Cuban Picadillo

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.

 

 

 

With my limited time this year, I fell into a dinner rut. I found that week after week we were pretty much eating the same meals over and over again because we were either too tired or too lazy to make something new. Spaghetti, soup, burgers, burritos, or taco bowls on rotation week after week. Blah. I decided to switch up taco bowl night this week and ran over to Golden Blossom Honey to see if they had any suggestions on something new that we could try to break out of the mundane meal path we've been circling for the last few months. I was just looking for some alternative suggestions on what we could add to our taco bowls, but ended up coming across a recipe for Cuban Picadillo that caught my eye instead.

 

 

I acquired a love for Cuban food on our last trip to Florida, so this recipe piqued my curiosity rather quickly and made me toss out the taco bowl idea in favor of trying this instead. Honestly, at first I thought the ingredients were kind of all over the place and wasn't quite sure if this was going to be a hit or miss, because adding raisins to a dish like this seemed like the equivalent of some people putting raisins in the potato salad (that's just a no, btw). But my adventurous side won out in the end with the final result actually all coming together amazingly well, even with the raisins tucked in there. A little sweet and a little savory for a unique and fun blend of flavors. For a vegetarian version, use black beans or lentils, or even chopped mushrooms in place of the ground sirloin. You can serve this on tortillas for a fun twist on taco night, but I paired ours over rice and hit it with a squeeze of lime for a different take on taco bowls. Best of all, this was a recipe that comes together pretty quickly, so if you're looking to hop out of a dinner rut too on those busy weeknights, I encourage you to give this one a try. It may be just what you need for more adventurous dinners on a limited time budget. 

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 large garlic clove , minced

1 pound ground sirlion

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup pimento stuffed olives, sliced

1/4 cup raisins

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

3 tablespoons sliced almonds

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 ever get into a dinner rut?

 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sundaes

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 should have known last week that I was jinxing the end of summer by jumping on the fall inspired recipes since this week we were met with hellish heat advisory temperatures. What do you do when it's too hot to go out, too hot to bake, or just plain too damn hot? You binge watch Netflix and eat ice cream. Well, at least that's what WE did. Even though it's scorching hot right now, I am trying to use up my frozen summer fruits and veggies to make room for new seasonal favorites in the coming weeks. I had a bag of rhubarb that never got used in its intended recipe, but Golden Blossom Honey had me putting it to good use in these Strawberry Rhubarb Sundaes instead.

Nothing beats a sundae on a hot summer day. This sweet, creamy concoction is almost good enough to make me hope summer drags on a touch longer. The sauce topping did take a little longer than normal sundae toppings to prepare, but it was definitely worth the effort! If you're not into sundaes or ice cream, the strawberry rhubarb sauce would also pair well with pancakes, waffles, shortcakes, angle food cake, or pound cake. So many delicious ways to use this recipe, I'm a little bummed I didn't find it sooner in the season. I'll definitely be bookmarking it for more use next year, but if you're looking for a last minute Labor Day recipe this weekend, this is the one you're going to want to add to the menu! 

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cinnamon stick

1 20-ounce bag frozen unsweetened rhubarb

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 20-ounce bag frozen unsweetened strawberries

frozen vanilla yogurt

chopped walnuts (optional)

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! 

   

Were you also under a heat advisory this week?

 

Honey-Yogurt Squash 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.

 

 

Can we move on to all the autumn recipes now? I mean, if Starbucks can push up their Pumpkin Spice Lattes which have already been released this week, then I think it's okay if I share an autumn dish today, right? Right (that's me having a staff meeting in my head agreeing with myself, if you're wondering). We've had a noticeable shift in temperatures lately, and even though I'm not fooled that the summer heat is behind us just yet, some butternut squash was calling my name this week. I was just going to drench it in butter and honey like I normally do, but I decided to take a peek at Golden Blossom Honey first to see if they had a recipe that sounded a bit more enticing and landed on this Honey-Yogurt Squash Casserole. I'm always game for a casserole, and this one sounded too good to pass over for anything else. 

Honey Yogurt Squash Casserole is everything and more that you'd want in an autumn inspired recipe. I eat this as a standalone meal for lunch or dinner because it is packed with flavor and nutrients and is quite filling. However, for true carnivores like my husband, this is a great side dish for your dinner menu. It's creamy like mashed potatoes, but the sauteed veggies add a lovely texture and the feta pulls it altogether. I am not an overly huge fan of cutting squash because of its tough exterior, but I am thinking that with alterations made to the baking time, you could pull this recipe off just as well with pre-cut frozen butternut squash cubes. I haven't tried that myself yet, but think I may the next time I make this recipe. It might be too early to be thinking ahead to Thanksgiving, but this is one dish that you aren't going to want to sleep on when the holidays roll around. Swap it out for the mashed potatoes and you'll have a new family favorite on your hands in no time!

Ingredients

2 medium-large butternut or acorn squash

1 cup chopped onion

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup mixed green and red peppers, chopped

3 Tablespoons butter for saute

2 beaten eggs

1 cup plain yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

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 is your favorite autumn fruit or vegetable?  

 

Orange 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.

 

 

Running a bit late this week, but I'm here! Back with another amazing Golden Blossom Honey recipe for you to feast your eyes upon. Being on the go so much these last few weeks, I've been relying too much on store bought pastries and baked goods to fill my tummy in the mornings, but for some reason they just haven't been very satisfying lately. It's the same old options week after week, and I've been needing a little more excitement over the usual offerings. Jason brought me a pistachio muffin earlier this week, and normally I'd be pleased with such a delight, but even that fell short for me. So, I was going to make some pumpkin orange muffins that I featured here last autumn, but I saw regular Orange Muffins there that I thought about trying instead. As much as I do love me all things pumpkin, I haven't YET switched over to more autumn inspired eats this year. 

 

 

These orange muffins bake up so fluffy and moist and are packed with such a tantalizing citrus flavor, they gave me back a little delight that I've been missing from my morning breakfasts. The pecans added a great texture, but you could also swap them out no problem if you prefer walnuts in your baked goods. If you like more of a dessert muffin, you could always top these with an orange glaze by mixing a few tablespoons of powdered sugar and orange juice together then drizzling over the top. I left them as is though, but I do prefer jumbo muffins, so next time I bake these I'll put them in my large 6 cup muffin tin instead of the standard 12 cup tin. Ditch the store bought baked goods and pair these with your favorite tea or coffee for an inspired morning breakfast or a midday snack. You won't regret the change! 

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

2 eggs

2 teaspoons orange peel, grated

1/2 cup orange juice

3/4 cup pecans, chopped

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 is your favorite muffin flavor?  

 

Couscous with Vegetables and Feta Cheese

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.

 

 

In my effort to organize my kitchen and pantry, we've been using up the remains of many half empty containers of still good foods these past few weeks. I found a partially used up jar of couscous in the back of my pantry and thought that this would be a perfect time to use the remainder of it up. It's been a busy week for all of us here, between the market and my quarterly stint selling our wares at the local hospital, cooking hasn't been high on my list. But couscous is always a quick and delicious option, so I dug around on Golden Blossom Honey's recipe index to see if there was anything that I could not only make quick work of, but would also reheat well too. There I found this Couscous with Vegetables and Feta Cheese recipe that sounded exactly like what I needed to get dinner done without much effort on my part. 

 

 

All of the ingredients here are standard fridge and pantry staples (at least in our house) so I didn't have to make an extra stop at the grocers to toss this recipe together, and that's a blessing in itself these days. As we are nearing the end of summer gardening, this is the perfect dish to use up some of your harvest. This dish is light on the tummy but at the same time filling. It's packed with a medley of flavors, the spices giving it a little warmth, but the honey and tomato giving it a touch of sweet and tang. I loved the addition of topping it with feta, but I think other cheeses, such as goat or blue would work well here too. Best of all, this dish reheats nicely, so when our family schedule doesn't align with each other, we can still enjoy a tasty dinner even if it didn't come fresh off the stove. This is definitely a keeper recipe for those busy weeks, especially now that the kids are back to school, autumn activities are on the horizon, and the holiday season will be here before we know it. Having this recipe tucked away for a busy day is a sanity saver if there ever was one! 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small red onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 large garlic cloves, minced

4 medium red skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (no need to peel)

3 large carrots cut into 1/2-inch pieces

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

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1/2 cup water

1 (10 ounce) package plain couscous

1 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 are some of your pantry staples?  

 

Pear-Cherry Crisp With Lemon Cream

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 always look forward to the return of August because I know we're not far off from autumn fruits, which are my favorite fruits. Apples, pears, and pumpkins top off the list, but I really do love them all! I do some of my best baking in the fall because there's just something really cozy and magical when the air is crisp, warmth returns to the color of the leaves, and the house is filled with the scent of goodies baking in the oven. I thought about making an apple quick bread this week, but after seeing all of the back to school photos on Facebook, it took me back to my own school days thinking about how I always looked forward to when they served fruit crisp for lunch dessert because those were my favorite lunch days. So, I changed plans and opted to make an autumn inspired fruit crisp instead. I found this Pear-Cherry Crisp with Lemon Cream on Golden Blossom Honey's website and thought it was the perfect recipe as we start to transition from summer fruits to autumn fruits. It's got the best of both worlds all all mixed into one delightful dish. 

 

I normally like to bake with Bosc pears, but that variety hasn't hit our markets yet, so if you're the same and can't find them at the store, Anjou and Bartlett work just as well here. But I'm going to be honest and admit that I actually took the lazy way out this week and bought sliced pears in a can to use in this recipe because, well, I just wanted to be lazy LOL. In my opinion, it didn't affect the outcome of the dessert, since the ripe pears would have softened in the oven anyway. But fresh or canned, either way is perfectly fine so preceded at your discretion. This dessert has a perfect blend of sweet with a hint of warmth. The lemon, cherries and honey marry the summer flavors to the pear and cinnamon of autumn quite well, and the sweet cream pulls it all together just deliciously! This crisp has moved to one of the top 5 slots of my all time favorite fall desserts and I know I'll be making it many more times before the year's end! 

Ingredients

Filling:

10 firmly ripe pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

1 cup dried tart cherries or any dried berries

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

2 teaspoons lemon peel, finely grated

Topping

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Lemon-Honey Cream

1 cup whipping cream

3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

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 was your favorite food on the school lunch menu?