Wynd's Food Experiments

Wynd's Food Experiments

Exercising any skills I have at culinary arts - which is very little ^_^() but I thought I'd share some of my food experiments that went fairly well. And collect them so I can keep track of them.

They are ordered from least to most recently tried.

I generally don't make healthy dishes, and you'll notice a lot of them have to do with chicken and pizza. It's because a lot of these experiments came from scrounging around for leftover food in the house.

The amounts given are estimates. For the most part I don't actually measure how much of each ingredient I put in.


The Experiment - Chicken Crisp Salad

The Necessities
-Frozen breaded chicken fingers or popcorn chicken
-Shredded mild cheddar cheese
-Shredded lettuce or iceburg salad
-Bacon bits
-Croutons
-Ranch dressing

The Procedure
-Cook chicken as directed on the box
-Cut chicken into pieces (if using popcorn chicken, disregard this step)
-Add chicken pieces, cheddar cheese, lettuce, bacon bits, and croutons into a bowl
-Cover the bowl and shake
-Add ranch or leave it out for people to add themselves

The Result
I've been making this since 2001 or 2002. This is my family's favorite of the experiments, and I make it for them every once in a while.

The Experiment - Pizza Chicken Patty

The Necessities
-Frozen breaded chicken patty
-Hamburger bun or kaiser roll
-Sliced mozzerella cheese
-Pepperoni
-Pizza sauce

The Procedure
-Cook chicken patty as instructed on box
-You might want to toast the bun if you can
-Put patty on bun and put sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on. (Don't put the sauce on top unless you

want it to soak into the bun)
-Put top of bun on and microwave for about 15-20 seconds

The Results
Unhealthy goodness.


The Experiment - Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup Tray

The Necessities
-1 can cheddar cheese soup / Campbell's Fiesta Cheese soup
-1 box wild and long-grain rice
-1 package Southwest-seasoned chicken strips, nonbreaded
-Black pepper
-Milk
-Tortilla chip strips
-Carrots

The Procedure
-Mix soup with 1 can of milk with a whisk
-Make rice seperatally and partially done
-Cut up chicken strips into little pieces
-Heat soup in pot on stove
-Toss in chicken, rice, and pepper
-Heat until soup bubbles
-Serve in bowls on top "corner" of big plates
-Cover top of soup with tortilla chips
-Surround half of bowl with more tortilla chips
-Take five carrots and place them on the other half in a clock hand spread

The Result
It's very good - but like my Dad said, "It'll kill you." ^_^() Not very healthy, no. It also might look and smell kind of gross due to the rice, but it doesn't taste like it smells. At least as far as I can tell. It's also pretty hot if you use the fiesta cheese soup.


The Experiment - Spicy-Ricy Sandwich

The Necessities
-White rice (instant rics works)
-Chow mein noodles
-Sliced black angus beef
-Crushed red pepper (spice cabinet)
-Slice of pepper-jack cheese
-Kaiser roll

The Procedure
-Cook the rice all the way
-Put rice, chow mein noodles, beef, and cheese on the kaiser roll and heat it for 25 seconds in the

microwave
-Add pepper on inside

The Result
It tasted all right but it was a messy sandwich and a bit dry.


The Experiment - Chicken Salad Wrap

The Necessities
-Tortilla shell
-Shredded lettuce
-Shredded paremesan cheese
-Cold non-breaded chicken stips (already cooked)
-Italian viniagette dressing

The Procedure
-Sprinkle all ingredients on the tortilla shell
-Roll tortilla shell up - optional, put in toothpick to hold still

The Result
Good but messy. Don't leave them for too long or the dressing will soak through. I also tried out a variation that worked well - Mom made fajitas, and I used the fajita chicken, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, and some ranch dressing on the shells.  But I don't know how to make fajitas. ^_^()


The Experiment - Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas

The Necessities
-Pepperoni
-Mozzerella or Four-Blend Italian shredded cheese
-Pizza Sauce
-Big tortilla shells
-Garlic powder
-Crushed red pepper (spice cabinet)
-Cooking spray

The Procedure
-Take one tortilla shell and spread sauce, cheese, and pepperoni over one half of the tortilla.

Sprinkle those with red pepper and garlic powder
-Fold the empty half of the tortilla over and flatten it
-Spray the bottom of the skillet with cooking spray and set oven for 7/10 (med-high)
-When skillet is heated, place folded tortilla in pan
-Flatten tortilla evenly with spatula every once in a while
-Flip when face-down side is golden brown and repeat process (this side will take much shorter to cook so keep a close eye on it)
-Scoop off the pan and cut into pizza-like wedges

The Result
Turned out very well. I eat them about once a week now.


The Experiment - Fried Candy Pears

The Necessities
-A pear
-1 tbsp cream cheese
-Cinnamon
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 cup fruit juice (I used orange juice, it was the only thing we had)
-1 tsp vanilla

The Procedure
-Heat skillet to medium
-Cut the pear into slices
-Mix cream cheese, a few dashes of cinnamon, brown sugar, fruit juice, and vanilla into a small

bowl. Mix until cream cheese is in little chunks
-Add pear slices to the bowl and cover with mixture
-Dump the whole bowl in the skillet
-Stir and flip until pear slices start to brown and mixture becomes thick and caramel-like
-Line up pear slices on a plate and sprinkle with cinnamon

The Result
It turned out all right. I'd use a sweeter fruit juice next time, though, like cherry juice or those fake Minute Maid juices -