Mushroom Soup with Scallions and Sherry

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.

 

 

Do we want to talk about this cold snap that's upon us? Jason left for Florida earlier this week and I'm not even jealous because it's not nearly as warm there this winter as it was last year. Ok, maybe I am a little jealous, but we aren't getting any snow here so I'm not too mad about his adventures this month. I do eat a lot of stews and soups when the temperatures drop below freezing, and I will say that my soup pots have been in constant use this month. We've already made made chili, potato soup, broccoli soup, and even piping hot ramen, but to finish off the week, I decided to make this Mushroom Soup with Scallions and Sherry that I pulled off of Golden Blossom Honey's recipe index. 

 

I like to make these types of lighter soups when it's just myself and my daughter at home because of the ease of preparation, the short cook time, and because it's filling as-is since neither of us need extra heavier ingredients to feel satisfied. I love the earthy tones of this soup and think that it pairs well with a hot black tea for lunch or a red wine for dinner. If my husband were home when I cooked this, I would have added ground sausage to his portion, or even shredded chicken since soup isn't a full meal for him unless there's some kind of meat mixed in. So if you're the same, those are a few good options to consider to bulk it up a little. If you like a more creamy soup, pour in a little heavy whipping cream towards the end of your cook time. I served mine with some sliced ciabatta bread and topped off the soup with sliced parts of a green onion. This isn't necessary and will add a touch more onion-y flavor to the finished dish. But it added visual appeal to the soup with the pop of green against the browns in the bowls so I just went with it. If the Farmer's Almanac is to be trusted, it looks like my area will be a little below average on temperatures for the remainder of winter, so this is a recipe that we'll definitely be keeping on hand to help keep the chill off the bones for the rest of the season. 

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup scallions (white part only), finely chopped

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

4 Tablespoons cream sherry

1 Tablespoon GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans low-salt chicken broth

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 temperatures been running below average in your area this winter? 

Baked Chicken Breast with Lemon and Raisins

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 New Year! I'm personally thrilled that the holidays are finally behind us and the hubbub of the season has died off. If you've been here long enough, you know that I am not one for making any kind of resolutions, but last year was a busy one for my family, and while healthier eating isn't a resolution we made for the new year, it is a goal that we'll be working on as much as possible in the days, weeks, and months ahead. With Jason on the road more than he was home, and my daughter and I both had packed schedules last year, we all kind of took a back seat to healthier eating habits and relied a lot on takeout most days. I was pretty disgusted with myself when McDonald's sent me a recap of my 2024 purchases. But y'all, they get you with those free fries every Friday and their $1 large sweet teas, both of which are my weakness. But after the glaring recap hit my email, I knew that we needed to do better as a family and vowed we'd try to cook a lot more at home this year. Thankfully Jason hasn't jetted off to Florida for the winter yet, so I've been doing a freezer clean out this week while he's home and saw we had quite a bit of chicken to go through. The family goes nuts for my bestie's chicken piccata and I entertained the idea of attempting that again, but the time I did make it for them, Allison complained that I didn't make it as good as she did. So, I decided to skim through Golden Blossom Honey for an easier lemon chicken recipe and was delighted to find one for Baked Chicken Breast with Lemon and Raisins. 

If you're looking to start the year off on a healthier eating journey, this recipe has you covered. It has so much going for it. It's inexpensive. It's simple. It's healthy. It's delicious. If that doesn't check all of the boxes, then I don't know what does. The chicken is something that I'd actually double up on for this recipe because I know that Jason would eat leftovers for breakfast instead of indulging in Mickey D's breakfast sandwiches and I'd gladly swap out those fries for sauteed onions any day of the week. I paired it with some steamed green beans, but any steamed or roasted veggie or salad would keep this meal light on the fat, calories, and carbs. Even if you haven't made any weight loss or eating habit resolutions for the new year, this is a recipe that is great for those nights when you need a 30 minute or less meal idea. And while it's not Erin's chicken piccata, I'm pretty happy that this one still turned dinner into a success this week. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup brandy or apple juice

1 1/2 Tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 1/2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

2 whole chicken breasts, boned, skinned and halved

2 onions, sliced

grated zest of 1 lemon

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

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 you made any resolutions for 2025? 

Floating Islands

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 hope you all had a nice Christmas! I wasn't going to share anymore sweet treats this year because I figured we were probably all ready to detox from the sugar overload from the holiday season. But then I started thinking about the upcoming New Year's holiday and how we only have a few more days left before those weight loss resolutions start to kick in and figured why not? One of my favorite NYE traditions throughout the years was always filling the table with lots of snacks and bottles of sparkling grape juice, then playing board games as we counted down to the New Year. While we won't be doing any of that this year since the kids are grown and doing their own thing and Jason's out of town, I still thought a tasty dessert to pair with a glass of wine or sparkling juice would be nice to highlight for this week's Golden Blossom Honey share. I was saving this Floating Islands recipe for a special occasion (I originally thought it would make for a wonderful Valentine's or Mother's Day dessert) but ringing in the new year is just as worthy of a fancy-ish dessert, don't you think?

 

I am going to be straight with you and tell you that I struggled with this recipe. Out of the 10 years I've been bringing you these honey recipe shares, this was the one that had me wanting to throw in the towel. I'm not telling you this to discourage you from trying this recipe yourself, but if you're a novice in the kitchen, this is probably not one to tackle for a special occasion until you've mastered one or both elements of this recipe on their own. I have never made meringues and I can count on one hand how many times I've made custard in my life, but probably got a little cocky with my culinary skills and was quickly humbled. So, I'm going to share with you the mistakes that I made and how I was able to correct them and salvage this truly delicious dessert.

1- I over cooked the custard and the eggs started to curdle. This was remedied by removing the hot pan from the stove then using an immersion blender to get the custard back to a smooth and glossy consistency. 

2- The custard was soupy and did not set. I returned the pan back to the stove then added in an additional egg yolk and cornstarch (3 tablespoons diluted in 3 tablespoons of water), set the burner to medium low heat and whisked until firm (about 10 minutes). I transferred to a bowl then refrigerated until it set. 

3- The meringues dropped into simmering water method did not work for me. I found they puffed up a little, but once removed and drained on paper towels they deflated into flat sticky discs. I ended up scrapping that cooking method and decided the best course of action would be to bake them instead. To make them pretty and not little misshaped blobs, I filled a pastry bag and piped them into a classic meringue shape onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees F, then turn off the heat and let them sit in the oven for an additional hour. *using parchment paper is important here, otherwise your meringues will stick to the pan and will break and crumble when you try to remove them.*

Once I did have all of the kinks worked out, I was highly impressed with this seemingly simple dessert. The creamy custard blended with the crisp meringue offered a lovely texture and flavor profile that would make for a wonderful addition to any upscale dinner party or New Year's gathering. I'm definitely going to try making this recipe again for Valentine's Day now that I feel more confident in my ability to execute both custard and meringue with the changes that I implemented. I'm thinking a pink coloring to the meringues would be a lovely touch served along with some strawberries or raspberries making it an even sweeter dessert for your loved ones. 

Ingredients

Custard:

2 cups whole milk

5 egg yolks

1/3 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/4 cup heavy cream

Meringues:

4 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter

1/3 cup sugar

ground cinnamon for sprinkling

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 your New Year's Plans this year? 

Orange, Cranberry and Spiced Pecan Salad

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.

 

 

It's been a month of cookies and cakes and heavy holiday foods, so I thought I'd pivot this week and toss out a recipe to sort of tip the scales back to the healthier side of things. I've actually been really good watching the carbs, calories, and sugar intake for the last several months, but even I'm burnt out on all of the holiday goodies and Christmas isn't even here yet! We'll have 2 dinners to attend next week, one at my mom's house, then one the following day at Jason's parents. My mom always has a salad on the menu so I don't have to worry about balancing lighter eats with the heavier ones at her place, but Jason's family loves the savory, rich, and sweet foods so it's a bit more challenging to eat right there. Don't get me wrong. They always have some kind of fruit and veggie tray, but sometimes I just want a salad. So I thought that in addition to the main dish we'll be providing (ham, which I don't eat anyway) I'll be bringing a really lovely Orange, Cranberry and Spiced Pecan Salad to add to the table. This Golden Blossom Honey recipe still has all of the wonderful flavors of the season, so you can indulge without the guilt!

I normally only eat fruit in my salad in the warmer months, but this recipe taught me that fruit can go in with the leafy greens and be scrumptious year round. The sweet citrus fruit combined with the tart dried cranberries gives this salad a real punch of flavor, but the spiced pecans adds a nice warmth and texture that pulls everything together perfectly. It all comes together fairly quickly, so even if you don't have a salad planned for your holiday dinner but are thinking of adding one last minute, you can get this tossed together in a snap without too much prep ahead of time. It's colorful. It's delicious, And if there ever was a salad that could be deemed as the perfect holiday salad, this would surely be the winner.

Ingredients

Spiced Pecans:

3 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

2 teaspoons water

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pecan halves

Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

1/2 cup orange juice

4 tablespoons dried cranberries

1 small head red leaf lettuce

2 large naval oranges, peeled, white pith removed, and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

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! 

   

I'll be catching up on publishing and responding to comments next week. For those who celebrate, I wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas! 

Fruit and Nut Bar Cookies

 

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.

 

 

We hit the road earlier this week to take a much needed trip to Tennessee. 4 cats, 3 humans, and 2 dogs all piled in the car for a 10 hour drive usually makes for an interesting adventure. It was the first long haul for my 9 month old great dane puppy who absolutely hates car rides, so the plan was to drive through the night during normal sleeping hours and try to stop only for gas and potty breaks because trying to get a 125 pound dog in and out of the car when he fights tooth and nail to stay as far away from it as possible is a feat in itself. Since we weren't planning to stop for food on this trip, I did end up packing a bunch of snacks to hold us over until we got to the Airbnb. Of course there were the usuals: fruits, granola bars, and string cheese. But I also wanted to toss in a little something sweet. I thought about making banana bread, but my bananas weren't quite ripe enough to make a tasty loaf. So I hopped over to Golden Blossom Honey's website to see if anything looked tempting and sure enough I honed in on these Fruit and Nut Bar Cookies.

The recipe appealed to me initially because it called for ingredients I already had in the pantry, but also because it looked like a new fun holiday recipe to try out. This is a nice shift from the usual sugar, gingerbread, or chocolate chip cookies that grace our presence frequently this time of year. It's a more refined sweet packed with all kinds of yummy fruits and holiday spices. I haven't decided if it's more cookie or bar, but really who cares because it's freakin' delicious either way! I cannot believe that we are less than 2 weeks away from Christmas, but if you're still planning out your dessert table or cookie trays for the season, be sure to add these fruit and nut bar cookies to the list. You and your guests won't regret it! 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup walnuts or hazelnuts, chopped

1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup black currants or black raisins

1/4 cup yellow raisins

1 1/2 cups flour

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! 

   

Are you traveling anywhere this holiday season?

Honey Glazed Nuts

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.

 

 

 

We've been gearing up for a quick holiday jaunt to Tennessee next week for a much needed break after a very busy year, and while the time off doing absolutely nothing sounds amazing, I know that when we get back it will be crunch time to wrap up anything left on the Christmas to-do list. Because as soon as we get home, it's birthday week for the 3 of us in our house followed by holiday gatherings right afterwards with extended family. So I thought I'd keep a few short and easy recipes on hand for that week to bring to gatherings, or even to keep on hand for a quick last minute gift idea for those hard to buy for relatives. I'm one who loves getting consumables as gifts, and I know there are many others within my circle who do as well. So when I found this Honey Glazed Nuts recipe on Golden Blossom Honey a few months back, I earmarked it because I knew then that I was going to want to whip up a batch or two during the holiday season. 

 

 

Look no further than these Honey Glazed Nuts if you're in the market for a simple, yet impressive gift idea or party contribution. We always have a variety of raw nuts on hand because I love snacking on them throughout the year, but there is always something fun about dressing them up during the holidays. The honey and orange flavoring takes plain nuts and turns them into a gourmet treat. Package them up in a pretty container tied with a bow and you have a tasty, festive, and beautiful gift that's effortless but amazing all the same. Or, if you're short on time and still need a hostess gift or potluck contribution, this recipe has you covered! It's a great addition to the party spread and a real crowd pleaser. The recipe said to use either pecans or walnuts, but I did a mix of the two because I like a good mix of nuts for snacking and think it's nice to have a variety to choose from. If you want to get really fancy, throw in a few cashews for good measure also. Honestly, I'm pretty sure most nuts would work in this recipe (peanuts are iffy, but if you're feeling extra, give it a whirl and let us know how they turn out!) so have a little fun and do some experimenting. You may just concoct a traditional holiday treat that will please the family for years to come!

 

Ingredients

1 pound pecan or walnut halves

1 large orange

1/2 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 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! 

   

Are you gifting any homemade treats this year?