Experimentation in the Kitchen

I have a recipe for a “Mexican” dish that is all made in a pan on the stove that I really like, so I decided to modify it and make an “Italian” dish of my own recipe loosely based on the Mexican one. Surprisingly enough, it went fairly well!

I bought a zucchini, sliced mushrooms, a red onion, carrots, and added that to a few items I had at home, chicken, diced tomatoes, instant rice, mozzarella cheese, and pita pockets. I cut up the onion into chunks and added those, along with the mushrooms, garlic, and olive oil to a large pot. After a bit of sautéing, I added chunks of zucchini and carrots to the mixture and gave it a few more minutes to cook, but not so much that the veggies were too soft. Finally, I added pre-cooked chicken, two cans of diced tomatoes, the kind that has the garlic, basil, and oregano already mixed in, and 1 ¼ cup of water. Once it was boiling, I added 3 cups of instant rice, removed it from the burner and let it sit for 5 minutes. Next, I took some shredded mozzarella cheese, and mixed it in the pot. I spooned the mixture into a pita pocket, and had myself a hot sandwich!

I figure if I want a little less casserole-style dish, I’d omit the rice and water, and have just the veggies and chicken in the pita. Either way, I have a new recipe!