Setting Goals: Adventures Await

Goal #3: Be Adventurous

Finally, the third goal. For me, it's an essential one: be adventurous. Be fearless, in fact. Of course, in this respect, I am specifically talking about cooking. It is easy for me to fall back on my old recipes without trying anything new. And why not? I know how to make lasagna, chilli, burgers, and marinated chicken without consulting a recipe, buying unfamiliar ingredients, or thinking too hard. The problem? It's boring! Hideously boring. So boring, in fact, that it will ultimately make me fail Goal #2 when I decide that I can't possibly eat chicken and salad another night so I order a pizza instead. 

In pursuit of this goal, I have bought two new cookbooks (more on them in future blogs, but to whet your appetites they are The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics and Rachael Ray's MYOTO cards.) My first step in adventurous cooking was a Rachael Ray original--Chipotle Chicken Rolls. I had never bought or worked with phyllo dough before. I was thrown when, in the freezer section of Cub Foods, I could only find "fillo" dough. At the checkout line, the cashier (my regular) commented, "You always have such interesting ingredients. Now what," she continued, shaking the rectangle of frozen dough at me like a wagging shame-finger, "do you do with this?" She looked at me expectantly. I glanced around the store for inspiration, and Connor chucked his toy on the floor, thus saving me from answering. 

Thirty-six hours later, I can now say with come confidence that I know how to work with phyllo dough. I can make something darn tasty out of phyllo dough. And I have something fun rolling around in my head for a new recipe or two as well. If you're looking to cook something adventurous, start with something like this! Easy but impressive. Essentially, this is a combination of meatloaf and a Mexican egg roll. It is a mixture of scallions, chipotles, sharp cheddar and ground chicken rolled and baked in phyllo dough--a paper-thin pastry that is surprisingly easy to work with. And the best news, for me, is that I now have lots of leftover dough for experimentation. (Note: if you decide to make this recipe--and you should--the dipping sauce was terrible. It tasted like limes and salt. Make a guacamole and you'll be good.)

Update: Goal #2 

Today was muggy. Connor and I spent the morning at the Children's Museum, and I spent the afternoon painting the bathroom. Our grill is out of propane. So we went out for dinner. Kidding! I pulled together a Fancy Fridge Meal, one of my back up plans that will prevent the mid-week pizza ordering phenomenon. I put some No Name Steaks under the broiler, steamed some bag-o-green beans, and microwaved the Simply Potatoes I bought on sale this week. Dinner in 25 minutes for under 450 calories and $4 per serving? Yes, please!