I rarely used to use a recipe for savory foods but now I find myself almost exclusively using recipes, so I can blog about them. It's been almost five months now since I started this blog and I'm having trouble recollecting what we used to eat for dinner when I was a 'freestyle' cook.
Last night I found myself without a recipe planned. Well, venison was on the menu but I wasn't excited about it. My new-found love of deer meat was as short-lived as most of my romantic relationships. I wasn't too upset when our large freezer crapped out and my husband gave most of the venison away.
Anyway, I needed a quick replacement and I happened to have a package of flour tortillas on hand. I decided to make an old 'freestyle' favorite - quesadillas. I was going to post a Basic Quesadilla recipe from a Martha Stewart cookbook (well, she had some fancy filling options along with it, of course) but really, who needs a recipe for quesadillas?? It's way more fun to make something like a quesadilla without a recipe.
This is what I did:
I tossed chicken tenders and sliced onions, sliced red, yellow and green peppers with homemade taco seasoning, salt (I leave the salt out of the seasoning when I mix it up) and a little bit of oil. I threw it all on the George Foreman grill until the chicken was cooked through. I pulled it all off the grill and wiped the grill down. I roughly chopped the chicken, onions, and peppers and sandwiched that with cheese (I thought I had enough cheddar but I didn't so I also added deli-style American cheese) between two flours tortillas, which I sprayed with a bit of cooking spray, on the sides that would hit the grill. I threw them back on the GF grill (one by one - these were dinner plate sized) and that was it. I topped them with some taco sauce, sour cream and pickled jalepeños.
My husband was so excited to see these. I don't know if he really loves quesadillas or if he was just glad to see something he recognized for a change. He ate two of these (and they were huge!) I know him well enough to have known I didn't need to make any sides with this but in the past I've accompanied this with some pretty good freestyle rice.
So there you have it, it was a recipe free night. A blast from the past.
Question of the Day: Which foods do you enjoy making 'freestyle'?
Let's see, besides quesadillas, I like to throw together soups, casseroles and pasta dishes (especially pasta salad). The best part of freestyle cooking is that I get to be creative and use up leftovers and odds and ends.
ReplyDeleteI think following all these recipes will help me be a better freestyle cook down the road.
I make veggie soup, chili's, frittatas, marinara sauce, different pasta dishes. It's actually rare that I cook with recipes. I've made a more concious effort for the blog. Like I said in my post about the crisp, I never use a recipe for those either.
ReplyDeleteI would say chili and mexican food.
ReplyDeleteNot healthy at all without a recipe. A lot of heat and serve (chicken fingers, fries etc.) as well as grilled meat (chicken, beef, pork, vension) with potatos and a vegetable. Nothing exciting at all. I'm looking forward to recipe and menu planning again, something I did for years and then got away from and I have to start again.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I make most things freestyle, although your blog is enspiring me to use recipes when I get caught up a little, hopefully.
ReplyDeleteMy frequent freestyle dishes are hamburger-noodle skillet things, and boneless, skinless chicken thighs or pork chops browned then smothered with some kind of cooking soups.
I like making wraps,Chili's, I am too much of a scardy cat to make soups free style.
ReplyDeletei just tried to comment on your latest post but it wont let me : (
ReplyDelete