Mediterranean Zucchini with Carrots and Golden 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. 

While I don't normally start clearing out my garden beds until May, an act of nature forced me to get an early start on it this year. Allison and I were in the basement when we heard a loud crash. "The heck was that!?" I yelled to Allison. "I don't know, but the neighbor boy is running into our back yard," she yelled back. We have some very old and very large oak trees in our back yard, and even though we recently had them assessed, a limb the size of a small tree snapped right off of our largest oak tree and came crashing through our picket fence, the middle of our girl's very large wooden swing set, and some of my garden beds. Thankfully we only need to replace 6 pickets on the fence, the play set we were going to tear down anyway, and the weather has been nice enough that an early spring project wasn't going to be the end of the world for me. I haven't thought about what veggies and herbs I'll be planting this year, but I do know that we'll be doing tomatoes and zucchini again since they are such low maintenance plants, and with my summertime schedule, I don't need more on my plate than necessary. The thing that I love about zucchini is how much payoff you get for such a small investment. At the end of the season we are swimming in zucchini we end up giving so much of it away. It also leaves me with looking for new and interesting recipes to keep the veggie exciting all summer long. I had saved this Mediterranean Zucchini with Carrots and Golden Raisins recipe from Golden Blossom Honey to make for Easter this year, but since my mom took care of the side dishes, it went back into the save for later pile. Until this week when I caught a good sale on both carrots and zucchini that I decided that it didn't need to wait until I had my own abundance popping up before trying the recipe.

 

 

While I had earmarked this as a holiday side dish, I quickly decided that it would make for an amazing summer time lunch option. I had never thought to mix raisins with carrots or zucchini, but somehow it just all worked together. I liked the extra sweetness that the raisins provided and the added texture and crunch that the almonds offered. Often times when I find a new recipe like this, I like to start thinking of ways to switch it up the next time I make it, but this one was absolutely perfect as is. I'd honestly not change a single thing about it. This is a dish that you need to have on hand for summertime side dishes or picnic and holiday gatherings throughout the season. It's light and refreshing and an amazing garden fresh dish if there ever was one! 

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, chopped

6 cups zucchini, grated

1 Tablespoon GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

3/4 cup carrots, grated

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

3/4 cup golden raisins

 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 ever had property damage from falling trees or their limbs?

 

 

Hominy Spoon Bread

 

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've been spending a lot of time in the south lately, from Tennessee to Georgia and over to Florida, and it has reawakened my soul to all of the things that I miss from my southern roots. I'm longing to get back to slamming screen doors, sweet tea, and bacon fat green beans. I admit that I didn't have an appreciation for some of the cuisine like okra or grits growing up, but now that I'm older, and maybe a little wiser (that might be questionable on any given day), I've been more open to trying foods that I shunned as a kid. I remember feeling a bit miffed when my school would serve grits for breakfast instead of the Quaker oatmeal that I preferred, probably because it didn't have those strawberry or apple bits in them that I enjoyed so much. With that memory fresh in my mind, I bought a small container of grits at the grocery store a few weeks back to see if my now adult palate would be more welcoming to what my younger self refused to accept many years ago. I set off to find a suitable recipe and ended up making cheese grits because can you go wrong with any recipe that has cheese in it? While I ended up enjoying grits much more this time around, I'll admit that I still prefer my steel cut oats for breakfast. I still had quite a bit left in the container to use up, so I thought that I'd put them to good use on chili night and make a batch of Hominy Spoon Bread, a Golden Blossom Honey recipe, instead of sweet cornbread that we normally eat with chili. 

 

While my cornbread is normally a cake-like texture, I found that I ended up quite enjoying the grittier, crunchier texture of this spoon bread way more than I thought that I would. With minimal ingredients it was a snap to mix together. The bake time isn't short by any means, but worked out perfectly for me since I like to simmer my chili for hours on end and I didn't have to figure out end times for either dish. The bread itself was light in flavor, but I always smother my breads in butter and a drizzle of honey, making this an awesome substitute for traditional cornbread. I was thinking of ways that I'd like to play with the recipe and for our next batch I want to mix in some diced jalapeños and caramelized onions to add a little heat. I'll also use this as a base and try mixing in a few different cheeses, so instead of cheese grits, I'll have a delicious cheesy grit spoon bread. I think it would be fun too to also play with some chocolate or caramel, or maybe some fruits and see if I can turn this into a dessert spoon bread. I love recipes that get the wheels turning in my head for a fun twist to mix things up!

Ingredients

2 cups quick-cooked hominy grits

3 Tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

2/3 cup milk

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

2 eggs, beaten

 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 eat grits?

 

 

Barbecued Black Beans and Rice

 

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. 

April showers are bringing those May flowers, but June can hurry up and get here because I'm ready for sunshine all day. More specifically, getting out of the house and enjoying picnics in the park. I haven't seen much of my husband this year, maybe a total of 2 weeks at most, since he's been down south working. He'll be back on his way home next weekend to finally stay in place and I can't wait to get back into date nights. One of our favorite things to do is grab a meal from the deli or pack a picnic and head to this little Amish community about 45 minutes from our house. There we like to sit under the gazebo that's right next to a duck pond and and just enjoy the quietness and stillness of the countryside while eating our meals. As I was browsing through Golden Blossom Honey's recipe index last week while planning out some ideas for our summertime picnics, I came across a recipe for Barbecued Black Beans and Rice and thought it sounded perfect not only for date nights in the country, but for all of the warm weather gatherings we'll be invited to over the next couple of months. 

 

You all know that I am a sucker for any recipe that's quick and easy, and I cannot even stress enough how this beans and rice recipe is the quickest and easiest of them all. But don't think that just because it's the easiest it isn't the tastiest because flavor is something that's definitely not lacking here! When I think of barbecued beans, I think summertime cookouts, but while this dish is going to be the star of many of our picnics and parties this season, I am actually also going to squeeze it into our Cinco de Mayo celebrations next month. Allison and I found that it made an excellent side dish to the tacos we had for dinner earlier this week when we served it with some tortilla chips. I also used the leftovers for lunch the next day and paired it with some spoon bread (recipe for that will be coming next week. Stay tuned!) From parties to picnics, you can't go wrong showing up with this dish in tow this summer! 

Ingredients

2 cans (16 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) Italian-style stewed tomatoes

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chili peppers

1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn

3 Tablespoons barbecue sauce

1 Tablespoon GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

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! 

   

Where's your favorite spot for date night?

 

 

German Bee-Sting Cake

 

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.

 

 

Easter this year is going to be rather small. Jason's on his last stretch of out of town trade shows, so it's just going to be 5 of us at my mom's this year. We won't go over the top on fixings. Just a roast, a few sides, and a dessert or two. I usually handle the meat and dessert portion of our holiday meals, and I thought this year I'd do some buckeyes, because homemade Reese's Eggs are way better than store bought, and this German Bee-Sting Cake that came from Golden Blossom Honey's recipe index. 

 

This recipe caught my eye because I love a good layer cake and this one seemed so perfect for Easter dessert. A velvety cake with an indulgently sweet cream center topped with crunchy honey nuts and a raspberry spread offers so many irresistible flavors, it will be sure to delight any sweet tooth. As much as I like the cake as a whole, you could also double up on the cream filling, then use that for a fruit dip or as a filling for stuffed strawberries. Or, have no shame like me and just eat the leftovers straight out of the bowl. It is Easter after all. And holiday calories don't count, right?

Ingredients

Honey Nut Topping:

1/2 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup ground almonds

In a small saucepan, combine ingredients and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.

Butter Cream Filling:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 Tablespoon milk

1 Tablespoon GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

Cream butter and sugar. Add milk and honey. Blend well. Set aside.

Cake Batter:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons milk

1 small jar seedless raspberry jam

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! 

   

Happy Easter!

 

 

Energy Booster Breakfast

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 was scrolling through Facebook and up popped a "suggested for you" group: The Dull Women's Group. At first I was like, wtf, but then I was like apparently Facebook knows me all too well because I'm probably as dull as they come. I work in my home office all day, I hate getting out of my pajamas and brushing my hair, I have 4 cats, and I prefer my own company over spending time with other humans. I also get into these ruts of eating the same thing over and over again. Like the 3 month stretch of time that I ate nothing but peanut butter sandwiches and hot tea for breakfast. Which, if I'm honest, was right before my 2 month period of eating nothing but a bagel with cream cheese every morning. I like consistency and structure in my daily life and sometimes it's hard to break free from that. But sometimes all it takes is a shift in the weather to make me want to try something new. I spoke a little too soon last week about the glorious warm temperatures we've been having lately, because it seems like Old Man Winter was laughing behind my back when he decided to dust us with snow and cold temps again this week. A bagel and cream cheese wasn't going to cut it for breakfast when I was wanting something warm and comforting. I normally have steel cut oats on hand, but the grocers was out this week and sent me home with rolled oats instead. I wasn't gung-ho on the swaparoo, but then I remembered that I had this Energy Booster Breakfast recipe from Golden Blossom Honey saved to try this autumn, and this seemed like a much better time to indulge than waiting 6 more months to give it a go. 

 

 

I love a hot cup of apple cider in the autumn, but I also like to buy it occasionally for a special treat throughout the rest of the year, so I was pretty happy that I had half a gallon in the fridge already and I could get right down to business cooking up a breakfast packed with flavor and nutrition. It was delightfully simple to make, because if being dull isn't bad enough, I am not a morning person and lose patience in the kitchen rather quickly before noon. Therefore, having this ready in under 10 minutes pretty much solidified that this will be my go-to breakfast all autumn long. And I mean ALL autumn. Every day. And if that makes me dive deeper into dullhood, I'm here for it.

Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned oats

3 1/2 cups apple cider

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced

low-fat vanilla 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! 

   

Are you a dull human?

 

 

Lemon Chicken on Summer Greens

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 can't remember many times that I've been ready to pull out my summer dresses during the month of March, but the gloriously warm temps that we've been experiencing here in the Midwest has me wanting to rush right into open toe sandals, flowy dresses and  picnics in the park. It's time to start shelving the heavy comfort foods and start reaching for the lighter eats. While I do eat salads year round, I tend to buy the bigger containers of organic greens from Costco throughout the spring and summer months because the rest of the family increases their intake of greens as well and I can hardly keep the bagged varieties stocked. I do like to play with different toppings and dressing to keep our salads from going stagnant, and since I've been dying to try the dressing from this Lemon Chicken on Summer Greens recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, with our increased temps this week it was the perfect time to give it a whirl. 

Salads are always a quick and easy meal option, but my husband requires a protein to be included to make it a "full meal", so this one was a no-brainer for dinner this week. Of course this salad will take a little more time than just fruit and veggie varieties because of the time it takes to fry the chicken, but it's well worth the extra effort. I love to mix nuts and fruits into my salads because I like the added textures and sweetness, but it's always the dressings that excite me most when piecing together a salad. I've found many dressing recipes from Golden Blossom Honey over the years that I've loved and have made time and time again, but this one is by far my favorite yet. The lemon gives it sweetness, the honey mustard a touch of tang, and a bit of a bite with the vinegar. So many amazing flavors wrapped into an uncomplicated dressing that's going to be my jam all spring and summer long. If your area is experiencing the rising temps, earmark this recipe for a refreshing and delicious light meal option to enjoy through all of these warm weather days we're getting!

Ingredients

Chicken:

4 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders

6-8 cups various leafy greens, torn into pieces

1/2 cup almonds, toasted

1/2 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup vegetable oil

Dressing:

4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons Golden Blossom Honey Mustard

2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

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 your spring flowers started popping up yet?