Recipe

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.

English Toffee Cinnamon Bun Sweet Cake + Easy Neighbor Gift

18 · Dec 17, 2014 · 3 Comments

+ English Toffee Cinnamon Bun Sweet Cake post brought to you by Pillsbury Baking +

We’re hitting crunch time friends! Christmas is about a week away. Have you figured out what you are giving your neighbors and friends this Christmas season? I have a super easy and super sweet gift idea for you… English Toffee Cinnamon Bun Sweet Cakes!

Uh yes… YUM!!

This is just a simple and scrumptious box cake mix and prepared frosting from my favorite folks at Pillsbury Baking. They have done all the hard work of making it perfect… All you have to do is bake it and make it look amazing!

Here is what you need…

Yep, that’s it. Well… You will need eggs and oil for the cake, but other than that, this is it.

I also found these great baking cups at Target that come with a clear lid. Super Cute and easy to use. You can find it in the baking section at Target.

Mix up your cake according to the package directions and fill you baking cups 1/2 way.

Place in a 350˚ oven for 19-20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool. If you would like a flat top to decorate, carefully cut-off the dome with a serrated knife.

Using a Jumbo Closed Star Decorating Tip, and a pastry bag… Pipe some simple stars on the top of your little sweet cakes.

Next, in a Ziplock bag, add some English Toffee. Using something heavy item like a rolling pin or meat tenderizer, take out some aggression and crush your toffee. Sprinkle on top of the sweet cakes and you’re finished!

All you need to do now is package your sweet treats.

I place the lid on the sweet cakes and then wrap with a ribbon. Then I add a fun gift tag that I created for this Holiday Season.

You can download the gift tag HERE

I’ve printed the tag on kraft paper, but you can use whatever you like. All I did was tie it onto a stack of sweet cakes and we were ready for delivery!

It can’t get any easier than that. The cool thing is you can customize it for each family.

One box of cake mix will make 10 little sweet cakes. You will need two cans of frosting for that application. Stack them in 2’s and 3’s and it’s a fun new way to share some Christmas Cheer!

For a Savory gift tag option… Check-out this post.

How fun will it be to combine the two?!

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Pillsbury Baking. All thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own. However, I want you all to know that I will never promote a product or company that I do not love and use in my normal day to day life.

Roasted Eggplant Dip Recipe

0 · Dec 4, 2014 · Leave a Comment

+ This Roasted Eggplant Dip Recipe brought to you by the folks at Pompeian +

Last fall I went on a trip of a lifetime… I joined a handful of bloggers as we traveled to Israel for an amazing food tour called the Taste of Israel. I shared a little of my experience in my post about zucchini hummus, you should check it out.

Today, I have another recipe that came from my Israel travels, Roasted Eggplant Dip.

If you are an eggplant fan, this dip is amazing! We learned all about it while spending the afternoon at the Dan Gourmet School of Kosher Culinary Arts. We had the pleasure to learn a few little tips and tricks from the director of the school Chef Amir Ilan.

I wish I could spend an entire week shadowing Chef Ilan. This man is amazing and his passion for teaching the culinary arts comes through in his work. When we first arrived in his kitchen he placed several eggplants directing on the gas burner and we just sat and watched them char as he taught us about the school.

Once the eggplants were fully charred, he removed them from the flame and then we, or shall I say, Kevin from Closet Cooking removed the charred skin. Then Chef Ilan cut the eggplant down the middle opening up the soft flesh, he salted it lightly, and added some prepared tahini, drizzled with a nice full bodied olive oil and that was it!

There’s Kevin and Ally from Ally’s Kitchen in the background snapping photos.

That was it! Just a simple eggplant some seasoning and a flavorful olive oil! Our hosts told us that this is an appetizer that is on almost every Israeli table when they entertain or have family over. Mainly because of the ease of the dish, but the flavors are divine as well.

You serve it with bread or pita and it’s lovely!

I thought with the Holidays upon us and the season of entertaining, this would be a great addition to your family table as well.

All you need is an eggplant or two. I don’t have a gas stove at my house (so sad, I know) and it’s to cold to grill right now here in Lincoln, I thought I would just roast my eggplant in the oven.

First, I washed and pierced my eggplant a couple of times and then just placed them in a 425˚ oven on a baking sheet…

After about 25-30 remove your eggplant and let cool for a few minutes. They come out looking rather sad, but trust me, they taste amazing when you are finished!

Now because the skin isn’t charred, you can skip the step of removing the skin. I just cut it into quarters, leaving the top intact.

Fan it out like so. Next, lightly salt the flesh of the eggplant. I then lightly drizzled some tahini sauce onto the eggplant. Tahini is a sesame paste that is made out of pressed sesame seeds. It’s well known for it’s role in Hummus, but’s it’s fantastic in all kinds of applications.

I then drizzled the eggplant with a lovely full-bodied Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Pompeian.

In the Middle East and Mediterranean countries, olive oil is way more than an oil to cook with. It’s more of a comment as well. When you are using it as a dip or dressing, you want to make sure you are using a GOOD olive oil that is rich and flavorful like the robust flavor of the Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I drizzle it right only my eggplant, add some pita chips and serve. Your guest scoop the dip right out of the eggplant, it couldn’t be simpler than that!

The flavors of the soft eggplant, the tahini & the olive oil are amazing! If you are an eggplant lover you should give this a try.

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Pompeian. I received product and payment for my recipe development.

Recipe

You can download the gift tag HERE

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