Meal Plan Monday #266

Woo hoo! School's (almost) out for summer! The kids are done. I've got a few teacher days this week, and then Senior Recognition on Friday and Graduation on Saturday.

Sunday:  Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Refried Beans and Avocados

Monday:  Insane Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken with Salad

Tuesday:  Baked Potatoes and Salad

Wednesday:  Fish Tacos with Cabbage, Lime, and Avocado

Thursday:  Grilled Cheese, Chips, and Salad

Friday:  Date Night! Darren's Pick!

Easy Grilled Pork Chops

We love the cast iron seared steaks from Alton Brown, and I have modified the cooking method for pork chops. I use boneless 1 - 1 1/2 in. thick pork chops. Allow the pork chops to come to room temperature. Preheat the grill to medium. I use a cast iron stove top grill, but these could easily be cooked on an outdoor grill. Brush the chops with oil, and sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Then cook the chops 4-6 minutes per side until desired doneness. I like to cook them 4 minutes, then turn them over, then cook an additional 2 minutes per side to get the nice cross-hatch grill marks. We served these with mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese. YUM!

Grayce's Bulkogi

I don't know if it's "bulkogi" or "bulgogi", but no matter how you spell it, this stuff is delicious! There are probably as many versions of this stuff as there are people who cook it. This particular recipe comes from Darren's Japanese grandmother, Ba-Chan. The recipe is actually Korean, and Ba-Chan once mentioned that a Korean woman told her she was making it all wrong. Regardless, it is a great Asian-y marinade for beef. We've also used it for chicken or pork with equally delicious results.

I first had this dish four years ago when I went on vacation with Darren and his family to Donner Lake. It's a beautiful part of California. It was my first meeting with most of Darren's family. They've been going for as long as Darren can remember. The bulkogi was great, and Darren's Ba-Chan is an excellent cook.

The marinade has soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and some other stuff. The recipe calls for green onions, but I didn't have any, so I left them out. You can also spice it up a bit with some Sriracha. I would have done it, if I had remembered. I did it last time...

Mix all of the ingredients in a gallon ziplock plastic bag and squish it around to dissolve the sugar and distribute the garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds (I did a terrible job of documenting this, and forgot to take a picture until it was all put together). Then add the meat of your choice and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

I suggest turning it over a few times during the marinating process.

On a side note, a lot of bulkogi recipes call for thinly sliced meat. I have eaten it that way and marinated the meat that way, too, but this is Ba-Chan's recipe, and I am going to follow it. She marinates slabs of meat. The meat can be grilled, broiled, or stir fried to desired doneness. I have had it both grilled and broiled by Darren's grandparents. Today we are going to grill it and serve it with rice.

I heated the grill to medium high and cooked the bulkogi for 3 minutes per side.

I let the meat rest for 10 minutes after cooking and then sliced it thin and served it with rice.

I have vowed to make this again soon and use a variation that is a little more traditional Korean - thinly slicing the meat before marinating, and maybe even add a little fruit juice. I'll keep you posted.