honey Archives - Simply Happenstance

Wine and Cheese Platter

September 4, 2015

:: Wine and Cheese ::

It’s the last “official” weekend of summer…we can’t believe that! Since I am not ready to give up white, well white wine that is, I am sharing some of my favorite cheeses paired with wine to celebrate the last days of summer and welcoming fall and all it has to offer!

Though summer has gone by with a blink of an eye, I am super excited for fall and the holidays. Some of my favorite times are spent over a tasty cheese platter with a fruity glass of white wine or a full bodied-red. Either way you choose, you always need a tangy cheese to go with your wine.

My favorite white wine is a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Right now I am loving this bottle of Layer Cake. It screams summer and makes for a fun and mild white wine. It pairs perfectly with my favorite cheese choices and it is a wonderful bottle of wine to enjoy at a barbecue.

Okay so now for the goods, what kind of cheese do you prefer, and how do you arrange your platter? It’s all fairly simple and completely up to your taste buds. As for myself, I am not a fan of goat cheese. No matter how I have tried, I don’t like it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t add goat to my cheese platters, especially if I know that my company likes it. Buy different types of cheese if you are hosting or creating an appetizer, you don’t have to eat it! Just fill your cheese platter with a few others you love.

My go to cheeses can be found at my local cheese shop The Cellar or I do love me a crumbly Unexpected Cheddar from Trader Joe’s. I like to have a hard cheese, a semi-soft cheese, and a crumbly cheese that can be easily placed on a cracker. I mix these with nuts such as marcona almonds, pecans, and or walnuts. I also add a fruit and a sprinkling of honey that can be drizzled over cheese and crackers or nuts. The fats from both the nuts and cheese help to bring out the flavors in the wine.

My wine and cheese platter includes the following:

honey
marcona almonds
spicy pecans
crackers
grapes
Unexpected Cheddar
Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout Cheddar
Estero Gold Valley Ford

Sara and I hope you enjoy this holiday weekend. We hope it’s spent well with family, friends, and of course food! For more recipe ideas, check out our recipe index under appetizers.

Protein Packed Energy Bites

April 28, 2015

Protein Packed Energy Bites //

There are few things I enjoy more than whipping up something delicious for my four little ones. I love knowing the ingredients that go into the foods that nourish their bodies. I also love the sweet smiles on their cute little faces when they bite into homemade treats!

This recipe is a simple one that the kids can even help with. With only a handful of healthful ingredients — this snack can be made in minutes. Their little hands are perfect for rolling the (no-bake) mixture into bite-sized balls.

I must admit, once you take your first bite, you may feel a little guilty! It’s sort of like eating a ball of cookie dough… only this time, you don’t have to sneak it!

Oatmeal, flaxseed, chia seeds, natural peanut butter, unsweetened coconut, raw honey, and chocolate chips make up the ingredients. The kids will have no idea that you are really filling up their bellies with protein-packed energy food!

These energy bites are great served as part of breakfast, packed in school lunches, eaten as an afternoon snack, prepared for upcoming road trips, for a fun day hiking, or an outing to the beach. (In fact, these little goodies will be accompanying my little girl on her field trip today!)

There are so many ways that you can customize these energy balls to make them your own! Try adding nuts, pretzels pieces, dried fruit, white chocolate, peanut butter chips, and/or endless other ingredients! (Just make sure to add enough nut butter and honey to bind it all together.) Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Protein Packed Energy Bites

Prep Time10 mins

Total Time10 mins

Course: Healthy Snack

Servings: 20 -25

Author: Simply Happenstance

Ingredients

1 cup dry oatmeal
2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup raw honey
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1/2 hour.
Once chilled, roll into balls (I used a 1" cookie scoop to make mine bite-sized for the kids). If the mixture isn't forming/staying in a ball, simply add a bit more honey to bind it all together.
Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/

Breakfast Power Bowl

March 31, 2015

Gluten-Free // Breakfast Power Bowl

Breakfast… it’s hands-down, my favorite meal of the day. I honestly wake up each morning, excited for my cup of coffee and ready to eat! I typically start my day with a healthy protein shake or smoothie. However, if I have a little more time, or if it’s the weekend, I get a bit more creative. Thank goodness for those days! They’re truly my favorite!

This satisfying dish is one you can whip up the night before. (Sure… that takes a little more planning, but some days just call for a special morning treat!) If you are already having quinoa for dinner… make a little extra! When the kids go off to bed, add some chia seeds and almond milk to it, give it a stir, and place it in the refrigerator until morning. Simple, right?

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Easy Cold Remedy Drink

March 12, 2015

:: Easy Cold Remedy Drink ::

Raise your hand if you have had this dreaded cold that has been going around? You know the one with that rattling dry cough that lingers for a week or two. This recipe for an Easy Cold Remedy Drink has gotten Sara and I through cold and flu season. It’s a god send and it’s easy to make and it really does work! We promise. [Read more…]

Blueberry Pear Smoothie

January 8, 2015

Blueberry Pear Smoothie //

It’s so funny with the New Year, one instantly feels the need to refresh, tweak a few things around, and try a little harder… for instance with healthier eating. Am I right? I know for me… even without compiling a bunch of resolutions, I ALWAYS have the urge to clean up my act in the eating department, come January! I think I’ve seriously tried it all, you guys. I’ve done an elimination diet, become completely vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free… I’ve even done two back-to-back rounds of the Whole30! Yikes! Sort of crazy…. I know!

Well, this year is really no different. I started off thinking I may attempt 100 days of Real Food with a dear friend of mine, but I’ve already thrown in the towel. Before you feel sorry for my lack of commitment, please know that I don’t plan on eating ding dongs all day {do they still make those?}. Instead, I am just going to do my best. That.Is.All. After all, I think I know what to do at this point… and I’m sort of over following guidelines.

So, with that being said… I picked up this lovely Juice/Smoothie recipe book from Barnes & Noble over the holidays. {It was in the bargain section, which made me like it even more!} It’s a really pretty book… I highly recommend it for the pictures and for recipe inspiration!

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Pear and Apple Butter

December 2, 2014

:: Pear and Apple Butter ::

Let’s discuss the fact that it’s already December 2nd! How can that be!?! Not to worry this Pear and Apple Butter is perfect for the holidays as either an appetizer {poured over a block of low-fat cream cheese with crackers}, or my favorite way wrapped up as a gift. REALLY it is a two-fer! I made this Pear and Apple Butter as I was preparing for Thanksgiving. I don’t know about you, but I am not a huge fan of pears. I don’t care for them as a fruit that I would bite into. I like them with nice melted Brie, but my dilemma was that I had 5 pears on the verge of going bad. Instead of being wasteful yet again with the remainders of my produce box, I made this Pear and Apple Butter….which I do have to say, is dynamite! [Read more…]