There are always weird ingredients on Chopped, regardless of whether the chefs are adult professionals or kids!  On episode 2, these included “ants on a log” (peanut butter and raisins on celery) and “marshmallow rice cereal” treats (basically Rice Krispies squares, but Chopped never gets food brand sponsorship (why IS that, anyway??), so a generic name it is!) in the first and second rounds.  Other ingredients for round 2 were goat chops, elephant garlic and fingerling potatoes.  Round 2 seemed to be the best to make something out of (round 1 isn’t bad either, but I don’t eat peanuts).

For my meal using the round 2 ingredients, I would make roasted goat chops served with root vegetable mash topped with marshmallow treat crunch and greens.  The garlic is first chopped into small pieces and then mixed with some olive oil, chopped parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (whoa, that’s a song!!) along with some salt and black pepper as a rub/marinade for the chops.  The chops are then placed in a 350 F oven for about 20-25 minutes, turning them half way so that it would cook evenly.  While the chops are in the oven the potatoes, along with some chopped squash (butternut is ideal), sweet potatoes and parsnip are boiled until soft and then drained.  While the vegetables are boiling, the marshmallow treats are broken into small pieces and mixed with a bit more chopped parsley.  This is set aside. The drained root vegetable mixture is placed in a bowl where it is mashed with a quarter cup of plain Greek yogurt (fat free is fine) and then topped with the marshmallow rice treats and parsley.

A simple salad is then composed to go along with the chops and vegetable mash.  Toss some arugula with baby kale and chopped tomatoes and mix it with a simple dressing of oil and vinegar.

While all Chopped shows plate meals individually, this one is served family style – especially now that we’re heading towards the holiday season.  Enjoy! 🙂