One of the things on last week's menu plan that got the most interest was pineapple habanero chicken with refried beans, guacamole and rice. Having had a #KitchenClearout and come across a bottle of Fiery & Fruity Habanero Sauce that had been lurking in the back of the cupboard for way too long, I decided to go googling for inspiration and came across a recipe for Chef Robert McGrath's Pineapple-Habanero Chicken Wings. I decided that, with a few tweaks, such as using chicken thighs instead of wings, I could work with that.
In the end, I had loads of leftover meat from the barbecue - beef, pork chops, sausages, but no chicken ! - so I chopped up the pork into bite-sized pieces instead.
Time to get the veggies cooking - a couple of onions and a green pepper sizzling in a drizzle of olive oil started things off while I chopped up the tin of pineapple rings.
I grabbed the bottle of Fruity & Fiery Habanero Sauce that I was planning on using, opened it up and dipped a finger in for a taste and it almost blew my head off. I don't mind spicy food but this was insanely hot - the label does have a 3-chilli hot rating - and there was no way the kids would eat it. Time for plan B ! I had a rummage through the cupboard and came up with half a bottle of chilli & ginger sauce which was sweet and sour rather than hot - perfect.
I tossed the pork and pineapple into the pan with the onions and peppers, then added the chilli & ginger sauce. This was now an Oriental dish rather than a Mexican-themed one so I decided to ditch the refried beans and guacamole and use them in a different recipe instead (tostadas, which are a fabulous twist on fajitas - recipe coming soon). I served this with plain rice and everyone was happy.
I often have people commenting on my menu plan posts to say that they wouldn't like the rigidity of a menu plan because they like to go with the flow and create a dish as they go along, depending on what they feel like. I think this shows how flexible a menu plan can be, with the planned dish morphing into something completely different depending on circumstances !
Adding to this month's #KitchenClearout linky because it cleared out two bottles - one for the bin, as it would never have been eaten, and one in the dish.
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