I like to challenge myself in the kitchen because I can never seem to stick to a recipe (unless I am baking, baking is a science you don’t mess with) when I am trying out something new for dinner.  I look at a new recipe and think….hmmm..what if I added this instead of that? or maybe add more or less of a certain ingredient?…or I know hubby wouldn’t eat it with that in it…. hence why I never give reviews on any recipes I try off the internet – it wouldn’t be fair to judge a recipe after I fooled around with it.

This was the premise of the original GangUp Challenge that came about several years ago on a recipe site I used to frequent.  I have a following of gals that like to join in and participate as I found out I am not alone in my recipe tweaking fetish.  So periodically we throw a challenge out there with a random bunch of ingredients and see what we all come up with.  Trust me – it IS fun!  There have been some downright disasters, but that is what makes this Challenge a Challenge!

Now that we are over all the hoopla from Christmas and have had a week off to escape the kitchen, it’s time to head back in and get creative….you never know, you may just invent your families next favourite dish! 

In our virtual ‘Chopped’ basket, you will find a list of 10 ingredients to work with and below the ingredients will be the rules of the Challenge and the time frame to work with….so get your Chef’s Hat Thinking Cap on and get ready to challenge yourself!

Ingredients

Pasta (any kind that suits your tastes)
Butternut Squash
Poultry (chicken, turkey, quail, your choice)
Olive Oil
Garlic
Bread Crumbs
Thyme
Pecans
Tomatoes
Milk

Rules & Reg’s:  There are 3 items that are in addition to the above list that are ‘standard pantry staples’ that you are allowed to use. 

They are Water, Salt & Pepper

Now, you can modify the ingredients with substitutions as follows:

1. You can either use all 10 ingredients as is, or add 2 ingredients, or remove 2 ingredients or add one/delete one.  But the changes made must equal 2.

2. You can make one dish out of them or two or three, but they all must be part of the same meal i.e. entrée/side dishes.

Once you have created your masterpieces of the culinary world, email me a photo of your dish, as well as what ingredients you used and the recipe you came up with.  You then get to share it with the world wide web!

Email your finished results by Tuesday, January 22nd to me at: info@deborahlsykes.com  I will then assemble all the creations into a blog post to be showcased on Thursday, January 24th. 

** Note – date extension for completion due to technical glitches last week.

New Completion Date is Saturday, January 26, 2013!

So Don’t be shy, give it a try!

** Make sure you leave a comment below indicating your participation as I like to see who all is joining in!