Kyle's Experiments: Kielbasa and Potatoes

It's been a while since I've had time to actually cook something more than a TV dinner, so when circumstances at work allowed me to leave a few hours early, I decided to treat myself to an experiment!

Every once in a while, I get an idea in my head that takes starts as something normal and makes some changes on a whim. Sometimes it turns out really good, other times it's a failure...though not too much of a failure that it's inedible. ;-)

So, originally, I was just going to use a kielbasa with one of those boxed mixes for a simple meal. Instead, due to the extra time available, I decided to do a nice home cooked meal instead. This meal was a alteration of the classic sausage, peppers and potatoes. I decided to use sweet and red potatoes, red and green peppers, and a custom made marinade.

You may asking, "Kyle, was this experiment a success?" The answer is yes! However, it's still a recipe that's going to need more testing, so be advised that measurements, times and temperatures will vary. Anything that's marked with a * is an estimate, not set in stone.

Kyle's Kielbasa and Potato Bake

Ingredients

• 1 Large Sweet Potato, cubed
• 1 Large Red Potato, cubed
• 1 Kielbasa rope
• 1 Vidalia Onion, roughly chopped
• 1 Green Pepper, roughly chopped
• 1 Red Pepper, roughly chopped
• between 1/4 and 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
• 1/2 tsp Ground Pepper*
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder*
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp Cumin

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees*
2. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and place in a large bowl. This will allow for faster cooking. The red potato should be cut smaller than the sweet potato.
3. Roughly chop the peppers and onion and also place in the large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, add the olive oil and seasonings. Whisk together, then pour over the potato mix, mix with your hands until everything is coated.
5. Cut the kielbasa into 2" pieces and add to the potatoes. Mix by hand again.
6. Pour the mixture into a 9" x 13" cooking dish and cover with aluminum foil*
7. Cook for 30 minutes, remove the foil and stir. Continue cooking uncovered for another 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
8. Serve with your favorite type of salad. I prefer a spinach salad with Balsamic Vinagarette.

**Note:** I've found that this method results in very soft sweet potatoes. You might want to reduce the amount of time, or forego the aluminum foil. This is something that will be tested again in the future.

Poultry, Veggies and...Jello?!? Oh My!

Happy Tuesday everyone! After the Turkey Day in May meal, I decided I needed to experiment with some new recipes.

So, I borrowed a couple of magazines from my Turkey Day friend and found one that seemed unusual. Of course, it stuck out to me because it has one of my favorite flavors: Lemon! What's so unusual you ask? The lemon flavor comes from Lemon Jello.

Unfortunately, my friends don't believe that Jello could work in something like this. I planned to prove them wrong. Did I? The answer is yes! The dish was amazing, even with my alterations! Plus, it makes a TON so I have plenty for a couple of days.

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
• 1 package fresh snow peas (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 small white onion, halved, then sliced
• 1 small red pepper, cut into strips
• 1 package of Lemon Jello
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp italian dressing
• 1-1/2 tsp minced garlic
• Pasta of your choice

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into slices
2. Start boiling some pasta. I used campanelle.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and brown.
4. Add the onion, pepper and snow peas. Cook about 2 minutes, or until the onion softens.
5. Mix the Jello and cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir in the chicken broth, italian dressing and garlic.
6. Once the Jello is dissolved, add it into the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook 3-4 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
7. Spoon the chicken on top of the pasta and enjoy!

Turkey Day in May

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The big attraction is all the food that we have to eat! Unfortunately, with it being May, there's still 6 months until Turkey Day.

As such, my friend and I decided that we'd throw a Turkey Day in May party yesterday for my roommate (who LOVES turkey) and the rest of our friends. We decided instead of doing a traditional Turkey Feast, we'd put a Spring/Summer spin on a few of the dishes.

This was a day of firsts for me. It was my first time preparing a dish for a turkey dinner and the first time that I've carved a turkey.

Our menu for the day was simple:

• Roast Turkey
• Grilled Seasoned Potato Wedges
• Grilled Corn on the Cob
• Braised Carrots
• Bacon & Bourbon Stuffing
• Romaine Lettuce Salad
• Strawberry Roubarb Pie

Today, I'm going to focus on the dish that I was in charge of, the Bacon & Bourbon Stuffing.

Bacon & Bourbon Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 1 LB thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 loaf pumpernickle bread, lightly toasted & cubed
• 1/2 loaf dark rye bread, lightly toasted & cubed
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1-1/2 Tbsp dried sage leaves
• 1 Quart chicken stock (more as needed)
• 1/2 cup bourbon whiskey

Directions:

1. Begin by toasting all your bread and cubing it.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium high heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels and reserve all bacon grease left in the pan in a bowl.
4. In the same skillet, melt the butter over Medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and rosemary to the pan and cook until the onions are soft. Add the reserved bacon fat.
5. Place the bread cubes into a large bowl. Add the eggs, thyme, sage and bacon. Toss to mix. Add the onion mixture and mix evenly again.
6. Pour the bourbon and chicken stock into a separate bowl and stir. Add the mixture to the bread bowl and mix with your hands. Keep adding chicken stock until you reach the desired consistency.
7. Place the stuffing into the baking pan and bake for about 1 hour. It will be ready when a knife stuck into the center comes out clean. You can increase the bake time to produce a crispier top.

Well, that's the recipe for today! If you have any suggestions, questions or comments, please let me know!

Homemade Chicken Soup Makes It All Better

The only thing that I love about being sick with a cold is that it gives me a reason to make Chicken Soup. So, when I came down with a cold this week, it gave me the perfect excuse to make my favorite Chicken Noodle Soup recipe!

I actually found the recipe this one is based off of a couple of years ago when I had a pretty nasty cold. That recipe was good, but I combined a number of suggestions to make it better. The following is my version of the recipe and makes enough leftovers for a few days:

Feel Better Chicken Noodle Soup

• 1Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 Medium Yellow Onion
• 3 Stalks of Celery
• 2 Carrots
• 2 tsp Minced Garlic
• 2 - 32oz Boxes of Chicken Stock
• 1 - 14oz Can of Vegetable Stock
• 1 Tbsp Dried Thyme Leaves
• 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
• 2 tsp Dried Basil
• 1 Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
• 3 drops of Hot Sauce
• 1 - Rotisserie Chicken
• 2 handfuls of Medium Egg Noodles
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:

1. Clean the meat off of your rotisserie chicken. I prefer to use a Bourbon flavored chicken from my local Stop & Shop. Make sure that you make the pieces of chicken bite-sized.
2. Melt the butter in your soup pot and sweat the garlic, onion, carrots and celery.
3. Add the stock, herbs, and hot sauce to the pot and stir.
4. Add about 2/3 of the chicken and the egg noodles and stir again.
5. Heat the soup to boiling, then lower the temp to Med-Low and simmer for 20 minutes
6. Enjoy!

Note: I usually use the left over chicken that I didn't add to the soup for a number of different recipes during the week. Stuff like Chicken Salad or Chicken Fried Rice/Stir Fry.

That's all for today! Happy Eating!
--Kyle

Greetings from the Kitchen!

Hi everyone!

Since this is my first post with Eating with Kyle, I thought that it would be a good idea to introduce myself before I start with what I expect to be my normal posts.

Well, first of all, my name is Kyle (duh) and I'm a 26 year old single guy living just outside of Hartford, CT. I share a house with 2 other awesome guys, and I'm pretty much the master of the kitchen amongst the three of us.

I've been cooking since 5th Grade and have been in love with it ever since. During High School, I took a Food Service class and loved it so much that I almost gave up on my true love of working with computers to go to Culinary School instead. I still wish that I had taken that leap though, or at least taken some classes at the local Community College. Alas, that was not to be...at least for now!

Now that I've moved out of my parents' respective houses I've redeveloped a love for cooking and try to make something new every week when I have time. Unfortunately, my job doesn't always allow me the time to make a good meal, but I try to as often as possible.

And now, on to the meat and potatoes of this blog: THE FOOD!