I’m a planner by nature. I don’t have to have everything perfect, but I’ve found that if I spend a little time planning, things will go much smoother, even if I choose to deviate at some point from the plan. In my professional life I run quite a few projects, and like engineers and builders, plans are critical.
This is true in cooking as well. When I take the time to read through the recipe before I start, to prep all the ingredients at the start (including having measured out amounts of ingredients in prep cups standing at the ready), I find I make fewer mistakes and – surprise, surprise – my recipes look and taste better.
My project management side comes out strongest when I have three or more dishes that need to come out at specific times. As so many recipes have multiple steps over short periods of time, I find that if I create one master sheet with all the steps (in the time order they need to be done), I can make them all come ready at the perfect times. My prep sheet for something like Thanksgiving dinner is a beauty to behold.
As for engineers, there is a great site that I found the Ossobucco recipe I use, Cooking for Engineers. They take the ingredient list and the instructions and put them in a format that is both logical and slightly disturbing. Once I used it, I found it pretty effective.
Builders rely on blueprints as a key part of their planning. Stacked dishes, like lasagna, could benefit from a blueprint. You rarely see one in cooking and when you do it is often a decoration in some sandwich shop. You can find an example here.
Fiesta Tortilla Stack
I could have used a blueprint in constructing this delicious dish.
All of your typical Mexican ingredients.
I decided to use chicken thighs as they bring more flavor than breast meat.
Seasoned chicken.
Tortillas with a bit of refried beans. Refried beans are like the cement to this building.
Load it up with peppers, tomatoes, chicken and cheese.
Stack and repeat.
Do yourself a favor and cut these in quarters. So much easier to eat that way.
Great dish and built without aid of a blueprint!
Fiesta Tortilla Stack
source Katiemjohn.tripod.com
INGREDIENTS
- 1 can refried beans
- 1 TB plus 1/4 cup sour cream (divided)
- 1 TB plus 1/2 tsp taco seasoning mix (divided)
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 1 med red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 3/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives (divided)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (divided)
- 5 flour tortillas (10 inch)
- 8oz mild cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
- vegetable oil spray
- 2 medium plum tomatoes seeded and chopped
- salsa to garnish- optional
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine beans, 2 Tb sour cream and 1 TB of the taco seasoning and mix well. Chop chicken and bell pepper and place in another bowl. Add green onions, 1/2 cup olives and 2 Tb chopped cilantro and mix gently.
Place one tortilla on baking sheet and top with 1/4 of the bean mixture, 1/2 of the chicken/veggie mixture, and 1/4 of the cheese. Stack with another tortilla and repeat layers 3 more times. Top with the remaining tortilla, and spray with vegetable oil.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Mix remaining 1/4 cup sour cream with the 1/2 tsp remaining taco seasoning. Spread evenly over top of warm tortilla stack. Sprinkle with tomato, remaining 1/4 cup olives, and cilantro. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa if desired.
Serves 6
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
Planning is the most essential part of cooking, truly said. Love this step by step awesome tutorial… The recipe looks yummy.
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My son will go nuts over this! I’ve seen that cooking for engineers site before, it’s a hoot. I’m glad you reminded me of it!
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