Pork & Hominy Chili

2 tsp canola oil
8 oz boneless, center-cut pork chops, trimmed and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 cup no-salt-added tomato paste
1 (15.5 oz) can yellow hominy, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, not drained
1 (14 oz) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
light sour cream
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Heat oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add pork and cook until lightly browned. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chili powder and next four ingredients. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste, hominy, tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top. Makes four 1 1/2 cup servings. Goes great with a quesadilla on the side!

Grape & Walnut Salad (served with the Falafel)

1/2 cup plain, low-fat yogurt

2 tbsp brown sugar

dash of cinnamon

3 cups red, seedless grapes (halved)

3 tbsp chopped walnuts

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Mix first three ingredients, then add the last two. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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I think I'm going to have to keep this made at all times. Between Hana and myself, well, let's just say there may or may not have been some bowl licking! ;-) What a healthy snack, but it sure tastes like a sin! A little granola would be great mixed in...

Falafel-Stuffed Pitas

Before tonight I had no idea what a falafel was. But thanks to these awesome cookbooks (this one came out of Cooking Light) JennEllen got me for my birthday, I am trying lots of new things - and they're all healthy to boot! Don't be scared by this recipe. Read the ingredients. It is oh, so yummy! The whole time I was making these I couldn't stop thinking about the episode of Friends where Christina Applegate is Rachel's sister and she keeps thinking Ross is the falafel guy. Dumb, I know, but, oh well! =)

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Falafel:

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lrg egg

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

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1 tbsp olive oil

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Sauce:

1/2 cup plain, low-fat yogurt

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)

1 garlic clove, minced

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4 (6 inch) whole wheat pitas, halved

8 curly lettuce leaves

sliced tomato

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To prepare falafel:

Place first 8 ingredients in a food processor (Trust me. Use a food processor. I almost killed my blender and Magic Bullet and ended up mashing it with a potato masher instead! LOL) Process mixture until smooth. Divide into 16 equal portions and create patties (dip hands in water to avoid sticking to hands). The patties will seem small, but remember, you're putting two into each pita half. Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.

To prepare sauce:

Combine yogurt, lemon juice, tahini and one garlic clove; stir with a whisk.

To made sandwiches:

Spoon sauce into each pita half and add lettuce, tomato and two patties.

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Serves 4

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FYI: I found Tahini, sesame seed paste, for $8 a bottle. Wow. No, thanks. I read the ingredients and it literally said "Ground sesame seeds." There is a nut kiosk at our Tom Thumb, and I was able to buy 1/2 lb (way too much) of sesame seeds for a little over a dollar and I just ground them myself using my handy Magic Bullet.

Sweet Potato-Chipotle Gratin

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3 medium sweet potatoes, thinly sliced

2 cups half-and-half

1/2 to 1 chipotle pepper (depending on the amount of heat you desire) with some of it's juice (from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce)

salt and pepper

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Preheat oven to 350. In a blender, puree half-and-half and chipotle pepper with it's juice. In an 8x8 casserole dish, arrange one-fourth of the potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Pour one-fourth of the half-and-half and chipotle mixture over all. Repeat to make four layers. Bake for about an hour, until the liquid is absorbed and the potatoes are browned. Makes 4-5 servings.

Quick (& cheating) Jalapeno Chicken

I say it's cheating because I just bought an already cooked rotisserie chicken rather than cooking the chicken myself.
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1 (10 oz) jar jalapeno jelly
3 tbsps pineapple juice

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Combine jelly and juice in a small saucepan. Cooke over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and thoroughly heated. Pour over plated chicken or serve on the side.

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!