The Upcoming Week

I haven't cooked too many new recipes lately, (well, actually I have cooked a few, but they haven't been worth noting) so I thought I'd give you a heads up. I have 5 new recipes I'm trying out this week, and I'm really excited about all of them! Here's a list of what they are, in no particular order, just to get your mouths watering:

1. Pork & Hominy Chili
2. Falafel-Stuffed Pitas served with (see #3)
3. Grape & Walnut Salad
4. Jalapeno Chicken (I'm actually going to cheat on that one and buy an already cooked rotisserie chicken. But I am going to make the simple-yet-hopefully-yummy jalapeno sauce to pour over it. I will be serving the chicken with (see #5)
5. Sweet Potato-Chipotle Gratin

I'll also be making a meatloaf this week, which has yet to reach perfection, thus leaving it non-blogworthy. It's a work in progress. Apparently we're a house of picky meatloaf lovers. Maybe this time I'll find the perfect concoction and it will be worth the title of "Happy Mommy's Meatloaf." We'll see!

Mexican Bean Salad

1 can pinto beans, drained & washed

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained & washed

1 can corn, drained & washed

lots of diced red onion

lots of diced green onion

1 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese

lots of cilantro, chopped

1 medium tomato, diced

1 package dry ranch

*Next time I'll add fresh jalapeno!

Put it all in a bowl, mix well, cover and refrigerate until served. Great as a side dish or even as a dip. Fritos are a perfect match!

Turkey Goulash

Yet another HappyMommy family favorite courtesy of Cookie Magazine!
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1 lb new potatoes, quartered
2 tbsps olive oil
4 slices bacon, chopped
small yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup water
2 tbsps paprika
1 tbsp crushed caraway seeds
1 lb ground turkey
2 carrots, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
salt & pepper
8 oz tomato sauce
15 oz chicken broth
fresh dill
sour cream
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Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add bacon and stir until cooked.
Stir in onion and water.
Add paprika and caraway seeds.
Cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
Add turkey and cook until just browned, about 8 minutes.
Add carrots, bell pepper, potatoes and salt and pepper.
Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.
Garnish each serving with sour cream and dill.
Goes well with crackers.

Peach Cobbler

Joe loves peach cobbler, so I decided to attempt it last night for his birthday. Not only does he love peach cobbler, he's a bit of a peach cobbler snob - if I do say so. He likes it not too soupy, not too thick, but just right. He gave me two thumbs up on my very first attempt! Not bad, huh?!
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1 c flour
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 stick butter
1 large can of peaches
3/4 c milk
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
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Preheat oven to 375.
Melt butter in 2 qt casserole dish in oven.
While the butter is melting combine flour, sugar (1 c) and baking powder.
Add milk to dry ingredients.
Arrange peaches and their juice in butter. (Next time I'll only add half the juice to make ours thicker.)
Drizzle batter back and forth over peaches.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and 3 tbsp sugar.
Bake 30-45 minutes until golden brown.
Let sit at least 10 minutes before serving.
It goes great with vanilla ice cream!

Tomato Egg Cups

4 medium-size vine-ripened tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 large eggs brought to room temperature
4 tablespoons shredded white cheddar cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked and crispy
3 green onions, chopped
garlic powder to taste
4 slices toast, cut into strips

Preheat the oven to 425° F.
Slice off and set aside the top third of each tomato.
Scoop out seeds.
Place the tomatoes in a glass or ceramic baking dish.
Season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Sprinkle a little of the onion into each tomato cup.
Break an egg into each tomato.
Bake, with the sliced tops on, for 10 minutes.
Remove the tops, add the bacon and cheese.
Bake until the cheese is bubbly, 5 to 7 minutes more.
Let them cool for 5 minutes.
Serve them with the tops, the rest of the onion and toast strips for dipping.

Chicken, Grape & Pesto Pizza

This is a new family favorite - except for Hana. She just ate all the grapes off of hers and then begged for cookies. Who is this kid? That was definitely a new one for her! However, while we were eating Joe said, "When you make this next week, use Boboli pizza crust! I've never had it and I'd like to try it." So, I guess I'm making it again next week???

1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
8 oz breast meat from a rotisserie chicken
1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1/4 cup chopped green onion
8 oz ball of mozzarella, cut up
1/4 cup pesto
pepper

Preheat oven according to directions on pizza dough
Prepare dough according to directions on pizza dough
Spread pesto evenly on dough
Add chicken
Add grapes
Add cheese
Pepper to your liking
Cook pizza according to directions on pizza dough
Top with green onions
Serve and enjoy that yummy sweetness of those grapes!

I'll admit, I made this recipe out of pure curiosity. I just could not fathom grapes on pizza! While I was preparing it Wayne asked what we were having for dinner and when I told him what I was putting on the pizza he exclaimed, "Grape pizza?!" I think he told me about 50 times during and after dinner how delicious it was! LOL

Bon Appetit! And sorry, this pizza disappeared before I remembered to snap a pic of it!

Mexican Stuffed Baked Potatoes

This is my own tweaked version a Weight Watchers recipe.

4 large baked potatoes (cooked)
1 lb taco meat
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup 2% milk shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup corn kernels
2 green onions, chopped
handful of chopped cilantro
salsa
Lipton Mexican rice, cooked

1. Mix cottage cheese, shredded cheese, corn, green onions, cilantro and a splash of salsa in small bowl.
2. Cut potatoes lengthwise and top with taco meat, rice, cheese mixture and a little more salsa.