Chunky Monkey Amish Oatmeal

May 10, 2019 Amanda Plott

After banana nut on my mind, and a pantry full of leftover oatmeal, I pretty much knew immediately what I was going to be making this week for breakfast. Some sort of… banana nut oatmeal. But! Not just any banana nut oatmeal. I wanted it to be chunky monkey style. What’s chunky monkey? Well, one of my most favorite flavors of ice cream that’s made with bananas, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

There you have it, chunky monkey oatmeal. Of course, one of my favorite ways to make oatmeal is for it to be baked and ‘Amish’ style. This breakfast oatmeal also happens to be gluten-free (so long as you mind your brand of oats.)…

Skinny Classic Meatloaf

May 8, 2019 Amanda Plott

It’s been a hell of a long time since I made a meatloaf. I mean… a really really really long time. Almost 5-6 years or something? I’m not really sure why either. It’s a quick and easy part of dinner that can be tossed together in no time at all. Plus, it can be made to be pretty damn healthy too!

So, after discussing meatloaf with a group of friends last week, I decided that it was high time for me to make another meatloaf. This time though? We’re going old-school and classic with this loaf of meat…

Simple Snack & Travel Boxes

May 6, 2019 Amanda Plott

The third and last box is the veggie snack box, which is full of fresh veggies including carrots, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and zucchini. That’s all paired with a hummus. I used a local sunflower seed hummus, because it’s one of my new obsessions.Well, a lot of traveling happened this weekend and being as I’m trying to eat a more consciously while traveling, I thought I would try my hand at some travel-friendly snack boxes! I wanted to make sure that these snack boxes were simple and easy to put together while being gluten-free, soy-free, and vegetarian too!

There’s three different boxes here that give you plenty of variety to choose from. Whether you’re in the mood for something sweet or something savory, I’ve got you covered here. Pretty much everything about these little snack boxes is finger-food-friendly too. Since, you know, the idea behind them was to be for travel…

Halloumi Summer Lunch

May 3, 2019 Amanda Plott

It’s been a strange week, to be sure. Within my family we have seen a birth, a death, and now this weekend a wedding! Needless to say, the emotions have been all over the place - along with my sanity. So, I’ve been keeping things as simple as could be lately. Even in the sense of food!

This Halloumi Summer Lunch is as simple and easy as they can come. Only one thing is cooked, and that’s the halloumi. Don’t know what halloumi is? Well, it’s time to find out! Halloumi is a Greek staple cheese that is generally made with goat’s milk. But, I’ve seen it made with other milks too. Halloumi is a fun cheese. It’s firm, salty, and doesn’t really ever melt…

Kid-Friendly Spring Snack Mix

May 1, 2019 Amanda Plott

Spring is in the air. And do you know how I can tell? Allergies! I don’t know about the rest of the planet, but right here, right now, it’s allergy chaos. Never mind that Austin has been engulfed with what is now going on three WAVES of the flu. Just a couple of weeks ago, my daughter’s whole third grade class was pretty thin. Some out for allergies. Others out with a virus. Thank goodness the little babes are in a little bit better spirits this week.

Every year they have a fun book party to celebrate reading a certain amount of ‘crown books’. This year the request from the librarian was for Spring themed eats and treats. So, I was put to the task of whipping up a delicious Spring snack mix after a few of the parents got a peak of my Camp Out Trail Mix from a while back…

Healthy Crock Pot Verde Chicken Chili (Legion Chili)

April 29, 2019 Amanda Plott

Ah! Okay, I'm going to reveal something about myself here that I never thought I would so bare with me.

I don't know if you've figured it out yet or not, but I'm sort of a closet nerd. I'm a chic geek to the core, and yet hide it well with what I'd like to think is a very 'normal' exterior. In actuality, I go to renaissance faires (in costume), I've been known to role-play, and yes... I'll even play video games (MMO's mostly). Okay, so really just one in particular, but there are others on my rap sheet as well.

If you're close to me, then you know what that game is. Or if you recognize the name of this chili, then you're probably at least just as guilty as I am. The truth of the matter is, I've been a player in World of Warcraft since it's original vanilla beta back when I was in college. Yep, that's how long this game has been around and in my life. True. Story...