What I want to cook

Some kind of pasta & chickpeas dish.

This one by Melissa Clark is labeled 'easy.'
This one looks a little more indulgent.

Pasta with ricotta, although it's something my family doesn't love.
Pleasant pasta

Smitten Kitchen's cacio e pepe, marked as 'foolproof'.
Smitten Kitchen's stove top mac'n cheese.

Mark Bittman's apple crisp recipe

Fettuccine with Asparagus

Another NY Times Cooking recipe. My family isn't keen on ricotta-based sauces, so I picked this recipe, because who doesn't like pasta with butter and cheese? Fresh asparagus and herbs add some green.

Step 4: Drop the fettuccine into salted boiling water. Let cook to desired degree of doneness (cooking time will range from about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes for fresh pasta to 9 minutes or more for dried). Reserve 2 tablespoons cooking water. Drain the pasta

Step 5: Heat the butter in the pot in which the pasta was cooked. Add the asparagus pieces and the fettuccine. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the reserved 2 tablespoons of cooking water and basil. Toss to blend. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese on the side.

I used parsley instead of basil and added some toasted pine nuts (because we had them). It was alright, but will probably not become a standard (too much green for our tween).