It's a process

Disclaimer:  This post features a dish I've already made before.  HOWEVER, as similar as it may have looked to the one previously shown here, it was different.  I'll explain after you have a look.

Chicken, broccoli, and garlic alfredo over spaghetti.  You and I have both seen it before (me more than you, I'm willing to bet), but I'm telling you, it was different.  The reason?  Salt.  I've said so before, but salt is sooooo important in making food taste good.  I thoroughly seasoned the chicken with garlic salt and pepper, and I added a bit more garlic salt when I threw the broccoli in (more of my frozen broccoli, microwaved a bit so they wouldn't be completely frozen).  Needless to say, I also salted my pasta water (Is your pasta bland?  The water probably just needs a couple pinches of salt).  The difference in flavor was noticeable from first taste, but it probably showed best in the broccoli.  Broccoli is, by nature, bland in an earthy way, so the fact that this broccoli tasted almost as good as the chicken is telling.

Another thing I did this time was not cook the crap out of the chicken.  I browned it, but I didn't cook it until I was certain the middles were done.  I let the sauce get close to boiling and covered it with the heat on low to let the chicken and broccoli heat through that way.  The chicken was really tender, and I think I owe it to letting the chicken finish cooking in the natural course of heating the sauce and broccoli.

I've never really been good about experimenting with cooking since I can't stand the thought of possibly ruining food, but it's been very refreshing trying different things to improve my food.  I need to break out of my recipe-slave mentality.