Using a Secret Ingredient When Cooking Dinner
My guests didn’t know.
My kids didn’t know.
Only I knew the secret ingredient when I made dinner the other night.
Who says you can’t throw in something unusual, a secret-weapon ingredient, when cooking a traditional dish?
Last weekend my husband and I worked long, hard, hot hours in the yard and garden. We harvested beets, cooked them in the pressure cooker, and when it came time to cook dinner a couple days later, guess which ingredient I used when making enchiladas?
I combined beets and tomatoes for the topping, and layered beets on the inside of the enchiladas.
Beets. Precious beets.
And it was delicious.
It’s fun to make your guests swoon, trying to guess the secret ingredient, or to see their faces when they take that first bite.
When’s the last time you cooked with a secret ingredient and what was the reaction of our guests?
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I love secret ingredients. I’ve made chocolate cake with beets. I made muffins with dandelions. I shave kohlrabi into coleslaw. Chili powder gives brownies a pleasant kick. People always compliment my cooking then I reveal the ingredient. There’s a quick look of terror when they think, “Oh my God I can’t believe I just ate that” – – then they look down at what they’re eating, realize they love it, and then polish it off.
The thing about secret ingredients is they force people to be open minded. Plain beets are gross. But beets mashed into chocolte cake are delish! Dandelions are annoying weeds, but in a salad or muffins they are powerfully nutritious greens. I’m glad RE endorses secret ingredients!
I love beets and these photos are so pretty! I am a huge beet fan too and was just thinking of posting a recipe with them sometime soon as well.
I adore sneaking in secret ingredients! The last one was when I slipped some oysters in to the dressing ;-)
I always feel like we’re border-line scurvy people over here, and my husband has a gluten free diet, so I bought The Sneaky Chef cookbook- not because my kids won’t eat, but because she had great explanations of the benefits of fuits/veggies and the purees and ways to use them in other recipes has been helpful. Noone has even tasted them in the recipes and I feel like we’re getting an extra boost of natural vitamins.