Ideas to entertain your Summer Guests

9 07 2013

Summer is a time for family and friends to come and visit from far and wide…after the initial excitement of “My sisters (or friends) are coming!” wears off, you’ll need to start thinking of ways to entertain them!

Road Trip! When we travel, we like to stop at the UNIQUE places that give a community it’s character.  We pretty much have a “no chain restaurant, no mega-store” policy unless absolutely necessary in our family, so we find fun places to visit wherever we travel.

Road Trip Feet

This week, I will be featuring some great places to take your Summer guests when they visit… or you can just pretend you have guests and take a “Day-Trip” without ever leaving our community!  Here are some top places I would take guests and family to when visiting Reno County…

Roy’s Hickory Pit BBQ out on West 5th Street in Hutchinson.  We are so blessed to have some OUTSTANDING businesses in our community, and Anne Armstrong and her family own one of them.  They have built a “SMOKIN’ BBQ Business way out on West 5th Street in Hutchinson, Kansas over the past 30 years!  In our family, we always say “You can’t SNEAK to Roy’s!  (You can try, but you never get away with it!)” That delicious SMOKEY fragrance will give you away every time!  I truly feel like this is one of Reno County’s “Hidden Treasures”…there is nothing like sitting around Anne’s big round table with people from the community.  Love it!

Roy's BBQ

Anne & Ryan can whip up some MEAN BBQ!  There is NOTHING on the menu that I don’t like!

Ribs, Mild Sausage & Brisket

Ribs, Mild Sausage and Brisket… I can almost smell this sitting here at my desk!  It’s time for a Road Trip and a Fill ‘er Up Lunch!

Roys Ribs from the Pit

Ribs…Right out of the Smoker! Mmmm…All we need is some Roy’s Sauce!

Roy's Pork Shoulder or Turkey

Smoked Pork Shoulder and Turkey (One of my favorites!) The Turkey is just so moist and flavorful! Mmmmm…..

Screen shot 2013-05-20 at 10.47.09 AM

Anne (right) is just one of my favorite people on the PLANET! She is a wonderful business woman, has always been supportive of us at Adrians, and is such a positive ray of sunshine right here in our community!  If you’ve never made the trip out to the little yellow building at 1018 Nickerson Blvd. (aka 5th Street), Hutchinson, KS, please do yourself a favor and head out there THIS WEEK!  They OPEN at 11 and serve until the food is gone, usually between 2 & 3 pm.  The food is ALWAYS served hot, fresh & delicious!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the “TOUR” of Roy’s Hickory Pit BBQ… Please visit their Facebook Page and click the “LIKE” button…then drop by for a delicious lunch sometime this week!

P1010050

Of course, we would love to have you bring your guests to Adrian’s Boutique in Buhler!

 

“Known all over the region for it’s unique selection of products, Adrian’s Boutique in downtown Buhler is also known for it’s outstanding customer service, complimentary gift wrap and daily gourmet samples. From an overflowing Vera Bradley collection, Fresh Produce Clothing, Life is Good,  and chic finds in jewelry, clothing and accessories to games and gifts for children and adults, to gourmet foods and kitchenware…we’ve got you covered! Your guests will love a visit to Adrians in Buhler!”

~ More next time!  Please feel free to leave a comment on YOUR favorite places to take friends & family!

Vicki Adrian
ADRIANS BOUTIQUE
118 N Main
Buhler, KS 67522
620-543-6488


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : Great Places to Eat!, Kitchenware & Gourmet, Local Business, Road Trips, Shop Local, Uncategorized

2013 Small Business Week at Adrian’s Boutique

20 05 2013

This is National Small Business Week and Adrian’s Boutique is celebrating 30 years as a locally owned business in downtown Buhler, Kansas. We are so grateful to our clients who have supported us, grown with us and continue to shop with us! Adrian’s has partnered with SIX other outstanding local businesses to bring awareness of the benefits of Shopping small businesses in our community. You really do BIG things when you SHOP SMALL!

Why Shop Local?

 When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits

The Economy

  • Spend $100 at a local business and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.
  • Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.
  • More of your taxes are reinvested in your community–where they belong.

The Environment

  • Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.
  • Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community

  • Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.
  • Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.
  • More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Shop Local, Uncategorized

Made in the Good ‘ole USA!!!

29 06 2011

MADE IN THE USA?

“Here are a few of our Favorite Things…”

As America’s Independence Day approaches, we wanted to highlight a few of the outstanding MADE IN THE USA products from Adrians. Wishing you and your family a SAFE & HAPPY 4th of July Celebration! ~Vicki & Staff

We’ll start with some great products for pampering yourself or a friend… our awesome Shower Bursts, Spongelle Exfoliating Sponges, Neck Warmers and Pillow Friends for kids and of course, one of our favorites…Camille Beckman Hand Therapy which we have used for YEARS!

Shower Burst
When taking a bath isn’t an option — these 100% natural shower bursts transform your ordinary shower into an aromatherapy experience better than the spa! Place in the shower and let the indirect spray activate the aromatherapy experience. Made of 100% essential oils, nothing artificial!

Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

BBQ Beef Brisket

5 05 2011

Vicki Adrian
Buhler, Kansas

There is just nothing like delicious BBQ, and there are so many ways to prepare it!  Unlike many of you, I am NOT talented on the Grill…I tend to like to stay inside where there are no giant mosquitos, flies or other flying insects to deal with.  This recipe is easy to prepare ahead of time and can be frozen or kept in the fridge for a couple of days so you don’t have to deal with it at the last minute.

The lineup of savory seasonings

This is a variation of a recipe that my sister, Nila makes and hers is delicious as well!  Once again, I like to prepare foods that I already have most of the ingredients for.  Here is the starting lineup…Liquid Smoke, Vinegar, Worscestershire Sauce, Garlic & Beef Broth.

The trimmed Brisket

The brisket is, however, the most important part of this recipe.  We ordered ours from Andrew & Jeni Bryan who own Jackson Meat in Hutchinson, Kansas (620-662-4465) because they trimmed it so nice and it was all ready to go into the pans. PS, I LOVE their store…clean, clean, clean and their meats are fresh and beautiful.  SIDENOTE: Their chicken breasts are excellent too…no gooey, slimy stuff)

My original recipe

You know it’s a good one when your recipe looks like this!  I have tweaked this one a bit so please, go off of the typed official recipe below.  I have made this so many times, I couldn’t count it!  We served this out at our pond one year for a fall get together and it was even better served outside.

OK, back to the recipe…I tend to ramble 🙂

Liquid Smoke...it is magical!

Mix up all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl.  Liquid Smoke, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Garlic, Worchestershire and beef broth.

Lea & Perrins Worcestershire...Magic in a bottle!

Place your trimmed Brisket into a large roasting pan that has been lined with an Oven Bag for easy clean up later.  We use the Reynolds Turkey Size bags in this instance.

Don't forget these!

Pour the marinade over the brisket and seal up the bag.  I also put heavy duty foil on the top of the pan…don’t really know why! 🙂

Pour the marinade over the brisket

Let this marinade all night.  I usually put this together when I get home from work and let it sit in the fridge until early the next morning.  Do not skip this step!

This is only half of the brisket we cooked for this event!

Pull out the brisket the next morning and pop it into the oven.  Low & Slow is the name of the game for this recipe.  Bake at 250 degrees…for as long as possible!  I usually let it go for about 10-12 hours.

When the brisket is done, pull off the foil and open up the cooking bags so that the brisket can start to cool enough to handle it.  Scoop out as much of the juice as you can and refrigerate so that all of the fat will come to the top and harden. (I leave this in overnight and remove the fat in the morning).

Remove the fat from the brisket and discard.  Slice or shred meat as desired.  I put all of the meat into a gallon size freezer Zip Lock bag and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve.  Pour in several cups of the beef juices to keep it nice and moist.

All ready to serve

About 3-4 hours before you’re ready to serve, place Slow Cooker liner in Crock Pot and place the beef and the juices into the Crock Pot.  Heat on high until hot, then turn to low to keep warm for serving.

You can serve this so many different ways!  With BBQ sauce (we served it with our favorite Bronco Bob’s Raspberry Chipotle Sauce), with or without buns, rolled up in a burrito, on a philly steak style sandwich, more like a roast with potatoes & carrots, and on and on.

Hope you enjoy this as much as our family has over the years!  It is a great dish to make ahead and serve to a crowd, and can be easily frozen.

BBQ Beef Brisket

4-6 lbs. (or more) brisket, trimmed
2 T. liquid smoke
5 oz. soy sauce
1 T. vinegar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 can beef broth
1/4 c. Worchestershire

Mix all ingredients except brisket.  Place brisket in an oven cooking bag and pour in marinade.  Use twist tie to close.  Marinate in refrigerator overnight.  Cut 3 small slits in top of cooking bag.  Bake at 250 for 8-10 hours.  Let cool some before removing any remaining fat.  Slice or shred and place meat in a zip lock bag. Refrigerate meat juices until fat rises to the top and remove fat.  Pour reserved juices over the meat and store in a zip lock bag until ready to serve. I make this ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze until serving day.  Put cooked meat and juices into a lined Crock Pot and reheat until ready to serve. Delicious!

We have served this Beef Brisket several times for Events at Adrians, and just featured it in our recent Southern themed menu for our 2011 Spring Open House.  It is a great choice for a make ahead recipe and can be easily frozen to serve later.

We LOVE to hear from you!  Please leave a comment in the box below. We recently served this at Adrians Spring Open House along with a full Southern Lunch of
Beef Brisket, Original Beer Bread Company Beer Bread, Marie Callendars Corn Bread, Brookville Cole Slaw & of course “Pig-Pickin’ Cake” for dessert.

Adrians Boutique
118 N Main, Buhler, KS
620-543-6488
adrians@buhlerks.net


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Main Dishes, Recipe

Southern “Pig-Pickin’ Cake”

4 05 2011

We recently spent about a week in Nashville for a trade show and really enjoyed the delicious food served on every street corner…especially the BBQ!  We came home knowing that we had to bring this light, delicious traditional Southern dessert home to Kansas…so here we go!

It's a very simple lineup of ingredients

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease you pans for baking.  You can use a 9 x 13, a Jelly Roll, or if you really want it fancy, make this in two 9 inch round cake pans.

The ingredients are probably items that you already have in your pantry…nothing fancy for those Southern Belles! They know how to whip up something good and sweet without running to the store!

Yellow Cake Mix, Mandarin Oranges, BUTTER (real, of course), eggs and vanilla.

Mandarin Oranges just look so plump and pretty!

Drain your Mandarin Oranges very well and set aside.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE my Beater Blade???

Place the dry cake mix, melted butter, 1/2 cup of mandarin orange JUICE (not the oranges yet), 4 eggs and vanilla extract into your mixing bowl and blend, then mix on medium high speed for 4 minutes.  Set the timer…4 minutes is FOREVER when you’re in a hurry, but this really gives the cake a nice light texture.

Add those beautiful oranges to the batter.

Now fold in those Mandarin Oranges just until they are broken up into about 1/4 inch pieces…it doesn’t take too long, and you want to be able to see the pieces of orange in your finished cake.

Pour batter into greased baking dish

OK, so not a very good picture there, but you get the idea.  Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and spread out evenly.

*SIDE NOTE…Because I was making multiples of this recipe, plus baking 45 lbs of brisket at the same time, I used every single baking dish that I own!  Our favorite turned out to be the Jelly Roll pan.  They were easier to serve, made a very pretty presentation with the mandarin orange slice on the top, and just weren’t as top heavy….plus they baked faster, which is a real plus when you’re trying to prepare food for a crowd!

9 x 13 pan…Bake for about 40 – 45 minutes
Jelly Roll Pan…Bake for about 30-35 minutes
9 inch round…Bake for about 30 minutes

Be sure to use the toothpick test to tell when your cake is done. Let cake cool COMPLETELY before spreading on the topping, or you will have one soupy mess!

OK, now on to this luscious, light (not in calories of course) cold topping!

The dreamy topping ingredients

Start with very soft cream cheese and place into your mixer.  Pour in the Country Home Creations Tropical Orange Dip Mix (yum-o!) and blend very well for about two minutes.

Creamy & Luscious Topping...YUM!

Next, fold in the Cool Whip and add the VERY WELL DRAINED pineapple.  Mix this up carefully…you don’t want to take out the “Fluff”!

Spread over cooled cake

Spread the fluffy topping over your cooled cake.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.  This cake just gets better as it ages.  Cut into serving size pieces and top with a slice of Mandarin Orange before serving.

Light, fluffy & delicious!

Your guests will love this, if you don’t eat it all yourself first!   Hope your guests enjoy this as much as ours did even though we didn’t have an actual “Pig” to Pick!

*NOTE: No pigs were harmed in the making of this dessert! 🙂

Southern “Pig-Pickin’ Cake”
Click link for recipe
Cake Mixture:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 can (14 oz) Mandarin oranges, drained, 1/2 cup juice reserved
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping Mixture:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pkg. Country Home Creations Tropical Orange Dip Mix
1 container Cool Whip, thawed
15 oz. can crushed pineapple, very well drained
1 small can Mandarin Oranges, drained for garnish

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix cake mix, melted butter, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup Mandarin orange juice and vanilla.  Beat on medium high speed for 4 to 5 minutes until well blended and light.  Add Mandarin oranges and blend just until oranges are broken apart.  Cake can be baked in two 9 inch round cake pans, a 9 x 13 baking dish, or a jelly roll pan.  I actually prefer the jelly roll pan.  Use the back of the cake mix box for baking times and use the toothpick test to test for doneness.

Topping:  Blend softened cream cheese, sour cream and CHC Tropical Orange Dip Mix until very well blended.  Fold in thawed Cool Whip and very well drained pineapple.  Spread over completely cooled cake.  Refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Serve garnished with additional Mandarin oranges on each slice.

*Note: This is a beautiful light dessert that is perfect for spring or summer.  It is traditionally served at Whole Hog Roasts (or “Pig-Pickin” Events) in the south.  Our clients loved it when we served it at our recent Spring Open House!  Don’t forget the Sweet Tea to wash it down!

We LOVE to hear from you!  Please leave a comment in the box below. We recently served this at Adrians Spring Open House along with a full Southern Lunch of Beef Brisket, Original Beer Bread Company Beer Bread, Marie Callendars Corn Bread, Brookville Cole Slaw & of course “Pig-Pickin’ Cake” for dessert.

ADRIANS Boutique
118 N Main, Buhler, KS
620-543-6488
adrians@buhlerks.net


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Desserts, Recipe, Road Trips, Uncategorized