Thermocouples are good for measuring high temperatures, but require cold junction-compensation and a high-resolution ADC or amplification. The AD849x ICs do both and generate a 5mV/K output that is much easier to handle.
My design is very similar to that sold by adafruit, but allows you to pick your own filter components, and it supports dual supplies and a reference input for offsetting the signal.
I've added a small example to the github files. While it's written for teensyduino running on a Teensy 3.0 or 3.1, it shows how easy to use the amplifier is. It should be no problem to port it to other architectures for anyone who has used a microcontroller's ADC before.
I used it to measure the temperature of my laptop's outlet air (57 °C):
A close-up of the connections:
-, Ref, and Gnd are tied together for single supply without any shift in the output. The yellow wire is Out and goes to the Teensy's A0 input, and + is connected to the supply. Simple!