Marinated Mozzarella with Bigelow Orange & Spice Tea #AmericasTea

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This year, my holiday season has been all about creating the perfect dishes for holiday parties. On my quest to invent recipes that would please the masses I spent hours some time on Pinterest, repeatedly seeing recipes for Marinated Mozzarella. Being a complete and absolute lover of everything cheesy {including Luke Bryan's new song} I couldn't stop thinking about putting my own twist on some Marinated Mozzarella. Not sure of how I could put my own personal spin on this cheesy concoction, I sat down with a mug of warm Bigelow Earl Grey Tea {my own Brain Juice} and started brainstorming. It instantly dawned on me - flavor the cheese with tea!

I headed to Walmart {after finishing off my mug of tea} for ingredients to the Marinated Mozzarella with Bigelow Orange & Spice Tea. Having checked out Bigelow's selection of teas on their website, I had my heart set on the Orange & Spice Herbal Tea. There was a huge selection of Bigelow Teas at my local Walmart, with the Orange & Spice being smack dab in the middle of all my choices! I grabbed the rest of the ingredients I needed and excitedly headed home to try out this little cheesy idea of mine.

This recipe for Marinated Mozzarella with Bigelow Orange & Spice Tea is so easy to put together, plus it takes only a handful of ingredients including Mozzarella cheese, olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and of course - Bigelow Orange & Spice Tea.

And although it's not required for making this marinated mozzarella, I do have to recommend enjoying a warm mug of tea during the prep of this recipe!

The marinade created for the Marinated Mozzarella with Bigelow Orange & Spice Tea could also be used on chicken or fish. I'm thinking of giving it a try for making Chicken Kabobs - and trying out different tea flavors, especially the Lemon Ginger. The flavors are aromatic and a refreshing change from the spicy marinades that I normally whip up.

By using a bland cheese, such as Mozzarella, it really allows for the flavors of the tea to shine through. It is an entirely new way to enjoy tea and I am so happy to have experimented with it! I was a bit worried before trying the Marinated Mozzarella with Bigelow Orange & Spice Tea that my idea was too far-fetched and the flavors would just clash - but my worries were put to rest after popping the first piece of Mozzarella in my mouth. It put a huge smile on my face. :) It's a savory bite of cheese with the distinct flavors of tea - pretty much a dream {that I didn't even know about} coming true.

Mozzarella Marinated with Bigelow Orange & Spice Tea

(PRINTABLE RECIPE)

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

contents of 2 Bigelow Orange & Spice tea bags

½ tablespoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon salt

1 lb Mozzarella {I used part skim}

Directions

1. Mix together olive oil, Bigelow Orange & Spice tea, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt. Set aside.

2. Cut Mozzarella into 1” cubes.

3. Pour marinade over mozzarella and use a spoon to mix cheese and olive oil mixture together.

4. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours, occassionally stirring to ensure marinade is getting evenly distributed.

5. Serve with crackers, salami, fruit, etc. Enjoy!!

This cheese goes perfectly with salami, crackers and olives - in fact that is how we enjoyed it with a couple friends that were visiting for the the holidays. It would be a perfect spread to bring along to a holiday party or seasonal get together. It's not only tasty but also a novelty dish that no one else is likely to show up with.

For more information about Bigelow make sure to check out their site, it is such a good read that I lost myself in it for nearly an hour. Grab a cup of tea before checking it out. ;) Also, if you are a lover of all things Social Media, make sure to follow Bigelow on Facebook and Twitter.

For more ideas on using Bigelow Teas, check out the cbSocially Bigelow Tea Pinterest Board! {get your re-pinning fingers ready!!}