Blackened Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic/Dill/Carrot Mashed Potatoes

While we do a pretty good job faking our way around the kitchen, when it comes to the grill, R. & I are ridiculously inept.  But the only way to get better is to practice, right?  Tonight, with the beginning of classes right around the corner, we gave it the old college try and wound up with our third straight meal that garnered enthusiastic thumbs-up from the both of us.

 

Chicken with Garlic Scapes & Capers, Oven-Roasted Potatoes

Here’s something about me: I love garlic scapes and capers. I mean, I really love them by themselves, let alone in delicious concert. And, if this blog is any indication, I enjoy cooking quite a bit. But we were really close to just ordering a pizza today. But we resisted the temptation and wound up making a lovely, well-balanced meal, with a salad with lettuce, chard, shallot greens, carrots, and (yes!) a handful of capers. We adapted a chicken recipe from Edible Chesapeake (here) and half-adapted the potato recipe from one of our favorite sites, Cooking for Engineers (here)

 

Steak with Creamy Crusty Beans

 

Tonight we had flat iron steaks, courtesy of my aunt, and “creamy crusty beans” courtesy of me.  Both were fantastic.

 

Spaghetti Squash, Tomatoes & Basil

 

This was another one of those “We have a fridge full of vegetables, we need to use them FAST!” kind of recipe, but it wound up as a pretty excellent meal.  Spaghetti squash are an interesting taste–almost pumpkin-ey.  This recipe probably would work better as a side dish than a main course. 

 

Swiss Chard Rice with Wild Carrots

An easy upgrade to plain rice that makes for a really interesting complimentary dish, or even a main course with a side salad.