Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spaghetti with lemon, basil, and scallops

  • nnirl on May 18, 2021

    Incredibly easy and delicious! I usually avoid bay scallops because it's so easy to overcook them - not so with this recipe. Lemon and basil are a great combination.

• Skillet-baked ziti with sausage

  • cynthia_lx08f9 on February 16, 2026

    I absolutely love pasta recipes that are one pot meals. No draining pasta! I’ve made this many times and it’s always a family favorite. ?

• Skillet-baked chicken Parmesan and penne

  • Christine on April 05, 2015

    Made this with my Mom when my parents and brother came to visit and it was enjoyed by all. We tried it using canned crushed tomatoes instead of pulsing canned whole tomatoes in a food processor which seemed like it would be equivalent -- in hindsight, it really was a little more liquidy than intended, but was easily fixed by mixing in some extra Parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce up. If I went the crushed tomato route again, I probably would reduce the amount of water instead. Otherwise we made this as directed -- it was the first time I made a dish where the raw pasta simmered in the sauce and thought it came out very flavorful that way AND eliminated the need for an extra pot. We made our own breaded chicken which added a step, but I think it was worth it in the end -- prepared chicken would obviously have made the dish quicker though.

• Skillet penne with chicken and broccoli

  • Jane on February 05, 2013

    A good every-night dinner. Minimal washing up since all in one skillet. Cooking the pasta in the stock infused with onion, herbs and wine gave it lots of flavor.

  • rivergait on September 23, 2015

    New technique for me, cooking the entire dish in the pasta water. Quite good, very quick, all the food groups, and only one pan!

• Skillet saltimbocca spaghetti

  • Jane on February 19, 2015

    A reasonable weeknight dinner though not especially fast, prob 50 mins from start to finish. I liked the crispy prosciutto and sage topping.

  • Jane on January 01, 2026

    One of my daughter’s favorite dinners so it gets made every time she comes home. We used to cook the pasta in the pan as instructed but find that doesn’t work well with gf pasta. So now we make the sauce and cook the pasta separately then combine everything at the end. It’s a really tasty dish - the crispy prosciutto and sage on top are essential.

• Skillet-baked Tex-Mex macaroni

  • BethNH on April 21, 2018

    This is a super simple weeknight meal that is all cooked in one pan. It's basically hamburger and tomato sauce with tex-mex spices and pasta. It's later put in the oven to melt the cheese on top. Everyone ate big helpings and it was surprisingly good for such low effort.

  • cynthia_lx08f9 on February 16, 2026

    I’ve made this at least five times, so delicious.

• Skillet macaroni and cheese with ham and peas

  • twoyolks on April 13, 2021

    This is pretty much exactly what it says. It's good but isn't any better than the title suggests.

• Bacon-cheeseburger pasta bake

  • twoyolks on January 16, 2017

    I thought this would be either terrible or great; instead, it ended up mediocre. There simply wasn't enough flavor in the sauce to make this particularly good. I did use half tomato sauce and half pureed tomatoes and used grated cheddar cheese instead of american cheese slices.

• Meaty manicotti

  • cynthia_lx08f9 on February 16, 2026

    Delicious but very rich with the meat. I think I prefer cheese manicotti. ?

• Classic lasagna with hearty meat sauce

  • contrarywise on January 08, 2025

    Used sausage tomato sauce from Keepers’ skillet lasagna recipe instead of meatloaf mix, otherwise made as directed. With sauce already made, this was easy to assemble. Rested in fridge overnight, then baked up nicely with good texture to the no-boil noodles. The sausage sauce was pleasantly spicy so this had lots of flavour.

• Rotini with Brussels sprouts, bacon, and peas

  • Shewi128 on May 28, 2021

    I liked this more than expected. I think using one more slice of bacon would be good.

• Garlicky tortellini with shrimp and arugula

  • rpepper on June 30, 2024

    Pretty good, but way too much arugula. A couple of handfuls would have sufficed.

• Beef lo mein with broccoli and bell pepper

  • BethNH on February 03, 2019

    Like most ATK recipes the directions are pretty fiddly with lots of cooking things and then removing them from the pan. I tried to streamline it some but I'm not sure it was worth my time. In the end, I got a delicious lo mein which was flavorful and filled with vegetables. I even rescued a flank steak from the freezer which was freezer burned and didn't look like much - it worked just fine with this recipe.

• Pad Thai with shrimp

  • SGnolek on April 02, 2026

    An easy Pad Thai sauce from scratch which was the main reason I picked this recipe. Added other veggies and eliminated the egg.

• Pasta all'Amatriciana

  • BethNH on April 21, 2018

    This cost me a small fortune to make as my grocery store charged me $12 for Pecorino Romano cheese. The dish was quite easy to make but I can't say that I could taste either the pancetta or the cheese. We all enjoyed it and I'd make it again. It had a spicy fresh flavor.

• Penne alla vodka

  • Logan92995 on August 12, 2024

    Fantastic and easy to make. Used San Marzano tomatoes which I think really added some flavor well.

• Spaghetti with pecorino Romano and black pepper (Cacio e pepe)

  • Shewi128 on September 16, 2022

    We just didn't love this. It was ok, and not really much to it. I wouldn't make this again.

  • sarahawker on November 25, 2023

    Served with chicken piccata for thanksgiving dinner. It was simple but we did have issue with the sauce not blending well. Used vitamix to smooth and it was perfect. Nice side dish.

• Fettuccine Alfredo

  • BethNH on April 21, 2018

    This particular recipe uses much less butter than the previous recipe I've used (2 Tbl vs. 8). Although the sauce didn't seem like it had reduced enough, once I added the pasta it clung right to it and thickened up. I cooked all the cream at one time and did not use nutmeg.

• Classic Bolognese with pappardelle

  • pwsnook on February 28, 2013

    Very good! Smooth, silky texture & rich flavor. Used a super Tuscan for the wine & finished the sauce with a bit of 1/2 & 1/2 and butter.

• Shrimp fra diavolo with linguine

  • Shewi128 on May 13, 2024

    Ok, so this was our first time flambeeing anything, so that part was less than perfect. But, this recipe was amazing. Very garlicky but also light. I used petite diced tomatoes which fit our texture preferences. I also used a technique that ATK posted online about tossing shrimp with baking soda prior to cooking to keep them from getting rubbery, and it worked great. We rarely eat shrimp, but I'd make this again.

• Spicy tomato and chile macaroni and cheese

  • Misa925 on February 23, 2025

    Recipe in the book doesn't say to use regular canned tomatoes, it actually calls for Ro-tel. I only used one can (instead of 2 in the recipe, "Original" flavor) because was serving with Cheesy Southwestern Meatloaf (which has a salsa topping), & it turned out to be a great side dish for it (also made "street corn" niblets with mayo/chili powder). Test Kitchen books have several stove-top mac & cheese recipes/variations that use evaporated milk, I think this was my first time using it for mac & cheese & do appreciate how quick & easy it was to make (hardest part was grating the cheese).

• Mediterranean penne with tuna and Niçoise olives

  • Jane on August 19, 2012

    A good store-cupboard dinner - also quick and easy to make. Although it isn't anything novel, it is definitely OK for an every-night dinner. The sauce has interest from the olives and capers and I liked the technique of cooking the garlic in the tuna oil for extra flavor.

• Spring vegetable pasta

  • ldholakia on March 22, 2017

    More work than a simple pasta dish, but worth it in the end. A pasta dish that feels fresh and light...a good choice when you want something that both vegetarians and non-vegetarians will enjoy.