Notes about Recipes in this book

• Loaded baked potato soup

  • virna_j5xzhi on March 17, 2026

    This was another trust the process recipe especially when the recipe calls for you to save the potato peels, but the soup turned out great. You do need a blender so it’s not exactly one pot but delicious nonetheless

• Tuna noodle casserole

  • IvyManning on May 29, 2015

    Bland as the day is long. Why oh why do I still own this book??

• Mexican lasagna

  • wodtke on May 31, 2014

    This was very tasty indeed, and low in both calories and saturated fat!

• Shepherd's pie

  • cjannace on November 01, 2015

    This was our first recipe out of our new cookbook, but J & I absolutely loved it. We agree that we would definitely add the carrots in earlier, they did not cook down quite as much as we would have liked. But this had a lot of great flavor & was really enjoyable.

• Baked ziti

  • IvyManning on February 05, 2023

    Super bland and mushy.

• Baked macaroni and cheese

  • IvyManning on April 28, 2013

    Bland. If I were 6, and I was having potluck dinner in the basement of a church in Minnesota, I might like this. It's needlessly bland and stodgy. You could add so much more flavor without adding fat. I can't believe this is the recipe on the cover! It's the first, and probably the last thing I'll make from this book...it's just so so far off from delicious.

• Oven-fried chicken

  • mharriman on December 02, 2020

    This is one of the better oven-fried chicken recipes I’ve tried. I wanted to see how skinless, boneless chicken breasts would work with this recipe (which calls for bone in). I thought it could work well, mainly because ATK has you put the chicken on a rack over a jelly roll pan, which helps keep the underside dry. I decided to disregard coating just one side with liquid and corn flakes and coated both. The rack method kept everything uniformly crunchy and dry. Served with mashed potatoes from the same cookbook. Will repeat.

• Oven-fried shrimp

  • mharriman on January 11, 2025

    I don’t usually order fried shrimp in restaurants because they’re deep fried and contain too much breading for my taste, so this makeover recipe looked appealing. And the results were great! I think the cornflake to panko ratio was too much on the panko side, but otherwise it was tasty. Served with sautéed collard greens and oven baked russet steak fries.

• Creamy chipotle chile sauce

  • Acarroll on January 27, 2024

    I was looking for a way to use leftover chipotles in adobo and this was perfect. I didn't have sour cream so I doubled the amount of (vegan) mayo. I also doubled the amount of chipotle, garlic, and cilantro. Was perfect served with crab cakes.

• Meatloaf

  • jumali on May 05, 2013

    We really enjoyed this, and I'll probably be making it my regular meatloaf recipe. Flavor was good, and the portion size was substantial. My only complaint was that the texture was a bit fine, almost pasty. I may have over-processed the beef. The preparation is about as fussy as ATK gets what with measuring a precise square of foil, poking holes in it, and then trying to pat the mixture into exactly that area. It took some patience.

  • virna_j5xzhi on May 17, 2026

    Another America’s Test Kitchen winner! The meatloaf was tender and the glaze was delicious. There are a few more steps than normal but so essential to the taste of the meatloaf. Bonus that one serving is only 300 calories

• Stir-fried shrimp and snow peas with coconut curry sauce

  • tlight on January 20, 2020

    A simple, yet tasty curry.

• Fish meunière

  • mharriman on August 06, 2019

    The sauce was on the the thin side; I prefer a heartier sauce, but I have to remind myself it IS a lower fat and calorie makeover meal! Instead of the butter standing out, the capers stood out. This was very good for a lightened up French recipe. I used flounder and served it with steamed asparagus sprinkled with fresh lemon juice and roasted red potatoes. The fish sauce was easy to prepare and the pan cooked fish fillets were a snap.

• Pasta with sautéed mushrooms

  • mharriman on March 04, 2021

    I was looking for a fairly bland recipe to serve after my husband got his second covid vaccine (bland-type diet just in case of reaction symptoms) and this fIt the bill. The three different mushroom types stand out in this dish. The dried porcini gives a bit of earthiness to overall flavor. The reduced fat cream cheese barely makes a dent as a sauce because of the amount of chicken broth, so if you’re looking for a creamy sauce, this recipe doesn’t do it. This is a good meal when you just want a pIan pasta and mushroom entree and nothing spicy.

• Pasta primavera

  • mharriman on July 28, 2021

    I Think a higher quality pasta helps elevate this recipe. I used Seggiano Toscanini pasta made in Italy. There were more steps, more pots, and more pans than is typical for this kind of pasta dish but the results did produce a creamy sauce without using heavy cream or any dairy. We liked the all green vegetables in this version, but because it took an hour from start to finish, I’m not sure I’ll rush to make it again for just a ‘pretty good’ outcome.

• Everyday macaroni and cheese

  • jumali on May 05, 2013

    This was a big bust. There was so much sauce it seemed like pasta soup. Although the sauce was nice and creamy, it was bland. We didn't like it nearly as much as the baked macaroni and cheese on p. 108.

  • IvyManning on March 15, 2015

    This was awful. Watery, flavorless, and needlessly complicated. One way ticket to compost bin.

• Linguine with Bolognese

  • virna_j5xzhi on January 31, 2026

    This was very much a trust the process recipe. I thought it wasn’t going to work, and then it did! This was excellent and filling and a one-pot recipe to boot!

• Pasta with chicken and broccoli

  • IvyManning on January 14, 2014

    This was terribly bland. Should have known, it's ATK.

• Mashed potatoes

  • mharriman on December 02, 2020

    Not much different from a Cooking Light recipe I use, but This one is convenient when making something else from the same cookbook. Results are nice!

• Twice-baked potatoes

  • jumali on May 05, 2013

    Nothing really special here. These were just ok--will probably make them again only if I'm trying to save some fat and calories.

• Macaroni salad

  • mharriman on August 13, 2021

    A good, traditional recipe that I thought needed some extra helpers so I added more celery, minced green pepper, and a jar of pimentos. Also used a larger macaroni which we thought helped the flavor because the shells trapped the vegetables inside. Served as an accompaniment to oven fried chicken as suggested by cookbook author. Worked well for dinner on a very hot and humid day/ evening.