“Chopped” Style Kitchen Challenge- We’re All in This Together, Let’s Have Some Fun

If you’re all about food, you likely know about TV shows like “Chopped”- contestants are given a mystery box of ingredients. They are challenged to create the best meals, and at each round one chef gets “chopped” from the show until there is an ultimate winner.

I like seeing what the cooks create and thinking about what I would do in the heat of the show. So, this week I ordered my own “mystery box” of produce to avoid the grocery store gauntlet, and to add some spice to my meal planning. I invite you to play along at your home- here are the rules of the game:

1. I will show a picture of what I got in my mystery box.
2. I will make a meal plan for the week, using the ingredients as well as staples that I actually have in my freezer/pantry right now. If you play along at home, this rule applies to you as well- if you have an ingredient at home, you can use it in any way along with mystery box items.
3. I must account for all the mystery box ingredients in some way in my own plan (with a caveat I’ll note at the bottom of this page). As to this rule for home players- obviously you won’t likely have all the same “mystery box” ingredients at home as I got in my box. But there are a couple of ways you can still play:
   a) You can do a full plan, explaining how you would use the same mystery produce items if you had them all. It could be fun to see how different people would do it- I am always amazed at peoples’ creativity.
   b) Or- if you have at least one of the mystery box ingredients in your home, you could follow through and make a recipe using that ingredient.
4. I would LOVE for you to share your plans, recipes, and/or menus, and it would be very cool if you shared pictures too. If you made a recipe in the past with a mystery box ingredient that you can recommend, share that, and add a pic if you have one. Total “fails” can also be picture worthy and the stories behind them can be fun. In fact, any food stories, themes, memories, etc., are all welcome if they also fit the mystery box food in some way.
   Send them to me via email at: atherapistandherdog@gmail.com.
5. I will publish a post next week with the submissions I get throughout the week, for us all to enjoy.
6. If we continue the game in the future perhaps we can decide on how to choose winners.
   Have fun with it. Goodness knows, we need to find some way to share and have fun these days.

Here is today’s mystery box:

It contains:

1 large head cauliflower
1 bunch watercress
1 eggplant
1 bunch kale
3 small green peppers
2 large white potatoes
2 carrots
1 red onion
1 small avocado
3 apples
3 bananas
1 orange

In a few days I will post my menu plan (to give you a chance to figure out a few ideas of your own first without distraction).

My caveat mentioned above: I cannot eat avocados, so I have arranged to make a contact-less trade with a fellow food box buyer. Apparently they hate kale and love avocados and they see it as a win-win (even though I feel like the avocado is pretty small compared to the nice bunch of kale). If I did not have this option, I had a back-up plan: I could have made guacamole and frozen it to give away in the future. (yep- you can freeze gauc if you don’t add watery veggies to it).

Stay safe and eat well, everyone. I’m really looking forward to seeing your submissions.