. Most the ingredients are fried up in a skillet, and then the whole works is topped with cheese and bread crumbs and put under the broiler for a few minutes until it's golden.

Our batch was slightly soupier than anticipated. This could be fixed by cooking everything down a few minutes more before transferring to the casserole pan.

Gathered ingredients for turkey noodle casserole	Sautéing the turkey and mushroom mixture
On its way to becoming turkey noodle casserole	Jonas inserting the casserole into the broiler
Julia garnishing the completed casserole with parsley

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

Some parts of this recipe turned out well, but there are some things we'd change: Reduce the time that the pizza crust goes into the oven during its initial bake so that the edges don't turn out as crispy after the final. The pizza is also quite topping-heavy, so it might be better to reduce the ground sirloin from 1.5 to 1 pound. Also, this is way more than four servings! Rachael Ray is crazy when it comes to portion sizes.

The popcorn was super yummy, but SPICY! It'd make a good party snack on its own.

Ingredients for mega meatball pizza and zippy Italian popcorn	Raw pizza crust seasoned with oil, rosemary and salt
Ingredients for mega meatball pizza and zippy Italian popcorn

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

Julia had made Mac-n-Cheddar with Broccoli some time ago, and today decided to try another variation of it. Chorizo is nowadays pretty easy to find in just about any supermarket, as are chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Both of these make for a pretty spicy dish!

The one step we haven't quite got down is the roux. After adding flour it's supposed to bubble, but my roux is never wet enough to produce bubbles. There are 2 more variations on this recipe to try in the future, so we've got two more shots at it.

Ingredients required to make smoky chipotle mac-n-cheddar	Chorizo sausage and fire-roasted tomatoes browning in the skillet
Chipotle sauce for the macaroni: SPICY!	Adding the cheese to the sauce
Smoky chipotle mac-n-cheddar, served with herb bread

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

Jonas wanted to make the köttfärssås (meat sauce) that he remembered his mother making when he was a child, so he got out our Swedish cookbook, Rutiga Kokboken (trans. the checkered cookbook). The recipe was simple, but required some conversions to metric measurements.

The end result, served over spaghetti, had flavor but was a bit too salty. We think the extra salt probably originated in the bullion cubes. American bullion must be saltier than its Swedish counterpart. Served over spaghetti.

Some of the ingredients for köttfärssås	Julia peeling garlic
A strangely oriented photo of the completed meal, including bread and olive oil

Recipe source: Rutiga Kokboken

It was time to try another of ATK's lasagna recipes. (We had tried the skillet lasagna some time ago.) This one went in the oven, and required a few more steps, but was ultimately a delicious success. We served it with a store-bought crusty herb bread.

Lasagna ingredients ready to go!	Julia plopping down ricotta dollops during lasagna assembly
Applying the finishing touches of mozzarella	Served with herb bread

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

This was a fantastic recipe for a weekend at home. It definitely took a good hour to prepare and perform the initial steps on the stovetop, but then it cooked in the oven for 2+ hours. How two(!) pounds of onions can cook away to nearly nothing is a miracle unto itself. The end result was served over egg noodles.

Jonas seasoning the beef with salt and pepper	All of the ingredients ready to go, including a big bottle of Belgian beer!
First, the beef gets browned in the pot and removed	Two whole pounds of onions go into the pot with some tomato paste
All those onions eventually cook away to a much smaller volume	There you have it: Carbonnade à la Flamande

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

After watching ATK one weekend afternoon, we decided to make their version of beef chili with kidney beans. It was a simple recipe, but it was an agonizing 2-hour wait while it was simmering on the stove!! As always, ATK makes a perfect meal.

Beef chili ingredients all lined up and ready to go	Onions, peppers and spices cooking in oil
Julia stirring the pot after the beef has been added. She is reaching because she didn't want to be in the photo.	Beans and tomatoes added
After simmering on the stove for two hours	Topped with cheese and ready to eat! Yum!

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

Baked beans seemed like the perfect recipe for a winter Saturday afternoon at home. After the initial prep, the beans go into the oven for over 5 hours, so there was lots of time to watch a movie or play computer games while we waited.

Looking back, we probably should have prepared something to go with the finished beans, but in the end a big bowl of beans was still a great meal!

Rendering the bacon and salt pork for flavor	Jonas chopping onions
Just after adding the white beans, water and molasses to the concoction	After being in the oven for 2 hours, the beans are starting to absorb color
Jonas doing what he does best: stirring the pot :)	After cooking in the oven for 5 hours, the beans are smelling pretty damn delicious!

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

This was another meal we saw being prepared on ATK and felt compelled to make immediately. The potatoes were simple and a snap. The loaf took considerably longer to prepare and bake, but the results were well worth the wait. Mouth-wateringly good.

This wire cooling rack is prepped and ready to receive a hot, glistening meat loaf	Julia crushing saltine crackers
Red bliss potatoes, halved and ready for the skillet	This will become the meat loaf glaze: ketchup, hot sauce, ground coriander, cider vinegar and brown sugar
Hot, glistening, juicy meat loaf, straight from the oven	Potatoes frying in the skillet

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

After drooling over the ATK episode for these chicken enchiladas, we decided we simply had to make them ourselves. Once all of the ingredients are prepped, the cooking process goes quickly and smoothly. The 20 minutes of waiting while they were in the oven felt like the longest wait ever.

They were every bit as delicious as they appear in this photo.


Our chicken enchiladas masterpiece

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

Julia found this recipe in a very small Rachael Ray cookbook at the library. It is also available online (see source below). Bucatini wasn't carried by my local Rainbow, but Jonas found some at Byerly's, the local high-end grocery, and saved the day.

There are only three photos. I think we got so excited to eat the final product we forgot to take any more.

Bucatini ingredients lined up	Cooking the pancetta in oil
Adding the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes

Recipe source: Rachael Ray on Food Network

This mac-n-cheddar recipe is from Rachael Ray's "365" cookbook. It was tasty, but the pasta and broccoli were overcooked. I was putting too much concentration on the sauce, I guess. *sigh*

Like the previous recipe, it's hard to believe all this food is considered only 4 servings. I would have said more like 8-10!! Rachael should probably reexamine some of her recipes in the interests of portion control.

All the ingredients arranged neatly on the counter!	The pasta and broccoli are cooked
This will eventually become the cheese sauce	All done! Voilà!

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

This shepherd's pie recipe is from Rachael Ray's "365" cookbook (see source below). It turned out pretty good, but it wasn't WOW! I should maybe have used more salt and pepper. I find it hard to believe all this food was considered only 4 servings!

Ingredients lined up in an orderly fashion	Julia frying up the turkey bacon while potatoes are on the boil
Everything into the skillet!	Smoky turkey shepherd's pie, just out of the oven and garnished with chives. The cooked egg mixed into the mashed potatoes is what causes it to brown on top.

Recipe source: Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners