Cooking Day - Episode 4

By Lisa VanWilliams

We made a few new recipes for this client today. We are always tweaking the recipes by adding something different, removing items they don't like, and adding more of the things they do like. Sometimes a dish may need a little something extra, so it's good to know what different flavors can be added and how they can compliment one another.

We started out with the classic chicken pot pie. We picked a 5-star recipe from allrecipes.com with over 6,800 positive reviews. If I'm not using my own go to recipes in my head I always pick from top rated recipes, and I will review several recipes to see what kinds of spices are being used and how the recipes differentiate. I will also read the comments to see how others might have made some changes to make it better.

For example in the chicken pot pie recipe below we added potatoes, parsley, & onion powder. We used pie crusts for the topping, but there are always other options such as crescent rolls or buttermilk biscuits. Try them all and see which one works best for you and your family. I am using the same tins I used for the apple crisps we did a while back because they are great for reheating.

CHICKEN POT PIES:
Recipe from:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-ix/?mxt=t06dda

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

Recipe from:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cuban-black-beans-ii/

In this recipe, we added apple cider vinegar instead of regular vinegar, we added a jalapeno to give it a little kick, bay leaf, and cumin for more depth of flavor. This can be eaten as a soup, or a side served with some rice, or save some for breakfast and make some Huevos Rancheros.  

SESAME SHRIMP STIR-FRY

Recipe from:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sesame-shrimp-stir-fry/

For this recipe, we made some brown rice for a side. I used fresh ginger instead of ground powder, and we put in our own variety of veggies. We used mushrooms, red & yellow peppers, onions, scallions, broccoli, and snap peas. I also changed a few of the cooking steps to make it a way that I felt it would have more flavor. For example instead of marinating the shrimp in step #2, I dropped the shrimp into hot sesame oil with fresh garlic and fresh ground ginger and then I added some teriyaki. I sprinkled some sesame seeds in to brown up with the shrimp as well. The shrimp will carry a ton of flavor that way and it marinates with all the veggies when being combined together at the end.  Make the recipes work for you!