Three In A Row!

It's no secret I love to cook and bake.  Spend 5 minutes with me and you should be able to pick up on that factor!  Okay maybe 10 minutes, because I'll spend at least 8 minutes talking your ear off about Brad, the puggies, and little Pipie!  Along with all my cooking/baking comes experimenting. So what's been cooking in my little red kitchen bistro? Funny, you should ask.

I have spent the last three nights featuring three experimental meals.  That's a first for me.  I usually do an experimental meal 2 maybe 3 times a month.  At times I've gotten into a groove of nearly once a week but that's not constant.  Anyway, 3 days and 3 experiments.

On Thursday night I had this idea for orange flavor infused beef.  You know like orange chicken at a Asian food restaurant.  I have heard of orange beef before but naturally I thought it was a bit out there.  I mulled the decision over for a good portion of the day as to whether or not I really wanted to attempt a orange flavor infused beef dish.  When Brad arrived home for the evening, he was quick to inquire what he was smelling cook. I told him, "orange beef". He instantly said, "So we might be going to Chick-fil-a, like I was hoping for?" I smiled as a stated, "Yes. It's a possibility." I am happy to report the orange beef experiment was edible. No Chick-fil-a.  It was "unique" as Brad described it.  He also said it was good but admitted that in his opinion the dish would work better with chicken.  I agree.  Orange chicken it is, next time.  It was good but definitely needs to be tweaked some to be better. Then again, not sure I care enough about the dish to work on it further. We'll see!  Substituting chicken though sounds more tasty and perhaps easier.

As for Friday night, it was a familiar dish but made with new ingredients.  I completely changed the flavor palette of a commonly served dish in this household.  My chicken pie is a fave for us.  It's not a chicken pot pie. As chicken pot pie has a creamy/gravy sauce with mixed veggies and a thick pie like crust on the top.  Nope that's not my chicken pie at all. My chicken pie has ingredients layered in a pie plate.  Hence, the pie reference!  My plan for this new styled chicken pie was to give it a very Texas twist!  I made my own barbecue flavored marinade, which the chicken was in from sun-up, after cooking it I then shredded it. Next I layered my ingredients using okra as one of the keys to the pie. I don't believe I ever had okra til I moved here, not a common AZ veggie, am I right? My husband was a happy man!  I served ranch-style beans as the side dish.  There is only one thing I will change up next time in an effort to improve the dish, otherwise it is a keeper as is! We now have two different chicken pies to choose from.  However, I've got quite a few other variations of the chicken pie I will experiment with in due time. :)

Last night was a two person fiesta!  A bit of a Tex-Mex style fiesta. I made Tex-Mex sweet and spicy chicken in the crockpot.  I love a good crockpot meal!  Who doesn't?  They're typically rather easy-breezy. This one had few ingredients for the sauce and excellent results.  Flavors I wouldn't commonly mix yet they worked great together. After the chicken was done I shredded it and returned it to the crockpot while I prepared the toppings. The chicken was cooked with plenty of tomatoes so I was a little unsure what toppings to serve with it. Lettuce? More tomatoes? Sour Cream and Guacamole?  I ended up wanting to keep it simple, less is more, was my thinking for the meal. As I was completely set on wanting to truly taste the chicken not mask the flavor under too many toppings. I decided to serve the chicken with tortillas, shredded cheese, and sour cream. I did well in resisting my temptation to add more topping choices. ;)  I also made queso dip to go with chips. We were both super satisfied with the results of the meal.  It's a definite keeper in all ways!  The chicken is so versatile. You could serve it like I did in a Tex-Mex way with tortillas, a version of chicken soft tacos. Or you could make burritos, quesadillas, perhaps even go a completely opposite route by serving it on top of a homemade pizza.  As we ate we commented that it would also be good as a sandwich, serve with some hearty buns/rolls/sliders.  It would all work!  The best part was it's the type of meat that is cooked so flavorfully it screams, keep toppings minimal! So serving it in a simple tortilla or on a bun are great options. This Tex-Mex sweet and spicy chicken will be the star of some upcoming get-together we host.  Not sure when it will be served to guests but it's made the list of possible meals for entertaining. It may even make it in the rotation of possible items to take to a potluck! I mentioned that idea to Brad as we ate last evening. Based on the fact it doesn't need a lot of toppings to go with it, it could work for a potluck. We have a "cook and carry" style crockpot, take it along with yummy buns/rolls or tortillas that you can easily microwave for 30-some seconds once you arrive and you're set. The buns would be slightly easier for a potluck setting I believe. I don't think I will ever make the chicken with the full intent to serve it on top of a homemade pizza however, I would use the leftover meat that way.  I might do that with what we currently have leftover.  It was too good served the Tex-Mex way to pass that up completely. But I love re-inventing leftovers. Big fun for me! My only complaint about it is we don't have enough leftover! Other tiny-tiny complaint is I may increase the spiciness just slightly next time around. As I ate it last night I tossed the idea of more heat around in my head. It's flavor-packed as is, it's firmly hovering in the Tex-Mex food category. I don't want to make it too Mexican, if you know what I mean. The longer I live in TX the more I clue into the differences in their Mexican styled food(Tex-Mex) and AZ Mexican food...I don't want to mess it up by altering the heat too much!

Of the 3 experimental meals I have made in the past 3 days. I would say last night's meal was my fave!  The Texas-BBQ chicken pie was good and is firmly in second place.  Oh the fun I have experimenting with meals. Brad was joking with Simon last night how envious Simmie must be that Brad is the guinea pig and not him.  We all know Simon would hands down love to be a guinea pig, a professional taste tester! Problem is he doesn't taste things he just gobbles nor does he provide feedback!

I've actually cooked every night this past week so possibly today I will take a break from the kitchen. My husband might be forced to take me out! LOL! Just kidding there won't be too much forcing going on. After all we do have leftover options. I think most of the leftovers from the 3 experiments will likely be used as Brad's lunches during the week and one easy meal for me while he's at team tennis practice.