Some Home Cooked Meals

So Wednesdays are sleepover nights with my gorgeous boyfriend!

In't he gorgeous?!
Anyways, every Wednesday, he comes over, and we have a home-cooked meal. It's nice to see him in the middle of the week because A). It sucks if I only saw him on the weekends and B). It gives me something to look forward to in the middle of the week.
Yesterday, since I was kinda busy and didn't have much time to devote to cooking something extravagant, I made a simple yet satisfying Japanese meal. We had rice, tamagoyaki, kurobuta (Berkshire pork) gyoza, and Kimchi. Not only is tamagoyaki one of my favorite foods, I LOVE to make it! It's so much fun!

We also had a fresh salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and scallions.

The gyozas were just some frozen ones that i bought at my local Japanese supermarket.... they weren't bad!

Tamagoyaki
-3 eggs
-2 TBSP sugar
-2 TBSP mirin
-2 TBSP water

1. Mix together the eggs, sugar, mirin and water.
2. Heat a small frying pan* and coat with oil.
3. Pour enough of the egg mixture into the frying pan to spread and coat the whole pan.
4. Cook until it is still a little runny on top and starting on one side, roll it into the shape of a cylinder or log. Push the egg to one side of the pan.
5. Put a little more oil in the pan and put more of the egg mixture in the frying pan, making sure there is enough to fill the whole bottom of the pan.
6. While the egg is still very runny, lift the existing egg log up to fill the under area with the new egg mixture.
7. Once it is cooked until the top is still a little runny, take the existing log and use it to roll up the new egg mixture.
8. Repeat with the layers until all the egg mixture is used up!

Tonight for dinner, I used an ingredient that I have never used or even thought of using.... Canned black beans!!

I think the idea came to me yesterday when my nutritionist suggested I put beans in my salad.
After looking through some recipes, I decided to make a simple Rice and Beans... For the rice, I used a mix of Wild and Brown Rice...


For the black beans, I looked at recipes for Arroz Con Frijoles and improvised...

Arroz Con Frijoles Miki Style (for 2)---> I always only make small portions because I'm usually only cooking for one!
-Chopped garlic
-1/2 Can of black beans
-1/4 diced onion
-1 diced carrot
-1 large portabella mushroom diced
-1 diced jalapeno pepper
-Seasoning (salt, pepper, cumin, chilli pepper, basil, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander) to taste

1. Sautee garlic, onions, carrots, and jalapeno peppers.
2. Add the portabello mushrooms and canned black beans. Stir gently.
3. Season to your liking.

The end result?

Some previous Wednesday night sleepover meals include

Sanshoku Gohan (3 Colored Rice)


Rib-Eye Steak with Whole Wheat Pasta and Tomato Sauce


Whole Wheat Fettucine with Zucchini, Ricotta, Lemon, and Basil