Michael Horowitz > wrote in message >. ..
> Background: I'm trying to transition from a white-knuckled dependence
> on recipies to a more logical approach to cooking.
>
.... stuff deleted about making a dish from scratch....

Mike,
Don't take this the wrong way. I don't think you're ready for this.

There's nothing wrong in following recipies, most good cooks do this
all the time. What you should concentrate on now is learning to make
the same dish over and over until you don't need to follow the recipe.
At that point you'll know what would spice it up the way you want to.

To draw an analogy, like a musician you're learning to improvise. But
you want to improvise within the music that you've already learned.
What you attempted is to play jazz but improvise in ragtime.

So next time look up a recipe that you haven't tried that involves
using up chicken meat. Eventually you'll have learned to make so many
things that you'll open the refrigerator, see the chicken and think
enchilladas.

To my way of thinking, following a recipe is the *most* logical way of
cooking.

Good luck,
Susan B.