Weekly Recipe Roundup

We (I) tend to go in phases at our house in terms of meals. One week I'm all about trying all new recipes and the next week I seek the tried and true ones we've had a dozen times. No matter which mood I'm in, I always try to incorporate at least 1 new recipe in the week's plan. I've got to get a handle on my ever-growing folder of recipes to try! It's become my goal to search through those first each week before I make my menu. I'm determined to weed some out and also find some stars amongst them all so I can pass them along to you. Awe, aren't I sweet?

Several months ago, a fellow friend of a toddler shared this recipe with me. She claimed it was quick and a crowd pleaser, which means it's a winner in my book. She was right! These Chicken and Corn Pies with Cornbread Crust were really good - much better than the reviews indicate on Southern Living. Colin is going through a strange phase where he doesn't like things mixed up, so I had to deconstruct his portion (such a sophisticated palate that child) and that seemed to work just fine. I used a box of Jiffy cornbread mix instead of the Mexican, subbed in fire-roasted tomatoes, and omitted the oil. I paired this with a black bean and rice salad which was not so hot and I'll save you the effort. A side salad would work just fine to add in that green vegetable.

I feel like my search for the perfect dessert never ends. I find one I really like but who wants to eat the same thing over and over again? I guess chocolate lovers probably disagree and would be perfectly content with eating that every day. Well not this weirdo, I don't like chocolate that much and substitute it every chance I get. These Nutmeg Cookies with White Chocolate were one of those times when I got to use white chocolate chips instead. These don't have a ton of sugar and somehow I didn't feel that guilty when I ate them. Because of that they're not overly sweet but the white chocolate chips take care of that. The recipe only yields 15 and they're so small, you could have those eaten in just a matter of days!

Dorie Greenspan is a legend amongst food bloggers. So much so that there's a group of bloggers that bake something different from one of her cookbooks each month. I haven't jumped on that bandwagon but I must admit the hype caused me to request the book from my public library - that's really saying something for me to request a book seeing as how I despise reading! Desserts, biscuits, breads, what's not to love?! I haven't had the chance to try many of her recipes yet because they tend to be a little more involved than I have time for.

I had an extra sweet potato and wanted to make sweet potato biscuits. When I found Dorie's recipe (by way of A Mingling of Taste), I just had to give it a try. I hardly think that equates to 1 cup fresh, as the recipe suggests, so that could be part of my problem. Mine didn't "puff" like the recipe said they were supposed to but that's not surprising because my biscuits never rise! I just noticed that the recipe I used was adapted from the original and that the original called for 2 (150z) cans of sweet potatoes. I hardly think that equates to 1 cup fresh, as the recipe suggests, so that could be part of my problem.The taste was good though, not overly sweet potato-ish but the recipe says the flavor enhances with time. I guess I'll find out at lunch tomorrow. These could easily pass as savory or sweet.