How Experimenting in the Kitchen Can Lead to Your New Favorite Food*

Not sure what to cook for dinner? Maybe you didn’t have time to make that Sunday morning trip to the grocery store. Whatever the case may be, your kitchen is often full of staple items that can be whipped up quickly and create a delicious meal. In fact, some of the best chefs have made mistakes in the kitchen and their dishes turn out to be a crowd favorite. Experimenting with different ingredients can lead to more tasteful dishes and surprise all of your guests next time you invite them over.

Make Your Own Recipes

A lot of recipe books have odd ingredients that have us running around the grocery store trying to find everything on the list. There are a lot of ingredients that can be substituted, and even left out of the recipe completely. This is your chance to try new things and not necessarily follow the recipe word-for-word. Oftentimes, after making recipes from cookbooks all the time, we realize what we would rather taste or what ingredients we would substitute anyways to make it our own.

That worry of “what if I mess something up?” will eventually never be a problem since you’ll be so used to mixing your own flavors together, you’ll forget to even grab the cookbook! Making your own recipe allows you to add in your own style and flavor to a classic dish or one that a celebrity came up with.

Choose Healthy, or Not

You know what your taste buds are in the mood for. Whether you’re craving something salty and spicy like a Mexican dish, or a light and crisp salad with salmon, you are able to make it whatever you want. Frozen burgers and fries can turn into a savory meal when paired with arugula, pepper jelly dip and heirloom tomatoes. Be creative and listen to what your taste buds are actually craving instead of turning to the next page in your cookbook. What you come up with may surprise you!

Your Kids Can Have a Say

We all know that kids have some very unique ideas and tastes when it comes to playing chef. Next time you aren’t sure what to cook for dinner, invite your kids on to the kitchen stools and let them pick out some things you have on hand. Kids have a different perspective and perception on tastes than us adults do, so things like mac and cheese can become a classy dinner option the next time you sit down at the table. Their favorite frozen chicken nuggets they would like may trigger an idea for you to make the classic comfort food that was a hit at KFC – chicken nugget bowl with mashed potatoes and corn.