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

This was another light recipe from ATK: a beef, broccoli and shiitake stir-fry prepared with brown rice. We ended up having less broccoli than what was called for, but it was all good. The primary goal was to use up some broccoli that had been sitting in the fridge for a while.

Apologies for the dearth of photos, I guess we got too carried away with the cooking and the eating to remember much in the way of documentation.


Mmm...stir-fry

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

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

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

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

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

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