Chopped

Chopped is one of my favorite food network shows. The episodes have different chefs that compete against each other by preparing dishes with a handful of ingredients in a limited time frame.  They can use food from a pantry to incorporate into their dishes too. The person who makes the best dish, usually wins money.

We had a "Chopped" themed date last week. We made one dish each using four ingredients that we bought for each other. We also used food items from our kitchen pantry that we thought would go well with our ingredients.

My husband bought these ingredients for me to use.
1.) Garlic roasted tomatoes
2.) Strawberry cream cheese
3.) Baguette
4.) Kiwi

I was taken aback when I saw the tomatoes and the strawberry cream cheese, but it ended up working out. 

I made sandwiches with tomato aioli, meatballs in a caramelized sauce (incorporating a little strawberry cream cheese, kiwi, lemon juice, and chili powder) topped with lettuce.

We both liked our sandwiches and I was pretty proud of the dish I made. I asked my husband if he thought I should be chopped and he said, "no, you're hired."

I bought these ingredients for my husband to use.

1.) Mango

2.) Crescent rolls

3.) Lemon grass

4.) Beef tip steak

He stuffed crescent rolls with a beef / lemon grass mixture. He incorporated cream cheese, lemon juice, and sugar into the mixture and topped the whole thing off with slices of mango.

My husband's not as much of a kitchen enthusiast as I am. So, he was not super excited about this date in the beginning, but as our date progressed, I could tell that he started to have fun. In the end he was proud of the dish he put out.

I bought cupcakes from Roth's for dessert.

Our date turned out to be one of the funnest we have had. My husband and I both really like to be creative and we were able to use our creativity, which was fun and rewarding.

I think this would be a fun activity for older kids too like teens or pre-teens.