One of the things I enjoy the most about my life, is how fun my husband makes it. Together we turn simple chores and everyday life into f’n FUN! Life is not all sunshine and rainbows. Seriously. It’s been a rough week. We choose not to dwell on that part. We needed some happy vibes tonight. A little effort on the fun side can go a long way. It really doesn’t take much to be honest. Tonight, we did another Chopped Challenge and had a great night.
How did we get to our At Home Chopped? Well….. I usually watch my shows after I get off work at night and everyone else is sleeping. Whether it be Grey’s, TWD, or my indulgence “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I also watch a lot of HGTV and Food Network. On occasion, my husband is subject to watching with me. A couple years ago we started doing Chopped at home. Matt will pick random ingredients and I will create some sort of masterpiece with them, or attempt to. So far, they have all been good.
The other night Matt made dinner with Ramen noodles, chorizo and eggs while I was at work, called it ghetto food. We love our ghetto food. We both grew up eating it, on a tight budget. It’s our comfort food. Any who, I mentioned we should do a Chopped Challenge, ghetto version. Tonight, was the night. However, his ingredients are not super ghetto. We will save ghetto version for another night.
He listed off ingredients, starting with hashbrowns, chicken and mushrooms. In my head I was thinking—too easy. Then he indulged me with the final ingredient. Sweet Chili Sauce.
Wait. What??
OK. My brain immediately went to one of my favorites they serve at work—Sweet Chili Thai wings with Bleu Cheese. I love those flavors together.
I made bleu cheese hashbrown cups stuffed with sweet chili chicken, drizzled with a ranch mushroom sauce. Served alongside balsamic glazed carrots (gotta have some veggies).
Hello! Holy schnikes, this was good! Originally, I wanted to the cups to be balls stuffed with chicken and air fry them. Nope. Fail. Cups it is. I used my immersion blender to emulsify the mushrooms after cooking them in butter with some ranch seasoning (about half a packet). That sauce is dynamite and will be used again, in a variety of ways.
No recipe, as this was totally on the fly. But you get the picture. Speaking of pictures…our friend Marcus (the artist) happened to stop by around dinner time. As you can see in the picture, he liked it. He really liked it. Someday I am going to make a photo collage of him licking plates and eating the crumbs out of the pan. I take it as a compliment.
Fun fact—Did you know it’s healthier to leave the skins/peelings on your veggies? They are packed with nutrients. I rarely peel my carrots. Rinse them and call it good.
That’s it for tonight y’all. Peace out yo, I’ve got a mess to clean up.
