Curried Broccoli Soup

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

I think that I am so over this summer, my body is starting to crave the comfort foods of autumn. My family raised their eyebrows last week when I made a big pot of chili and expected them to eat it for dinner on a 90 degree day. They knew better than to say anything, but I don't think they were too pleased with my dinner choice that day. This week I was really wanting some broccoli and cheddar soup, but I also wanted to be a decent human and not subject them to hot foods on sweltering days. Still wanting soup though, I decided to scour my trusty friend's recipe index over at Golden Blossom Honey for a cold soup that might get me over the cravings, and just so happened to stumble upon a little gem of a recipe. This Curried Broccoli Soup is the most perfect soup that can be served without any issues during the warmer months of the year when soup isn't at the forefront of anyone's thoughts when it comes to meal options.

 

Even on the hottest days, you can serve up this soup without any complaints. It's light, cool, and refreshing, so it won't leave you feeling weighed down, which is a blessing in itself when the sun is trying to melt everything in its path. This is a sweet and savory soup, so it's a 2 for 1 where flavor profiles are concerned. Since it is pureed, I would suggest this soup for lunch over dinner since it's not overly filling, or as an appetizer if you wanted to serve it as a dinner course. It would pair nicely with a slice of crusty bread, or even with some garlic toast. I realize that we're more than halfway through the hellish heat of summer days, but it's not over yet, so you're going to want to save this recipe to get you through the last stretch of heat before autumn approaches and we can move on to heartier comfort soups. 

 

Ingredients

1 large head of broccoli, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 medium onions,chopped

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 Tablespoon GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest

8 ounces plain nonfat yogurt

 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE

 

  

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, and be sure to Pin It on Pinterest! 

   

What are you serving for dinner on extreme heat days?   

Roasted Chicken Breast and Vegetables

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

Can you believe that it's already time for back to school? I was shocked seeing the aisles of school supplies out last week when I was at the grocers. Like, where did the summer go? I believe those in the south are going back next week and ours up north will be headed back in less than 3 weeks. It's that time of the year that our schedules are jam packed, the last thing that we need is to add to the mental load. For me, having a solid weeknight dinner plan in place always helps take some of the pressure off thinking about my daily to-do pile. I especially love finding one-pan recipes to help cut down on dish duty. Anything that can shave a few minutes off the overloaded schedule I will always gravitate towards. So when I saw this Roasted Chicken Breast and Vegetables, a one-pan recipe on Golden Blossom Honey, it felt like the most appropriate time to exclaim "Winner, Winner, Chicken, Dinner!" 

 

 

The sauce and the veggies can be prepped in the morning, then all that's left is tossing the pan into the oven in the evening. A real time saver for when you're already exhausted at the end of the day. The chicken bakes up with a golden, crisp skin and juicy center. The orange gives it a light, lovely citrus flavor which blends beautifully with the earthy tarragon. It's like a gourmet meal without the gourmet effort. This is a great recipe for those of you who are growing root veggies in your gardens this year and need an idea of how to put some of it to good use, as well as for those of us who just need some breathing room in our day.

 

Ingredients

Sauce:

2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup orange juice

grated zest of 1 orange

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 bone-in chicken breasts halves with skin

1 1/2 pounds small red skinned potatoes, halved

6-8 carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 2-inch lengths

4-6 plum tomatoes, quartered

several springs fresh tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE 

 

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, and be sure to Pin It on Pinterest! 

   

Have the kids started back to school in your area yet?   

Cherry Bran Muffins

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

Between my husband, my daughter, and I, we all split daily shifts at our new storefront, each taking a day working 10am to 8pm. These make for very long days, so we have to plan ahead for how we're going to get lunch midday since we haven't bought a refrigerator for our break room yet. Jason and Allison just use a delivery service, but I'm not much of a take out fan these days, so I'll usually pack myself some protein bars or granola to hold me over until I get home and have a late dinner. Muffins are also high on my hold-me-over list, so when I saw these Cherry Bran Muffins on Golden Blossom Honey, I knew that I wanted to make a batch to take to work this week. 

 

 

This muffin recipe stood out to me with the use of bran cereal in the ingredients. I'm a huge fan of bran cereals on their own, but have never used them in my baking. I wasn't quite sure how it was going to play out since whole flakes are used, no crushing or anything. Was it going to add an odd texture or lumps? I didn't know, but hoped the wet ingredients would tame the crunch down a bit. Then I worried that my batter looked too runny, but instead of taking my usual "let me try to fix this approach", I decided to trust the process. I'm glad I did because these baked into perfect, moist little muffins that were so delicious and great for eating at home or on the go. Have them for breakfast or as a midday snack, or you could even turn them into a dessert muffin like I did for half of my batch and top each with a little cream cheese frosting (1 brick of cream cheese and 1/2 cup powder sugar mixed together). If you're not a cherry fan, or if you want to change things up, you could always substitute other dried fruits for the cherries. I'm already thinking autumn and am picturing dried pears or apple slices. Those would pair nicely with the warm cinnamon ingredient. Or, if you're still on a summer kick, dried peaches and blueberries would work well here, too. You know I love a good base recipe to play off of, so I can't wait to try a few new fruit concoctions as the seasons change. 

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup 100% bran cereal

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 1/4 cups milk

1/4 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1/4 cup cooking oil

1/2 cup dried cherries

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE 

 

 

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, and be sure to Pin It on Pinterest! 

   

What other dried fruits would you use in this recipe?   

Soy Glazed Green Beans

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

How are your gardens doing this year? Mine were awful. I had a 2 day window to pick cherries from my tree and raspberries from my bushes before the fruit shriveled up and died. To top it off, both of my blueberry bushes bit the dust as well. I think it's fair to say we got about a handful of fruit from our yard this year. Maybe less. We had too much rain at the beginning of summer, then a few weeks of scorched earth heat, I don't think my produce ever stood a chance. Between the weather and my limited time these days, I ended up giving up on the garden this year. There was no energy to sit around and baby my plants, so we'll be doing store bought produce for the remainder of the year. Thankfully we can still hit up the local farmer's market for garden fresh fruits and veggies this summer. I did snap up a lot of green beans recently because I love putting them in my steamer pot with a few pats of butter to serve as a main course side dish once or twice a week. But I saw this Soy Glazed Green Beans recipe on Golden Blossom Honey and thought we'd try that for a change this week. 

 

These green beans are so flavorful! A sweet, savory, and salty mix all rolled into one amazing side dish. I've never thought to put cashews in my green beans, or any other nuts for that matter, but what a surprisingly fun combination that turned out to be! These beans pair well with any cut of meat, poultry, pork, or seafood, as well as tofu, seitan, and tempeh, so it makes for a pretty versatile side dish. You can boil the beans as the recipe states, but I still popped mine in the steamer because I think that's the best way to get the perfect crisp/tender consistency that I like without over boiling, which I'm prone to do. The sauce actually cooks up pretty thick on its own, so you could probably skip the cornstarch if you wanted to, but that's totally up to you. Serve these up for a fast side dish, or bring to potlucks and picnics this summer for an effortless but flavorful offering. 

 

Ingredients

2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed

1/3 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

3 teaspoons cornstarch

3/4 cup cashew nuts

2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 bunch scallions, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE 

 

  

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, and be sure to Pin It on Pinterest! 

   

Tell me about your gardens this year. How are they doing?

 

*I know I'm about a month behind on replying to comments. I will be getting to that this week. With the grand opening of my new store (which wasn't so grand as it's still a work in progress LOL) I have fallen behind this month. I'll be back on schedule soon!   

Strawberry Surprise

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

 

Happy Independence Day to my US friends! It's shaping up to be a sunny and hot day without a cloud in the sky in our area, so I imagine the festivities are going to go on all night long. Probably all weekend long, if we're being honest. The celebrations actually started here several weeks ago, and since my new storefront is right on the lake, I watch fireworks nightly while I am working on my building. Jason and I usually grab a late dinner so we can sit outside and watch the show, but tonight we should be wrapping up the finishing touches and getting all of our product moved in and ready for our grand opening, so the fireworks will feel extra special. A celebration of a year's planning, several months of hard labor, and what feels like a lifetime of stress and uncertainty will finally be coming together and that deserves a special treat on top of the fireworks as a reward for our accomplishments. I'll be taking this Strawberry Surprise, a Golden Blossom Honey recipe, tonight to help me bask in the glow of the lit up sky and my lit up heart. 

 

Strawberry Surprise is a light, refreshing fruity dessert perfect for your weekend celebrations, or simply as a dessert to end a summertime meal. It's one that is very easy to prepare, and since we're still in the thick of sweltering heat, it's a bonus that it's a no-bake dessert. It does take a little planning because of the chill time, so you may not be able to whip this up in time for your celebrations today unless you're reading this post early in the morning, but if your area is anything like the Midwest, you've got a weekend of gatherings, so there will be plenty of time to piece this together for the dessert table. Just a quick tip to pop the pan in the freezer about 30 minutes before serving. This will make slicing through the dessert a lot easier and keep the squares uniform. 

 

Ingredients

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/3 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1/2 cup light cream

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped (optional)

fresh strawberries and mint for garnish

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE

 

  

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, and be sure to Pin It on Pinterest! 

   

Have a safe and fun 4th of July!   

Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Nectarines

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

My daughter found out I was using ChatGPT to quickly organize some business files this week and she wasn't pleased. Apparently I'm causing this massive heatwave because the AI software uses up lots of water, contributing to global warming. Who knew? Sorry, y'all. I'll try to kick my AI habit so we can see some cooler temperatures here soon. In a peace offering, allow me to share a refreshing salad recipe to help beat the heat this weekend. I love mixed greens in the summer and even better when fresh fruit is added in. My husband doesn't consider it a complete meal unless a protein is included, so I consider this Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Nectarines from Golden Blossom Honey a winner of a summer salad recipe if there ever was one. 

 

On sweltering days like most of us have been experiencing this summer, the stove and oven are off limits in our house. It's just too hot to even think about turning them on, so salads are a perfect go-to meal for those kinds of days. While there is chicken in this recipe, the great thing about that is it uses a prepared rotisserie chicken from the grocers, which not only saves time, it saves you from having to add any extra heat to your kitchen. The homemade poppy seed dressing is the perfect pairing for this fruit-filled salad. I usually add a raspberry vinaigrette to my fruity salads, but I think the poppy seed dressing is my new favorite. It's creamy and not too heavy, so you can eat it on the worst heat days without feeling weighed down. I plan on having this salad many more times this season while the fruit is at its peak, and I encourage you to try it as well! 

 

Ingredients

Dressing:

1/3 cup mayonnaise, regular or lite

1/3 cup sour cream, regular or lite

2 tablespoons RAW GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

3 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Salad:

1 cooked rotisserie chicken, from grocery store

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

2 ripe nectarines, sliced

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

6 cups mixed baby greens

4 strawberries for garnish

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE

 

 

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, and be sure to Pin It on Pinterest! 

   

Do you use ChatGPT or any other AI programs for business or personal use?