The Last of the Catch Ups

     Hey! After these recipes we will finally arrive at foods I made this week and not last week before I left for Boston. Yay me! Yay for how much I cooked before I left! Look at how generally healthily I ate. Obviously, that has all gone downhill this week (six brownies do not a meal make) but still. Makes me feel nice to look at all those veggie recipes. And finally, I did cook something with meat in it last week. Hallelujah!

Fixings for a quick meal

     Today is a day for exclamations, apparently. Sorry, I'm just a little happy because two of my classes were cancelled today, and then I skipped the other one. Random mid-week vacation! Hush, a girl deserves a break sometimes. Even if she just had one and got to go home. School is tough and stressful. Staying up all night to make foods, which you will hear about tomorrow and after, is necessary stress relief. Class in which I generally spend all my time blogging is unnecessary stress. Hurrah for strangely circular stress related sentences!

I miss this dinner. I want more.

     Yup. Hurrah for them. Also, hurrah for me figuring out how to split posts so that you don't have to scroll through entire posts to get to the next one. Do you think this works for you? Leave a comment if you hate it (or like it). I think it makes sense...but I might be wrong, I am not the one reading after all. Are you reading? Are you wondering what I made and why I am talking about my blog editing issues when you just want to hear about food? I don't blame you, I would want to hear about food too. So, this is what the food was: Korean Fried Rice.

Marinating pork looks strangely attractive. Is it just me?

     I use the term Korean Fried Rice loosely. When I was at H-Mart with KK, I was looking around for what vegetables to buy and she said that if I had zucchini - or did she say squash? -  and - either she actually mentioned the carrots or I just made that up - and some meat, I could make Korean Fried Rice. So, of course I decided that mushrooms and carrots and zucchini (what I had in the fridge) and my remaining pork chop would make the best Korean Fried Rice. They did. All they needed was to be fried up (and marinated) in that great Korean BBQ Sauce. I'm telling you people, you have to get it.

     This was such a good meal. It was a great alternative to my regular fried rice with soy sauce et al. The veggies also made me feel healthy. Then, I had some extra zucchini (I cannot put an entire half a zucchini into a meal just for myself - that would just be Too much healthiness) which I sliced up and baked, and put in the sandwiches I took with me on the bus to Boston! It is like we have come full circle. Back to Philadelphia with the recipes I ate right before leaving it. Now, I just get to write the recipes with this gnawing feeling in my stomach telling me I want more. I want more now. 

Korean Fried Rice

1 Thin Boneless Pork Chop, Trimmed and Chopped into Bite Sized Pieces

3 tbsp Korean Kalbi Marinade

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 large Carrot, Sliced with the slices then Cut in Half

1/3 Zucchini, Sliced thickly with the slices then Cut in Quarters

1/2 tbsp Water

3 Cremini Mushrooms, Sliced 

1/2 cup Rice, Cooked and Cooled

In a small bowl, first mix the pork chop pieces with 1 tbsp of the Korean Kalbi Marinade. Allow them to sit. Meanwhile, chop your vegetables. Then, heat the vegetable oil in a wok, large frying pan, or large saucepan at medium heat. Add the carrots, zucchini, and water. Stir together and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the pork, the marinade it was in, and the remaining 2 tbsp of Korean Kalbi Marinade. Stir everything, making sure the pork pieces are spaced out, and allow them to get seared out both sides. Add the mushrooms, cook them for two minutes, then add the rice. Mix everything together thoroughly. Cook everything together for 2 minutes, and you should be done! 

Note: The pork pieces are so small they will not take too long to cook, but I would take one out and cut it in half to make sure it is not pink before you stop cooking. 

Quick Baked Zucchini 

Zucchini

Salt 

Pepper

Olive Oil

Slice your zucchini as thinly as possibly. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and drizzle oil (or smear butter) on a baking sheet. Lay the pieces of zucchini along the sheet, drizzle some olive oil, salt, and pepper over them. Bake for 5-7 minutes, depending on how thick your pieces are, until they are soft.

Put them on pork chop sandwiches, they are delicious!