What's For Dinner?

I know it's been quite a while since I've done a "What's for Dinner" feature and, to be honest, I've had very little inspiration and my menus have been very boring repeats of the same things I cook all the time.
This week, things have changed. I was sick if cooking the same stuff over and over so I have at least 3 creative meals this week. My husband has some favourites so I've mixed those with the creative ones.

The first is an experiment and I made them tonight and they are so good! Savoury Ham and Cheese Waffles with Bell Pepper Sauce. Mixed sharp cheddar and diced ham into my mom's waffle recipe. The served them with a sauce made of green, red and poblano peppers cooked with red onion and a wee bit of veggie stock. They are good enough to be this week's featured recipe.

Next up, chicken club wraps. Cook chicken and sprinkle with some Johnny's Garlic Seasoning. Warm a whole wheat flour tortilla and put a on few thin slices of cheese, some chicken, bacon bits, green onion, green pepper, chopped tomatoes, lettuce and Caesar dressing and wrap up. Simple and quick and delicious

Next, Peanut Noodles with Chicken, Carrots and Red Pepper. This is one I came up with when I first got married and it's a favourite. Cook up some whole wheat spaghetti. Meanwhile, cook diced chicken breast with red onion, julienne carrots and julienne red peppers (julienne is just a fancy French word for really thinly sliced). Stir in some store bought spicy peanut sauce (I like President's Choice Memories of Szechaun), some warm spices (like ginger, cinnamon, cayenne), some green onion, and a few drops of sesame oil. Add cooked spaghetti and stir to completely coat. A nice change from tomato based spaghetti.

Next up, Smoky Pork Mini Meatloaves with poblano peppers and new potatoes. This is also an experiment and I'm not quite sure how it's going to work. I am envisioning roasting the poblano pepper with some white onion, then pureeing and adding it to the ground pork with some oats, cumin, chipotle chili and maybe some bbq sauce and/or Frank's Red Hot sauce. I have learned from my mother-in-law that if you make mini meatloaves and just cook them on a cookie sheet, they get crispy all the way around (no more soggy meatloaf!). Serve with boiled new potatoes. Fingers crossed it works out.

The third experiment is going to be mini beef meatballs with a sesame/soy quinoa salad. Quinoa, bean sprouts, green onion, lettuce with a sesame/soy ginger dressing. Then toss in some mini beef meatballs (home made, of course). Should be good.

Last up, Creamy Chicken Carbonara Penne. Chicken, bacon, red peppers and onions in a delicious creamy sauce serve over whole wheat pasta (penne or rotini work best). This is one of my husband's all time favourites (pretty much any creamy pasta sauce will please him, but this is one of his faves). I've made this with leftover pork tenderloin before and it was divine.

One last thing - a tip for today: if you cook with any kind of hot pepper (poblano, jalapeno, banana, etc) make sure you WASH YOUR HANDS before you touch your face. My face was a bit burn-y because I scratched an itch before washing my hands. Very Important Step!!  

I hope this helps you with some ideas for dinner.

Bin Appetit!