February 22nd, 2022

You see before you, last night's dinner.  I don't really have a name for it although Mediterrean Bow Tie Pasta was suggested (Thank you Mary Ellen). It was just something I threw together. But I must confess, the dish was inspired by one of my wonderful daughters in law.   She and I had a wonderful conversation recently and of course we talked about food. I talk about food a lot.

Anyway, she mentioned a new dish that she had made and it sounded wonderful. I asked loads of questions about it's preparation and it must have really started something in my head because it inspired the dish above.  I didn't have all the necessary ingredients to make the dish she described but it absolutely was the inspiration for this one.  It's chicken seasoned with lots of Italian cuisine related herbs, bow tie pasta obviously, onions, peppers and tomatoes.  The sauce was created mostly just by cooking the meat and vegetables, but I did dash some chicken stock in there too.

Chicken is such a versatile starting point that it's a great thing to have on hand.  I make several chicken dishes every week and I try to each one completely different than the others so nobody comes to the table saying, "Ugh, chicken again."  So I really make the effort.  Different seasonings and different cooking methods make the biggest difference probably, but what is being served with the chicken matters too.  Chicken and rice is completely different than chicken and pasta or biscuits for example.  Chicken that is meant to be served cold (say a chicken salad)  as opposed to chicken best served hot (like chicken enchiladas) have very little in common other than the bird they started from.

But even so, eventually I kind of run out of gas.  I sort through my cook books, I look online and I reach out to other folks for ideas.  I never know where inspiration is going to come from.  Sometimes it's just being in the grocery store, looking around and I spy something on sale.  What is it?  Hmmmm how could I use this?  and voila a new chicken dish is born.  Or it might be from a wander through the pantry.  What do I already have on hand and how does this relate to poultry?

Sometimes inspiration comes from the amount of time I do or do not have to cook.  Chicken tacos are super quick and simple as long as I have all of the ingredients already on hand. So something like that would be terrific for a crazy busy day.  On the other hand, if it's a Museum day which means I will be gone until just before dinner, something in a slow cooker is a terrific choice.  I can throw it all together before I leave, set it on low and come home to a meal already prepared.  I do love a slow cooker.

Frying takes a lot of time, preparation and clean up.  The clean up is the worst part, seriously.  But fried chicken  a great treat once in awhile.  Roasting is also time consuming but my goodness it opens the door to a lot of other meals down the road.  Grilling, steaming, sautee-ing, stir-frying, baking, this list goes on and on and on.

At any rate, I was delighted to have been inspired to making this dish.  It must have been pretty good because Tim had a second helping. (always a good sign)  and there are yet more leftovers for another night.  Hopefully that one inspired meal will kickstart my creative brain into coming up with other new ideas because there are six other nights in this week  and all of them require dinners.

​Any one else out there have ideas to inspire me?  Please?