I’ve been trying out some slow cooker recipes lately. This Creamy Chicken Casserole sounded okay – vegetables, stuffing, chicken. Nothing great, but certainly it had the makings of an easy, tasty dinner. And it looks decent, right?
So, last night I followed the ingredients and instructions to the letter. Took a quick peak now and again. Looked okay. Smelled okay.
The buzzer went off and I lifted the lid.
At first glance, I knew right away I needed a back-up for my kids. I mean, does this look anything like the picture from the magazine above? Does it even look edible?
Um, NO.
Then I took a bite.
It tasted like dirt.
It was so bad, that I immediately had to eat one of these (made earlier in the day) to wash away the insipid flavor. Had they not been within reach, I probably would have settled for a mouth full of soap.
Out of pure guilt and not wanting to waste food (although I don’t even think anyone in a third world country would have eaten this), I placed it all in a Tupperware container (for later?)…at which point, I swear, the plastic wilted. If it could have spoken, I’m certain it would have said something like, “heeelp meee. I’m dyiiing.”
This morning, my husband suggested I let the dogs take a stab at it. Surely, they would eat it.
NOT. A. CHANCE. Both of them actually appeared insulted that I would pass something so vile onto them. And I have Beagles – they’ll eat anything!
It was finally put to rest. And I’m sure my garbage can had the same reaction as the Tupperware.
Still unclear about how dreadful this was?
Several years ago, we went to a dinner party. The main course was fairly decent, but the dessert was another story. It resembled mucus with a blue hue. Paul thought it smelled like ammonia. I thought it tasted like an entire box of baking powder. Absolutely horrific. The worst food I have ever eaten.
This dish? Ranks as #2.
My coworker says she’s made a few failures in the crock pot and because of it, her family is leery of crock pot meals. I have to admit, that’s a pretty unappetizing picture. I made a tikka masala in the crockpot recently that I swear resembled dog food. The chicken ended up falling apart instead of being cubed so it looked like stringy dog food. My husband, who bless his heart will eat practically anything I cook, ate it and said it was better than it looked. I refused to touch it. It was gloopy, an off putting color and this awful texture/consistency. My cat’s canned food looked better than this. It actually looked ok till I added the cornstarch to thicken it like it said. That’s when it all went horribly, horribly wrong. I look forward to trying the other crock pot recipe you posted that linked to this one!
Hahaha! I’m sorry about this epic failure–but it’s quite funny to read about. And not even the magazine picture makes it look beautiful, I’m sorry to say.
I’ve found that whenever I put an entire dish in a slow cooker it turns out awful. I use it to cook meat only now.
LMAO! I thought I was the only one that had flops and admitted them on a blog (AND not to mentioned photographed them). Good for you!
Pam – nope. Unfortunately, that second picture would be mine. I’m not proud.
Natashya & Joanne – it did have so much potential. Sigh. Maybe I will start lifting the lid on half cooked food. Can’t be worse than this end result. Sounds like we should all have the crunch bars on had, just in case.
JT – my Stuffed Squash gave you back your appetite…I fear I just took it away again.
Kim – You mean my bowl of death would actually win something?! Redemption! I haven’t read Ruth Reichl, but I hear good things! Note to self: ask for her books as a holiday gift. I have stories of my Nan’s mishaps in the kitchen…actually, they have more to do with her not wanting to waste food, and therefore she would eat things that should clearly have been thrown out. The secret to her loooong life, perhaps? Eating mold.
You crack me up. “It tasted like dirt.” If the dogs are turning their noses up at it, then what more can you do? You tried not to waste it.
I am just glad you had the pecan brownie thingys on hand. I need to get back to them. They look heavenly!
Have you read Ruth Reichl’s books? The way she talks about her mom’s cooking reminds me very much of the ammonia scented dessert at that person’s party. Too funny! I do remember a batch of vanilla ice cream that my grandmother made that smelled like bleach. She had washed her plastic ice cream holder out with bleach. Little did she know that bleach had taken a liking to her plastic container. Ugh. Her sons gave her a lot of grief that summer about trying to poison the family.
I think, like the ugliest dog contest, we bloggers should have an ugliest/biggest failure of a meal contest. Creamy Chicken Casserole could be a contender!
DUDE. I actually let out a little yelp when I saw the photo of the actual result.
Joanne: black bean brownies? HEE.
This is tragic. Mostly because this dish had so much potential. Broccoli! Chicken! Cheese! Stuffing! Where could it go wrong?
Oh well. It happens to all of us. I made black bean brownies once that my mother and I refuse to even talk about. We have mutually agreed that they are better left in the past.
I have started lifting the lid and tasting/adjusting the slow cooker recipes now. I know they say not to but I don’t really think it hurts anything and I hate to end up with a meal I don’t want to eat.
Once I made, or tried to make, injera (Ethiopian crepe) from a badly translated online recipe.. it was so vile I had to wash my tongue under the tap immediately! :)
When I looked at that first picture, I was thinking it was yours and that it looked pretty darn fine. But then as I read and scrolled, oh my gosh. That does look vile.
Melissa – I think I reached new heights with this failure.
Dad – LOL! I thought that, too, when I took the picture.
Jen – seriously unrecognizable. You would never come here again if I served this to you.
Andrea – Hi there! Thanks for stopping by to witness my bowl of death. I honestly don’t know what happened. It was the simplest dish, with only a few ingredients, and no cooking prep required beforehand. Maybe I added the wrong spices on accident? Although, that still would have nothing to do with the awful texture. Cereal! That is always a great back-up.
Jude – Ha! Good one. You know, perhaps given via IV, this would shake someone right out of a coma.
Natasha – I cannot imagine you making anything that comes out wrong!
Dani – few disasters? You flatter me! Oh no, I have plenty more…just nothing that ranks quite up there on this awful scale. The Praline Crunch Bars ARE yummy, and are awesome no matter what the circumstance. But they sure came in handy here.
Oooh, Amy, it does look disgusting! What a shame. Usually when I try something new, even if I don’t like it, it’s at least edible. I’m sure it’s one of very few disasters in your kitchen, though. The praline crunch bars look yummy! Have a good weekend.
Oh, dear, don’t you just hate it when things like that happen. I already know in advance that today is going to be my bad cooking day – whatever I make will be likely going in the garbage, I think it is a good day for pizza :)
The photos remind me of the ad campaign of a woman’s face before and after Meth.
I’m going to Just Say No to this recipe.
Looks horrible. Do you suppose it’s the difference between your slow-cooker and the magazine’s? Maybe yours runs a lot hotter. Or maybe the cream-sauce part should not have been added until the end. It looks curdled. Is there an acidic ingredient that might have ruined the creamy part? But I agree. There are some recipes that are so disappointing that I just shrug and eat cereal for dinner.
(I’m one of the parents at Ms. Jenny’s preschool, in case you’re wondering!)
Praline Crunch Bars for dinner! Well, works nicely as a consolation at least. Its great that you can laugh at it all. Maybe you can write the magazine and insist your slow cooker won’t accept food anymore (just spits it out, its the darndest thing) and you need a replacement. :)
I’d ruin a meal or two just to get an early bite of those Praline Crunch bars too. ;) There’s a rumor that the Creamy Chicken Casserole was so bad that the garbage men refused to take it away. True?
LMAO…literally! OMG…your story is HILARIOUS! It does look pretty disgusting.
I must admit this looks pretty bad. How disappointing after waiting 8 hours for the finished product. What would we do without PB&J and eggs!
Amy, you’ve got this thing backward. I would say that the dogs already ate it, and just gave it back. Bleccch.
Your poor Tupperware.
I’ve had a failure like that. I think we all have. I have to admit yours sounds ridiculously inedible though. Ouch.
Mellissa – so, maybe that’s what THIS was…Indian food. Nope. Even bad Indian food tastes better than this did.
Mike – so, what you’re saying is it was my subconscience purposely ruining this meal, so I could eat dessert instead. Hmmm…you could be right.
Lora – I think I need to write the magazine and tell them whoever created the original recipe should be fired. BUT, I like the way you’re thinking. Free stuff=good.
I was laughing at my desk reading this, we have this happen with Indian Food all the time. We keep trying to make authentic Indian food and it never turns out!
Kobe – thanks! Aren’t you glad you were here for the Thanksgiving dinner, and not this?!
Anne – Oh, I can tell you exactly what’s in it…basic veggies, chicken, some canned soup, stuffing, and spices. Why it didn’t come out is beyond me. UCK.
Helen – Ha! I have many disappointments in the kitchen. Maybe I should do a collective post?
Astrid – I was sort of bummed since it had been slow cooking for 8 hours! But whatcha gonna do? The unbelievable unpleasantness of this was comic relief, I guess. Paul grabbed a PB&J for himself, and I made scrambled eggs for me and the kids. Easy and fast replacement.
I love that you can just laugh this off. When I think a meal isn’t going well I start getting very cranky. For some reason I feel heart broken. It was a great story. What did you end up doing for dinner?
Great story Amy!! It’s comforting to know that you make mistakes in the kitchen just like the rest of us
What the heck is even in it? Okay, now I want to dissect this and find out what went wrong. LOL
Great story!