Breakfast

Orange Honey Butter Spread with Melt Organic

5 · Jan 14, 2015 ·

+ Orange Honey Butter Spread Recipe brought to you by Melt® Organic +

This is one of my favorite culinary times of year… Citrus Season! I don’t know about you, but I love the oranges this time of year. They are like candy and I just can’t get enough of them. Which is probably good since we all seem to be fighting the cold and flu war this time of year, a little extra vitamin C is perfect! I thought a lovely Orange Honey Butter would be a great addition to a brunch table, especially when looking for inspiration from Bee Inspired recipes.

Recently, I was invited to try a new product out on the market called Melt® Organic. It’s this really cool “butter like” spread that has all the stuff we love about butter, but it’s packed full of healthier fats and it’s dairy and soy free. I would have to say I was a little skeptical at first. Can this product made out of a blend of organic coconut, flaxseed, canola, palm fruit & sunflower oils really have the taste and creamy texture of butter? I decided to put it to the test.

First test, compound butter… Last Christmas, for my neighbor gifts, I made some lovely compound butters. I whipped together some honey, garlic & berry butters, packaged them up and gave them to my friends and neighbors for holiday gifts. They were a hit.

I wanted to give this idea a go with this new Melt® Organic product. I whipped it up the very same way, I place roughly 6 oz. basically half a container of Melt® Organic into my mixer with roughly 1 heaping tablespoon of orange marmalade.

Then whip the two together really well. Place in a small jar and serve immediately or store in the refrigerator and use as needed. It turned out beautifully!

I whipped up some black cherry butter spread with the other half of my container and I was all set for a lovely brunch.

What I LOVE about the Melt® Organic is that it is GMO-free and it’s helping get my healthy fats in the right way. Here’s the skinny about Melt® Organic…

Ideal balance of Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids – 2:1
Good daily source of Omega 3 ALA’s at 425 mg – 26% RDA per serving
Good daily source of Vitamin E – 15% RDA per serving
Certified USDA Organic and OU Kosher Pareve
Verified non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project
Absolutely no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
Trans Fat Free
Gluten Free
Soy Free
Dairy Free
Vegan
No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives

Not bad if you ask me!

The next test… Baking Cookies.

I mixed up a batch of our favorite Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Cookies with Melt® Organic rather than butter. They mixed up beautifully and baked even better. My family didn’t even notice the difference.

I noticed a difference knowing that even though cookies aren’t exactly health food, and fat is still fat, I felt better knowing that the cookies they were eating were made from healthier fats. You can grab this recipe HERE, just substitute the Melt® Organic for the butter.

The next test… I sautéd some corn with Melt® Organic and I really liked that much better than butter. You still have the butter flavor without all the yucky fats. My family loved this test too.

All in all, my experience with Melt® Organic has been super positive and we have been converted for sure!

Click HERE to find a store near you that carries Melt® Organic. You can generally find it in the organic dairy section of your local super market. If not, you can always order it online. Grab some and give it a spin, tell me what you think!

MELT® Organic is a line of luscious, organic spreads made from healthy oils for butter lovers seeking a much healthier alternative, available in Rich & Creamy (original), Honey, and NEW Chocolate.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of MELT Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.

Easy New Years Quiche with the Kiddos and Toca Kitchen 2

2 · Dec 27, 2014 · 3 Comments

+ This Easy New Years Quiche post brought to you by Toca Kitchen 2 App +

I am always looking for ways to get my kiddos involved in the kitchen. Cooking together teaches so many life skills like how to follow directions, how to share, how to clean-up after ourselves, how to be creative and so much more. I would have to admit that I don’t take all of the opportunities that I should because of the rush of life. It’s hard to slow down sometimes and remember to get the kiddos involved. Recently, I was introduced to a new App made especially for our kiddos called Toca Kitchen 2…

So… funny story. When I was invited to review Toca Kitchen, I had downloaded the app onto our family iPad and really didn’t do anything with it right at that moment. I had so many other things on my plate right at that point.

A few hours later, my little guy Gage, who is four, was playing with the iPad. I started to hear him chatting while he was playing a game and it started to sound like a cooking show. He has a Mother who likes to watch the food network, so I guess it wasn’t too far fetched. I went over to see what he was playing, and sure enough, he was playing the new Toca Kitchen 2 and without any prompting from me, he had figured it out all on his own and was having a ball!

For me I thought the graphics were a bit silly, but when I saw it through HIS eyes it was super fun. I then proceeded to teach his older sister how to play the game and they have had hours of fun playing together coming up with all kinds of crazy concoctions. Here’s a video of him doing one of his cooking shows… It’s super cute and he came up with it all on his own!

Toca Kitchen with WhipperBerry from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

We decided to come up with our own Toca Kitchen recipe for the New Year. I created a simple quiche recipe and my daughter Emily picked all of the goodies to add to the quiche.

This is a super simple recipe that is PERFECT to make with your kiddos!

First, Emily grabbed all of our ingredients out of the fridge just like in the Toca Kitchen 2 App.

Both Emily and Gage washed their hands, and then using a kid safe butter knife, they prepped all of our ingredients for our quiches.

I used some baking cups that I found at Target that are perfect for individual quiches. Emily cut the Pillsbury® Crescent Dough into squares and placed them into the baking cups.

These are all things that your kiddos can do with just a little direction from you.

Emily cracked the eggs into a dish, and Gage whipped them up…

They seasoned the eggs with salt and pepper and then poured it into the baking dishes. Then we each topped our quiches with our favorite toppings.

Emily loves all kinds of goodies in her quiche, she loves the whole kitchen sink. I opted for bacon, mushrooms & tomatoes. Gage went non-traditional and packed his quiche full of tomatoes which was actually rather good! We topped all of ours with cheese and then Emily placed them into a 350˚ oven for 20-25 minutes.

Make sure the eggs are fully set and then remove from the oven. Let cool for a few minutes and then ENJOY!

It was so fun to take Gage’s new favorite app and bring it to life for him!

You can get Toca Kitchen 2 today and enjoy some kitchen fun with your kiddos. It’s only $0.99 in the Apple app store.

Disclaimer // This post is brought to you by Toca Boca Kitchen 2 via Mom it Forward. All thoughts, ideas & opinions are my very own.

Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread + Neighbor Gift

74 · Nov 12, 2014 ·

+ This Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread post brought to you by Silk +

I’m so excited for this time of year… I LOVE baking and creating goodies for my friends and neighbors. I grew-up with a Mom who kicked it into high gear for a few weeks in December every year, pumping out Holiday goodies like peanut brittle, chocolate peanut butter bars, and fudge along with cookies galore. I remember watching both my parents working together on those scrumptious neighbor treats, and it always made my heart happy.

I remember the year when I ate SO MUCH of my favorite Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, I swore I would never eat chocolate again! It took me a few years, but I eventually found my way back.

Now that I’m the Mom, I try to come up with some fun goodie each to year to share with our friends. A few weeks ago, I was at the Pillsbury Bake-Off and was inspired. A few of the entires were fun pull-apart breads with various different flavor profiles. I thought it would be fun to have a Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread for a neighbor gift.

This is really just a simplified cinnamon roll with the addition of a Silk Holiday Nog glaze on top. Why Silk Holiday Nog you ask?

Well… First off, I LOVE it! It has all the Holiday flavor without all the guilt. It is free of dairy, egg, casein, MSG & lactose. It has no cholesterol or saturated fat and has a fraction of the calories of traditional Egg Nog. It’s the perfect Holiday treat minus the guilt. I thought it would be the perfect flavor profile for my pull-apart bread!

Now, the real secret to this pull apart bread is how EASY it is to make! You will look like you slaved over it for hours, but no… It really only took minutes to make. Here’s how you make it.

Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread Recipe

1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Seamless Dough Sheets

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of Swedish Pearl Sugar (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon Silk Holiday Nog

pinch of salt

non-stick baking spray

Preheat the oven to 350˚

You will need small paper loaf baking pans to bake your bread in. This will also make it easier to give as gifts to your friends. Spray the pan with a non-stick baking spray and set aside.

Open your Pillsbury dough and unroll on a clean surface and brush with melted butter.

Then sprinkle the entire surface with pumpkin pie seasoning and sugars.

I like to add the Swedish Pearl Sugar to my bread, but it’s not totally needed. It just gives it that little extra something. You can find this in most grocery stores these days in the baking isle.

Next, cut your dough into squares roughly the width of your baking pan.

Stack your squares, and place them in your pan.

You should have some extra room for the dough to expand. Brush the top with more melted butter and sprinkle with more sugar.

Place in a 350˚ oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

In the meantime, you can whisk-up your glaze. In a small bowl add 1 cup of powdered sugar and pour 1 tablespoon of Silk Holiday Nog into the sugar, whisk together. The sugar should melt right into the Holiday Nog. Play with the consistency, If you like a thick glaze, don’t add as much liquid, if you like a thinner glaze, add more. Once you get your desired consistency, add a good pinch of salt. Carefully drizzle glaze over your pull-apart bread.

Package it up in a cellophane bag for your friends and neighbors. I think I am also going to add a carton of Silk Holiday Nog to the basket when deliverthis treat! It will taste so good with the bread!!

Now this recipe makes one loaf. If you are wanting to make more than one, you will need to grab more cans of dough and double or triple the recipe.

I will have you know… NONE of the bread that I made for this post even left the house! My husband and the kiddos got to it first and they inhaled them before they even had time to cool and be photographed. Yep they are that tasty!

For more fun holiday treat ideas from Silk, sign-up for their club and get special deals as well. You can also find great ideas on the Silk Facebook page.

What’s your favorite Holiday treat to share?

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

German Ham and Cheese Garlic Toast // GIVEAWAY

16 · May 27, 2014 · 6 Comments

This post brought to you by the Panasonic FlashXpress™ Toaster Oven// A few years ago, our family traveled to Germany and one of the first meals I had there was a simple ham & cheese toast from one of the local bakeries. We had stopped at the Rhine Neckar Zentrum (Mall) in Viernhiem for dinner, my husband and the girls decided to eat at KFC and I just couldn’t swallow the idea of eating American food while in Germany. I mean really?

I set out on a hunt for a more “German” quick bite to eat while the family was eating their “American” chicken. I found a little bakery inside the mall there and had the most interesting, simple meal. It was a loaf a good German bread cut in half with some type of garlic spread, diced ham and lots of sharp melted cheese. It was simple and boy was it tasty!

Recently, the folks at Panasonic asked it I would be interested in trying out their FlashXpress™ Toaster Oven and to develop a quick, in a flash meal with the FlashXpress™ and I immediately thought of my first German meal. It would be perfect in a toaster oven! Of course I said yes, and set out to recreate one of my favorite quick German meals.

Once I found a good garlic spread it was super simple to recreate. I used Mezzetta’s Savory Garlic Everything Spread which is SUPER tasty. I spread that on some good bread that I found in the bakery at Super Target, topped that with some diced ham that I sautéed in a little bit of butter, shredded sharp cheddar cheese and a little parmesan cheese.

Popped it into the Panasonic FlashXpress™ Toaster oven and within 10 minutes I had a perfect quick meal for the family, in a flash!

The nice thing… I didn’t have to heat up my oven and my kitchen at all and the ham and cheese garlic toast turned out perfect!

I will have to admit, when I was approached by Panasonic to do this post I was going to turn it down. I didn’t want one more thing cluttering up my counter tops. I mentioned it to my husband and he flipped… He’s been wanted to get a toaster oven for some time and I just wouldn’t jump on board. I have never had a toaster oven and I just didn’t understand the magic that you can create in this little toasting machine.

This one especially is compact, it doesn’t take up much space, you can get it in white or silver and it has some of the best infrared technology around. I especially love that the rack is designed to pull out when you open the door, making retrieving your food easier and safer. It has several presets or you can just use the temperature and time controls. It’s super easy to use and clean and I will have to admit… I use it ALL THE TIME now! I hardly ever use my microwave anymore. I’ve been making homemade croutons, baking cookies and of course making toast of all kinds. I have been TOTALLY converted!

The folks at Panasonic would love to giveaway a FlashXpress™ to one of YOU!!

All you have to do is follow the direction in the Rafflecopter box below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer // This is a sponsored post. I received a Panasonic FlashXpress™ Toaster oven to review along with funds to create a recipe. All thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.

Breakfast

Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread Recipe

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