A simmering pot of aromatic curry bursting with color, pasta smothered in plenty of creamy pesto, a stick-to-your-ribs chili, crispy onion rings with a juicy center, or how about a fully stuffed and loaded lasagna? This isn’t your mother’s low-fat cookbook. No foolish tricks, no bizarre concoctions, no chemicals, no frozen meals, no fake anything – this is cooking with real food, with a real budget, and for real life. This is cooking with an appetite.

And to sweeten the pot (almost literally), all of the recipes were designed with the busy week night chef in mind. Many of the recipes come together in 30 minutes, and the ones that don’t will give you plenty of downtime, so that while your dinner is busy cooking away, you’re off finishing your novel, doing your nails or whatever it is you do in your spare time. A little light carpentry, perhaps?