Cox's Honey Giveaway: Round Two

Because I have been so lame with this blog lately (is anyone still looking?) and because it's Friday, a giveaway is in order.  Cox's honey would like to give one lucky winner a case of twelve 20 oz. containers of their creamed honey.  

Here's how to enter:

What is your favorite fall treat to eat with honey?

You have until 11:59 pm on Friday to enter.

{image via cox's honey}

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas
from Keeping Up

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 pounds chicken, cooked and shredded

Stir together honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder until combined.  Add chicken and let sit in marinade for at least 30 minutes.

2 (10-ounce) cans green enchilada sauce
1 cup half and half
flour tortillas
shredded colby jack cheese

Mix enchilada sauce with half and half.  Spread roughly 3/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish.  Fill flour tortillas with marinated chicken and shredded cheese, roll-up, then place side-by-side in baking dish.  Pour remaining enchilada suace over the top of the enchiladas and top with more cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

{cooks note}

An easy dish to prepare ahead of time and quick to make.  Serve with Spanish rice and refried beans to make the meal complete.

Creamy Lemon Chicken

Creamy Lemon Chicken

from Keeping Up

2 tablespoons olive oil

10 boneless, skinless chicken tenders

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

1/2 teaspoon creole seasoning or other spicy seasoning salt

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3/4 pound fettuccine, cooked al dente according to package directions

Pat chicken tenders dry and sprinkle with Herbes de Provence and creole seasoning.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and brown tenders on both sides.  Add chicken broth and simmer just until chicken is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove chicken from broth and set aside.

Allow broth to simmer and reduce down for a few more minutes, then add cream and lemon zest.  Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until sauce has reduced to desired consistency.  Stir in lemon juice and add chicken back to sauce.  Serve over fettuccine.

Herbes de Provence is a French herb blend, readily available on the spice isle.  Your guests will never know these sophisticated flavors came together in 20 minutes!

{cooks note}

This dish will knock your socks off!  I added a little cayenne pepper to mine instead of creole seasoning.  I didn't want it too spicy because then my kids wouldn't eat it.  If you do not have chicken tenders like me, then cut your chicken down the middle and then you will have a chicken tender.  Once the chicken was browned on both sides and it was ready to be taken out of the pan, I placed it on a plate and covered it tightly with foil and stuck it in a warmed oven so it would stay warm and moist.  I also grated some fresh Parmesan cheese over the top of the chicken once it was added to the pasta.  Please go and try this soon.  It is worth a special trip to the grocery store just for the Herbes de Provence.  Oh, and your house will smell divine.

Browning chicken.

The sauce and chicken ready to join the pasta.

Please don't overcook your pasta...there is nothing worse than mushy overcooked pasta.  Set the timer!

Voila!

Granola

Granola
from my mom

10 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Wheat Germ
2 cups Sunflower Seeds
3 cups Nuts (Almonds are my choice)

1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar (packed)
1 1/2 cups Water
1 1/2 cups Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 cups Honey (I always use Cox's creamed honey)
1/2 cup Molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
3 teaspoons Vanilla

Add the first 4 ingredients into a bowl and stir.  Then combine the rest of the ingredients into a pan and cook on the stove until the sugar has dissolved--do not boil.  Pour syrup over dry ingredients while stirring.  Bake at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes.  When done, cool pan and continue to stir.  Store in an air tight container in a cool place.

{cooks note}

I've been sick lately; therefore, my lack of posts.  I never thought at 29 I would get a double ear infection.  To top it off, I also got a sinus infection.  I am craving fall like no other.  It's still too hot here to wear pants.  Ugh!  In the spirit of fall, I decided to make my mom's delicious homemade granola.  The smell of my house yesterday was heavenly and made me happy.  My family loves this granola and we eat it every day until it is gone.  It's simple and tasty--just how I like it.  You can add whatever else you would like...cranberries, raisins...there are no rules.  I add a few scoops of ground flax to my dry mixture.  It probably equals out to be 1/4 cup.  Once you have everything mixed together, pour the mixture onto 3 baking sheets.  I have done two in the past and it takes much longer to cook.  I also have played with the oven temperature and increased it to 325 degrees.  Since my oven can only hold one pan at a time, I cook them individually.  It will seem like your timer is ringing every 10 seconds, but be patient, it will be worth it in the end.  I would say that I cooked each pan for 30 minutes total...sometimes I have to add in an extra 10 minutes depending on how crunchy I want the granola to turn out.  When finished, make sure you let the granola cool on the pan stirring occasionally.  If you think it needs to bake longer, don't be afraid to put it back in the oven.  Add this to your favorite yogurt or eat it with milk, either way you will love it.

*I buy slivered almonds at Costco.  You can also find them in the bulk isle at Winco.

Creamy Bacon Carbonara

CREAMY BACON CARBONARA

from just get off your butt and bake

2 eggs
1/4 cup Cream
1/3 cup Parmesan
Fresh diced Parsley or dried flakes
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp Red Pepper flakes
*(I doubled the Sauce recipe, and it was perfect)
1/2 lb. bacon
1 small onion, chopped (opt)
3 mushrooms sliced (opt)
1/2 lb. Pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Beat the eggs, cream, Parmesan, parsley, salt and the red pepper together in a bowl. I just used a fork. Fry the bacon until crisp, then crumble and set aside. With 1 -2 Tbsp. bacon grease, saute the onion and the mushrooms until the onions are translucent and golden. Drain the pasta and while still warm, add to the onions and mushrooms. Pour cream mixture into the pasta, and stir over low heat for one to two minutes. (**I doubled the sauce recipe and I saved a bit of the pasta water, just in case my sauce got thicker than I liked – simply add a bit if you need it) Don’t do this on high heat, or you will make scrambled eggs. Serve with additional Parmesan, and a loaf of Crusty French bread and a salad. So Good!

{cooks note}

My whole family loved this new recipe.  I've made something similar to it, but the sauce did not call for egg in it.  Definitely double the sauce recipe.  Please excuse the lack of color in the photo.  I'm addicted to mangos and eat them with at least one meal a day.  All of the food on my plate sort of just blended in together, which is "breaking" the color rule for me.