Posts by Kyle

 

I love a juicy pork roast.  I always make a large one then use it cubed for pork fried rice, sliced for sandwiches and shredded for barbeque over the next several days.  Pork is great sweet or savory.  This recipe is a little bit of both – garlic makes it savory and honey lends some sweetness.

My crock pot is my friend.  Not only is it wonderful to throw some ingredients in, turn it on and forget about it, but it also makes the most fabulously moist meats.

Ingredients:

2-3 pound pork roast
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup dijon-style mustard (I used one with whole seeds in it)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
***
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS:

Easy, easy!  Simply place the roast into the crockpot, fat side up.  Stir together the rest of the ingredients (except the cornstarch and water).  Pour over the roast.  Cook on High for 4 – 5 hours.  When done, remove the roast from the pot.   Turn on to High to bring the liquid to a simmer.  Stir together the cornstarch and water and stir into the liquid to thicken.  OR, you can pour the liquid into a small pot and do this step on the stove (much quicker).

Enjoy!

Kyle Travers – Chief Mom Editor and Owner of Boutique Elli’Ette ~ Knot Dresses & More

 

Picnic and cookout time is upon us in the Mid-Atlantic.  Time for family gatherings and outdoor parties:  grilled burgers and dogs, pasta salads, potato salads, macaroni salad, baked beans.

They are all great foods – but I have been watching my carbohydrate intake for a few years now so I like to make sure there is a low-carb selection among all those high-carb dishes for me to eat with my burger.  A lone burger (no bun) on the plate is just plain sad.

 

This salad is not only low-carb but raw broccoli is so very good for you and even better when it’s organically grown.  Now, because a low-carb dish can be high fat (fats are not too worried about in a low-carb lifestyle), you may want to substitute lo-cal dressings, fat-free cheese and a turkey meat – that is your prerogative.  It will be just as yummy!

I recently took this to a baseball team cookout and TWO DADS gave me fist bumps and a great big thank you, then they promptly had 2 huge servings – wow did I feel proud (I made sure to serve myself some before it was completely finished off).

So here in all it’s low-carb (high-fat) glory is the easiest salad you will ever throw together!

INGREDIENTS:

Broccoli – 2-3 heads
Mini Pepperonis – I have used packaged bacon in the past but it does not hold up well, it gets soggy
Grated Cheese – I like a medium cheddar and a large grate – about 1/2 cup – stir in just before serving
Chopped Red Onion – this is optional but adds a nice “bite” – about 1/4 cup
Sweet and Sour Salad Dressing – may also be called Poppy Seed Dressing – about 1/2 cup
Mayonnaise – about 1/2 cup, or 1 part dressing to 1 part mayo
Milk – may be necessary to thin the dressing

Chop Broccoli, including the stem – use as much stem as you are comfortable with compared to the amount of “head” – into very small pieces.  Mix everything together EXCEPT the cheese.  Adjust amounts of ingredients to your liking and thin the dressing if it needs it.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat or transport.  Transport salad and reserved cheese in a cooler.  Stir in Cheese just before serving.

Serving tips:

The Cheese will get gooey in the dressing, that’s why you will want to toss it in just before serving.  If you opt to use bacon crumbles, stir them in at the end with the cheese as they too will get soft.

Substitute low-fat products for the pepperoni, cheese, dressing and mayonnaise – you could use non-fat sour cream for the mayo also.

Raisins, dried cranberries or other dried fruits and chopped nuts would be absolutely yummy.  I think I would not use the pepperoni or bacon in that case but that is just MHO.

You can change up the dressing – kids may not like the sweet and sour taste, they may go more for ranch in which case you can just use ranch dressing, although I still like to cut the strong dressing flavor with something like mayo or sour cream.

My 2 year-old grandson loves this salad – he especially likes to pick out the mini pepperonis – he is not very much into meats yet so with this dish he can get quite a bit of protein (between the cheese and pepperoni) and not realize it or taste it – so I think this is a very kid-friendly recipe.

I like to keep a large bowl of this prepared in my fridge to snack on – toss in some cheese and eat!

I hope you enjoy!

~  Kyle Travers ~ Chief Mom Editor and Owner of Boutique Elli’Ette – Knot Dresses & More

 

 

 

 

Most people think of a breakfast casserole as being what you eat when you spend beaucoup bucks at a bed and breakfast.

Or something you prepare on special occasions.

I think a breakfast casserole is something that should be honored and appreciated for any day of the week – in fact, it is a quick, inexpensive and easy meal to prepare and should be considered for any normal meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner – but should also be a serious contender for special occasions such as Brunches, Showers and Weddings!

The following recipe is my own personal favorite.  It is a basic recipe and you are encouraged to substitute and/or add ingredients according to your personal taste.  I originally intended to do an egg and cheese ONLY casserole.  However, I had just made meatloaf for dinner and there was a small amount of it left.  Now… when a person thinks of a breakfast casserole – if it includes meat – it is usually a pork product – bacon, sausage, ham…..  But I just couldn’t see that small amount of meatloaf going to waste.  I asked around the house and everyone said PUT IT IN!!  So, really, take this recipe and make it your own.  The main thing to remember is….  the egg/milk mixture is the “custard” that binds everything together and should remain the same, at least compared to the amount of bread – for the meat, cheese and veggies (if you want to add them in make sure they are cooked or softened) you can do what you want!

The baking dish used in the following recipe is approximately 11″ x 7″ – this casserole will rise almost double so make sure you have sides that are at least 2″ high.

Preheat oven to 350°

Ingredients:

~  5 slices regular sandwich bread, cubed – can be any kind according to taste – obviously a whole wheat bread will have a different flavor than white – white bread was used in this recipe, and recipe is based on fresh bread, not a dried bread or stuffing mix
~  Cooked meat – totally optional:  meat of your preference – shown is about 1 cup of leftover meatloaf -
you might want to use 1 cup of browned sausage or chopped ham, but if using bacon, perhaps 1/2 cup
~  1.5 cups of shredded cheese of your preference – cheddar and mozarella will make totally different tasting casseroles – mozarella is shown here
~  2 tbs parmesan cheese – this is optional but not to me

Custard ingredients:
~  8 eggs
~  1/4 cup sour cream
~  3/4 cup milk of your preference – I use half and half but any milk will do
~  8 drops hot sauce (optional)
~  1/4 tsp garlic powder
~  1/2 tsp onion powder
~  1/4 tsp pepper
~  1/2 tsp salt
~  dash nutmeg

1.  Cut or brake apart the bread and layer it into the baking dish.  -  Simple.

I had some leftover meatloaf:

That I chopped and crumbled over top of the bread cubes:

Now sprinkle your cheeses over top:

 

Next?  You got it – stir together all the Custard Ingredients and pour evenly over top:

 

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  You can also refrigerate overnight and bake in the morning.  If I’m making it for breakfast, I like to bake it the evening before, let it cool, cover with plastic and refrigerate.  Then in the morning I can reheat it in the microwave in single servings – no waiting for baking and cooling.

Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, til inserted knife comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Submitted by Kyle Travers, Chief Mom Editor and owner of Boutique Elli’Ette – Knot Dresses and More!

 

 

Do you like Pineapple Upside Down Cake?  Here’s a similar dessert that uses canned Fruit Cocktail.

My grandchildren, on whom I tested this recipe, liked the Very Cherry Fruit Cocktail the best.

And yes, I bake it in a Pie Pan even though it’s a Cake – first of all, the amount of fruit and batter fits in the pie pan perfectly, and secondly, it’s much easier to turn out onto a Serving Plate.

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 ounce can Fruit Cocktail in heavy syrup
1 Egg
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Oil
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla
3/4 cup Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 cup Liquid (drained from Fruit Cocktail + enough Milk to make 3/4 cup)
1/4 – 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Cinnamon to taste
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) Butter, melted

Toppings:  Granola ~ Whipped Cream ~ Ice Cream ~ Flavored Syrup ~ etc…
DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350

1.   Open Fruit Cocktail and drain it into a measuring cup.  Retain the liquid.

2.   Beat Egg til thickened and light yellow.

3.   While mixer is still beating, slowly pour in Sugar and beat til mostly dissolved.
4.   While mixer is still beating, slowly pour in oil.  Stop beating when all the oil has been poured in.
5.   Stir in the Salt and Vanilla.
6.   In a separate container, mix together the Flour, Baking Powder and Cinnamon.
7.   Add enough milk to the drained Fruit Cocktail liquid to make 3/4 cup.
8.   Alternately stir in the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients (about 1/3 at a time – beginning with the dry ingredients) and stir only until blended.

9.   Pour the Fruit into a Pie Plate.
10.  Sprinkle the Brown Sugar over the Fruit, then Cinnamon to taste.
11.  Pour the melted Butter over top.

12.  Spoon the Batter over the Fruit.

13.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or til done (may be bubbly around the edges).

 

Let sit at room temperature until cool enough to eat.  Serve by removing from the Pie Plate by individual servings and dumping over onto the serving plate (so fruit is on top).  You may also loosen the edges and turn the entire Dessert over onto a Serving Platter.  Top with desired Toppings.

 

Enjoy!  ~ Kyle Owner of Boutique Elli’Ette

 

 

 

 

This recipe was inspired by a dish I had when out with my hubby one night – it was an Irish restaurant with great food and although I seldom order pasta, “Caribbean Chicken Pasta” sounded too intriguing to pass up, especially at an Irish restaurant!

Since I make this dish once a week, and I seldom do it the same way twice, the following is not so much a recipe as a tutorial.

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Breast – 2 breast halves (1 full breast)
Chopped Onion – about 3/4 cup
Chopped Bell Pepper (I like red, orange or yellow – no green) – about 3/4 cup
Chopped Garlic – 3 good sized cloves
Olive Oil
Caribbean Seasoning
Mascarpone Cheese – about 8 oz
Chicken Stock – about 1 cup
Coconut-flavored Rum – about 1/2 cup OR several drops of coconut flavoring
Basil
Grated Parmesan Cheese – at least 1/4 cup
1/2 to 1 pound dry Pasta of choice

DIRECTIONS:

1.  First thing is to set your water to boil for the pasta while you work on the veggies and chicken.  Drain the pasta when it has cooked “al dente” (according to the directions on the box) – drain it quickly and return it back to the pasta pot and put the lid on – you want to retain some of the “pasta water” as Rachel Ray calls it as the starch in it from the pasta will help the sauce to thicken.

2.  Chop your onion, pepper and garlic – rough chop is what I use.  The amount is up to you – I used about 3/4 cup each for the onions and peppers and a LOT of garlic – about 3 nice sized cloves.  Start a saute’ pan on low heat, add some olive oil and toss in your onions and peppers to saute’ – NOT the garlic yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Cook the chicken breasts in another saute’ pan in olive oil.  Sprinkle some of the Caribbean Seasoning on them as they are cooking – not too much as these kinds of seasonings tend to be very salty and you can add more later if you like.

{HINT} Did you know that the key to tender, juicy chicken is to cook it “lo and slow” until just done?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.   Those veggies should be getting nice and translucent and caramelized right about now.  Toss in the garlic, stir it around and turn off the heat until the chicken and pasta are done.

5.  Remove the cooked breasts to a cutting board to cool slightly.  Retain the pan and all the drippings.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut it into bite sized pieces.

6.  Now, in the same pan you used for the chicken (see all that good stuff on the bottom? that’s full of flavor!), deglaze it with some chicken stock – about 1 cup – scraping up all the good stuff that’s stuck to the bottom.

7.  When your pan is totally deglazed, put the veggies (your cooked onion, pepper and garlic) in then add the Mascarpone Cheese and stir it around til melted – I used about 8 ounces.   Notice in the photo below how nice and dark and rich the chicken stock became after the deglazing

8.  Now stir in about 1/2 cup of the coconut rum (the alcohol will cook out – if you prefer, you can use a couple of drops of a coconut flavoring) and at least a teaspoon of dried basil.

9.  Next dump in the chicken and pasta.  Toss to coat with the sauce.  Now you can adjust your seasonings and amount of sauce – add more stock and cheese if you like more sauce.  One tip here:  the sauce will thicken as it cools so don’t be too concerned if it seems thin.  If you just can’t help it, add some more Mascarpone

10.  Lastly you will want to sprinkle on the grated Parmeson Cheese – use at least 1/4 cup but this is totally up to you.  Gently stir in the cheese, turn off the heat and let it cool some before serving.

YUM!

NOTES:

I sometimes throw in other veggies depending on what I have in stock – if I use broccoli I will cut it into the same size pieces as the onions and peppers and cook it together with them.  Asparagus tips are really good in it too – if fresh or frozen, add them in when you have deglazed the pan, if canned, gently fold in along with the Parmeson Cheese.  Likewise, stir in canned or frozen Peas at the end just before the Parmesan Cheese.

Changing up the flavorings will make this a totally different dish – omit the Caribbean Seasoning and Coconut Rum for a more traditional Italian flavor, stir in some tomato paste for a red sauce, or even use Turkey or some other meat.

I hope you like this dish!  Let me know if you’ve tried it.  And if you feel like it – give me a holler.

~ Kyle  Chief Mom Editor and Proprietor of Boutique Elli’Ette