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

Jonas picked out this recipes one evening when we were both tired after work and wanted something quick and easy. You just throw together some pasta, tomatoes, oil and fresh mozzarella -- couldn't be easier!

Jonas coring, seeding and dicing tomatoes	Olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and shallots -- pretty!
Tomatoes marinating in the oil mixture	6 oz. of fresh mozzarella, coming right up!
Julia posing with the marinating tomatoes and a bag of penne	Jonas bearing a plate of chilled mozzarella
Pasta Caprese

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

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

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

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

We were looking for something simple but hearty, and skillet lasagna seemed to fit the bill.

Most of the lasagna ingredients, measured and assembled.	Onions and red peppers sautéing.
Browning the meat	Adding the noodles and diced tomatoes
Adding large dollops of ricotta cheese

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen

Tonight's menu was delicious Spaghetti Puttanesca, both simple and fun. The entire meal can be completed in just about the amount of time it takes to boil a pot of spaghetti. Julia was mildly skeptical of the anchovy component, but to be fair they ultimately melt away into nearly nothing.

The spaghetti cooking on the stove	Heating olive oil
Some of the ingredients, all measured and ready to go: diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, capers, parsley, black olives, and chopped anchovies	More ingredients: minced garlic and tomato juice (the beer isn't in the recipe!)
Jonas sautéing the garlic, pepper flakes and anchovies	After the tomatoes, capers, olives, and parsley were added.
Dinner is served!

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen