Baked Bean and Bacon Casserole

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 know we haven't had Halloween yet, but I've already been thinking about Thanksgiving and trying to decide what the menu will consist of this year. It's never a surprise at my moms because she likes to keep things simple, consistent, and traditional. I, on the other hand, always try to change a few things up to keep the menu fresh and exciting. Of course I keep a few tried and true staples year after year, but sometimes I'll add a little twist to a classic dish to see how it goes. One thing that seems like it would be a sin to change is our family baked bean recipe, but I came across this Baked Bean and Bacon Casserole on Golden Blossom Honey and thought it might be a fun one to try this year instead. 

 

 

There are a few similarities to our family recipe, but I was intrigued not only by the 3 different types of beans in this dish, but also by the use of Canadian bacon instead of American bacon. The normal bacon that we use adds a bit of extra flavor because of the fat and grease that bakes out of it and into the beans, so I was curious how much flavor the ham would provide instead. I'll be honest and say that there were so many other flavors in this recipe that I didn't really notice any extra oomph from the Canadian bacon, but if you're looking at this from a healthy eating standpoint, Canadian bacon is leaner and has fewer calories than regular bacon, so in that respect it wins out. I personally don't eat pork, so I could leave this part of the recipe out and be content having this as a standalone meal. It's makes for a filling and healthy one pot dinner idea or for a simple holiday side dish. If you're in the early planning stages of your holiday meals right now, earmark this recipe to shake things up a bit on your table this year, too. 

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

2 Tablespoons water

6 ounces Canadian bacon, cut into bite-size pieces

2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans Northern white beans, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 cup hickory-flavored barbecue sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

3 Tablespoons cider vinegar

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 traditional recipe do you always have on your holiday menu year after year?

Apricot, Almond & Coconut Candies

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.

 

 

 

This is a dangerous time of the month for me. Candy everywhere! Normally we just grab a few boxes of the full sized candy bars from Costco to pass out to the few trick or treaters that we get on our court, and that's bad enough keeping them in the house untouched until Halloween. But, we decided that our business was going to participate in the city's police department trick or treat event this year too, so that meant I had to buy and resist the temptation to eat any of the 4,000 pieces of additional candy sitting in my pantry. If you know me, you know that my sweet tooth is unmatched so the restraint is killing me. In an effort to be good though, I figured I could make a sweet treat to hold myself off until every last piece of the stash is passed out to the kids in our community. Thankfully I found a recipe for these Apricot, Almond & Coconut Candies on Golden Blossom Honey and knew that it was just what I needed to keep me on my best behavior until the end of the month. 

 

 

Not only are these candies super easy to make with only 4 ingredients total, they are so much healthier than the processed bagged treats filling the grocery aisles right now. The mixture will be sticky before rolling in the coconut, but I found that instead of dropping by spoonfuls, using a cookie scoop to gather the mixture worked much better. I'd just release from the scoop into the coconut, sprinkle a little more coconut flakes on the top and press slightly into the mixture, then roll it all between my palms for a nice little candy ball. I was able to make right around 20 candies with this recipe, but it could easily be doubled if you wanted to make these for holiday treat boxes instead of snacking on during the Halloween season. 

Ingredients

1 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

12 ounces dried apricots, finely chopped

1 cup blanched almonds, slivered

1/2 cup coconut, or more if needed

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 candy will you pass out this Halloween?

Warm Broccoli and Mushroom 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.

 

 

Just because it's now autumn doesn't mean that it's time to put the salads away. We just need to find creative ways to eat a bowl of warm veggies. I usually like a warm pasta salad, or even a warm potato salad for lunch or dinner, but what about a Warm Broccoli and Mushroom Salad? I usually throw those veggies into my stir fry wok, so why not make a quick salad instead? This Golden Blossom Honey recipe has been sitting in my "to make" folder since the beginning of summer just waiting for the temperatures to drop before giving it a try.

 

 

This salad can be served as either a side dish or as a full meal. Aside from the bacon, which can be left out to make this a vegetarian meal, this salad is nutritious, packed with fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins to help support a healthy immune system, which is important as we start inching towards cold and flu season. And, as the holidays are hot on our heels, it's always so easy to reach for all of the tempting treats, but by eating this salad first, it will be so much easier to consume sweets minimally. And in my opinion, it's much better than the carb or sugar heavy foods anyway, so it's a no-brainer to keep this recipe on hand throughout the cooler months ahead.

 

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli

5 slices of bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

4 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

 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 warm weather salads are your favorite?

Moroccan Style Caponata Sandwich

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 just left bbq season and are transitioning into party season. I live minutes from Notre Dame University, so if the increased traffic doesn't tell us it's football season around here, the tailgating definitely does. We don't usually hit the campus for the tailgating parties, but we've been known to host a few at home viewing parties for those who want to be close to the stadium but want to avoid the crowds. For the eats, we'll stick with the basics- sliders, hot wings, hot dogs, and burgers. Sometimes we'll throw in some sandwiches for good measure. As I was browsing Golden Blossom Honey earlier this week, I saw this recipe for Moroccan  Style Caponata Sandwiches and thought they would be a fun addition to the football feast. 

 

 

So much of football viewing eats are centered around either fried foods or meats, there aren't usually many vegetarian or healthy options for those who have dietary restrictions or are simply trying not to fall into the unhealthy eating habits that usually come with game day parties and tailgating. This sandwich has a lot of delicious veggies and spices piled onto toasted Italian bread, making it a perfect Mediterranean inspired sandwich worthy to be served as game day grub. No matter who you're rooting for, win or lose, with this sandwich on the menu, everyone comes out a winner! 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 (1 pound) eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

3 medium garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 loaf Italian bread

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

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! 

   

Which team will you be rooting for this football season?

Roasted Tomato and Harvest Vegetable Stew

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.

 

 

Anybody else welcome autumn with a sigh of relief and a huge smile? The first day of fall here was gloriously cool and rainy, a welcoming contrast to the months of heat we are coming down from. In other words, it's FINALLY soup season! Normally we'd kick off the season with a huge pot of chili, but veggie soup was calling my name this week so we went with Roasted Tomato and Harvest Vegetable Stew instead. This Golden Blossom Honey recipe is another fantastic find for your summer's end garden haul. 

Don't let the lengthy ingredient list fool you. This isn't a stew that takes all day to prepare. Just a little chop time, then the rest comes together in under 30 minutes. The veggies and spices together make a perfect pot of stew, but the addition of feta really took this recipe to a whole new level. I don't normally add any kind of cheese to my vegetable soups, so a whole new flavor experience was unlocked for my palate this week. Definitely something I'll be adding to my veggie based soups from now on. One thing that I did change in the recipe was I added in a can of tomato sauce because I like a thicker broth. This is not necessary though and didn't change the flavor profile at all, but just a suggestion for those like me who like a thicker broth like I do. Overall, this is a delicious and hearty stew that we're going to return to time and time again all autumn and winter long.

Ingredients

2 pounds plum tomatoes

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 medium zucchini squash, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 pound fresh string beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 1/2 cups frozen corn, or fresh cut from the cob

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

 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 will be the first soup or stew you make this autumn?

Stuffed Zucchini

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.

 

 

As we start to wind down in our gardens for the season, if you planted any zucchini or tomatoes you may have ended up with more than expected. I know those are the two items that tend to always net me the most produce by the end of summer's growing season. I usually end up giving a lot of our bounty away and still end up with almost more than we'll use. This week though I thought I'd use up some excess and returned to an old favorite, Stuffed Zucchini, also known as zucchini boats. I've only ever made them as a vegetarian meal, but to get the husband on board, who isn't usually fond of my zucchini boats, I used Golden Blossom Honey's recipe which includes bacon because Jason will eat anything if it's covered in bacon. 

 

Zucchini boats are fairly simple to construct from start to finish. The hardest part would be scooping out a well in the center of the veggie, but if you have a melon baller, you can make quick work out of removing the seeds and pulp easily and in an equal depth all the way around. These were definitely an improvement over my version in Jason's eyes, but the only thing I would change would be adding a layer of cheese to the top of the boats before baking. Mozzarella or Feta would be my choice, but I think you could get away with some brie or blue cheese here also. I'm going to try these again next week and play around with adding different cheeses to determine which our family likes best. All in all, I'd say this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients

3 cups Italian bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 zucchini

2 slices bacon, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 large tomato, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 egg, beaten with 1/2 cup water

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! 

   

How well did your garden produce this summer?