“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” – Winston Churchill

My cornerstones of quarantine have been potatoes, cheese, frozen chicken breasts and a little ingenuity. This dish embodies all of my newfound culinary principles. I’m choosing to embrace limitations as a challenge instead of a handicap. For example, if you’re craving nachos but don’t have any chips make frychos!😉

Sometimes, trading convenience for a few extra steps can make a really big difference in your cooking. It can also be a huge money saver which is always a good thing. For instance, a large bag of potatoes can yield so many meals or sides such as hash browns, baked potatoes, French fries, mashed potatoes, potato salad, and on and on. 

A bag of frozen chicken breasts can really help to stretch your dollars. You simply take out a little at a time for what you need. You can cook and shred it for tacos, chicken salad or bbq sandwiches. You can season and bake it as your main. You could also use what’s leftover to jazz up some rice or macaroni for the next meal.

If you’re like me and view cooking as a hobby, then you probably already conceptualize new dishes just for fun. I’ve recently made homemade hash browns, potato chips and zucchini chips all for the first time. They were delicious and proved to me, once again, that with a little extra time and care fresh really is better. Ok, now I’m fantasizing about growing a garden…👩‍🌾

Lately, I’ve been seeing videos pop up on YouTube about what people cooked during The Great Depression. Hard times are certainly not a new thing. This experience is instilling in me that you can absolutely get by with less. Conservation can also help you to think as well as cook in novel and perhaps even better ways.👩‍🍳😍🍟

Frychos

Step 1:  I threw a few chicken breasts in the instant pot the night before to cook the chicken, then shredded it and added some bbq sauce. 

Step 2: I hand cut a few russet potatoes, tossed with olive oil and McCormick all purpose seasoning, and double baked in the oven until crispy. 

Step 3:  I served my “fries” with leftover bbq chicken, shredded cheddar, sour cream and a few jalapeños. ‘Twas very gooood! In fact, I may never buy frozen French fries again! 

Don’t these frychos look happy?🙂 Thanks for reading and remember to keep calm and cook on! 💜✌️🍴

Categories: Uncategorized

Tagged as: bbq chicken foodblog french fries Quarantine cooking Recipes

Mood Ring Kitchen

I’m a self teaching home cook and aspiring foodie entrepreneur. I enjoy coming up with creative ways to prepare flavorful food such as snacks, desserts and everything in between. Cooking is a way for me to challenge myself and satisfy curiosities about different ingredients.

The hope is to produce something thoughtful, memorable or every once in a while maybe even wonderful. I enjoy following my “gut” and exploring new recipes that can be comforting, exciting and nourishing. Above all else, I enjoy exploring the emotions surrounding food and writing about those experiences. 😝👩‍🍳👩‍💻