Wednesday Night Dinner: Teriyaki Ginger Pork Chops

Quiet dinner this week. I had to adjust tonight's dinner slightly because I couldn't locate an ingredient. Instead, I marinated boneless pork loin cuts in teriyaki ginger sauce and pan fried them. Mashed potatoes and veggies tossed in garlic and soy sauce on the side.

Rice and Black Bean Tacos

1 box mexican style rice (and ingredients as per package)

1 can black beans

1 can corn and peppers

1 package flour tortillas

Additional fixings as you like (we use lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa)

1. Cook rice as per package.

2. Warm beans and corn.

3. Warm tortillas in microwave just before serving.

4. Taco up.

---Review---

This is a pretty simple dinner. You don't really need a recipe, but it has become a staple here at my house (with rotations of usually once a week). It's easy, good and fun.

It also reminds me of Carrie.

Cherries and Brie Breakfast Pastry

1 can cherry pie filling

1 wheel Brie

1 puff pastry sheet

1. Thaw puff pastry sheet. Place Brie in middle of sheet and cover with cherry pie filling.

2. Fold up corners of pastry sheet and twist so that they hold together like a bundle.

3. Bake as per puff pastry box instructions. Brie should be melted and bubbling.

--- Review---

I made this back in LA with my friend Michele one weekend (except with raspberry jam) and loved it so much that I took it home for Brandon to eat. I love cherries more than raspberry, so I made it for breakfast on a good cold Denver morning and B and I gobbled up the whole thing.

The Brie has a great salty flavor that goes well with the sweetness of the cherries... and who doesn't like puff pastry? Seriously.

I like it with crackers. B likes it with a fork.

Brandon's Scallop and Gnocchi Pasta

Recipe to be added by B tonight!!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 lb butter, soft
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 1/2 cups rolled whole oats

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg (its not in the recipe, but I add about 1/8-1/4 tsp of ground cloves, too) into a mixing bowl.

3. Beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with a hand mixer at medium speed.

4. Sift flour mixture into butter mixture and mix well.

5. Fold in chocolate chips and oats.

6. Spoon 1.5 inch balls onto non-stick cookie sheet.

7. Bake at 350°F for 6-9 minutes, rotating half way through baking. (Should be lightly firm in the center when done) Be careful -- oatmeal cookies don't look done when they are, so they are very easy to over cook.

---Review---

Sorry for the real weird formatting up there. I copied and pasted from the recipe website and it seems to have made the text go all weird.

Anyway, these cookies were really good. They are B's favorite type, and so when I saw them featured on a blog that I frequent quite often I knew I had to make them THAT DAY.

I took the cookies out as soon as thy started to look even a little brown on the edges to avoid burning. This made them super soft, and they stayed that way.

I will not go on and on about how B took these to school, left my Pyrex container there and I haven't seen it since. Not going to talk about it. Not even a word... now I know how my mother feels.

Makes about 3 thousand cookies.

Soy-Glazed Salmon Steaks with Sesame Green Beans

Soy-Glazed Salmon Steaks

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

4 salmon steaks

1. Heat broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. In small bowl whisk soy sauce, honey and ginger.

2. Place salmon on baking sheet. Brush with mixture. Broil till brown on top and opaque throughout (about 5-6 minutes). You will need to flip salmon to cook throughly, brush bottom side (as top) with mixture to fully saturate.

Sesame Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1. Set steamer basket in large pot. Fill with enough water to come just to below basket. Bring water to a boil. Add green beans to basket. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook till beans are crisp-tender (15-20 minutes).

2. In medium bowl whisk together vinegar and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add green beans and sesame seeds. Season with salt and pepper and toss.

---Review---

This was my first time cooking fish, of any kind, and it turned out quite well. The original recipe didn't say that you would need to flip the fish, which you will, so I didn't reserve any of the marinade, which would have been good to flavor the fish more. Still, it tasted quite good.

For the green beans I subbed olive oil as opposed to sesame oil, and don't think we really missed out on anything. They were quite good.

A good family dinner to share with Sam and B.

Spooky Brownie Cookies

1 package your favorite brownie mix

1 stick of butter

1 egg

1 bag Halloween M&Ms

Marshmallow cream for decorating

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine brownie mix, butter, egg and M&Ms ( I didn't use the whole bag, but most of it).

3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Set about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

4. Let cookies cool. Decorate with marshmallow cream.

---Review---

I made these for a pumpkin carving party B and I hosted, and while I don't really love brownies, the cookies were pretty alright. I served some with the marshmallow cream and some without, but most people preferred with.

My marshmallow cream was actually marshmallow ice cream topping, which is a bit thinner than the regular cream. I had meant to make spiderweb designs, but the topping was harder to draw with than I had anticipated.

Makes a ton of cookies.