Cheesy Ranch Chex™ Mix

November 19, 2015 Amanda Plott

Holidays are full of tradition, and one of the traditions that I lacked as a child but have picked up on my adult years is homemade Chex™ Mix! A couple of years back now my mom came over and made up GIANT batch of Chex Mix for us all to enjoy. She made as many flavor combinations as we could think up on.

It's become our tradition to have mix with us almost everywhere we go during the holiday season. My mom takes it to every party, event, and get together. It's always a huge hit, not matter what flavor combination it is, it's always a winner!

I'm not sure exactly what sparked up my mother's sudden desire to start the Chex Mix tradition, but I sure am glad that it happened. I love it when my mom loves food as much as I do...

Skinny 'Leftover' Turkey Salad

November 7, 2015 Amanda Plott

I decided to get a bit ahead of the game this year with whipping up some yummy ideas on how to use up all those leftovers. And believe me... I love Thanksgiving leftovers. In some cases, it's better than the actual Thanksgiving dinner! But, I tend to like reusing them in a clever and different way than just always reheating and eating.

This Skinny Turkey Salad is a perfect way to use up that leftover turkey after the holidays. It's a fun and healthier twist on one of my favorite chicken salads. That's chicken salad - not chicken on a salad...

Healthified 7 Ingredient Chili (Sponsored)

November 4, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #YesYouCAN#CollectiveBias

Oh, man! I'm just settling in after another weekend away. I took my little one out of town to see friends and family for our Halloween celebration this year. It was so much fun to get out and do something different, but with traveling and holidays always comes stress!

To make things easy on myself this week, I decided to again have easy, stress free cooking going on in my kitchen as I settle back into my groove and also start preparing for the next holiday. One of my favorite too. Who doesn't love a holiday centered around food?

As it gets cooler outside, one of the first things that comes into my mind as a great dinner option is chili, and my mom makes one of the best, but... it takes time.

So, can you make a better-for-you chili with just a few ingredients without sacrificing any flavor?...

Chipotle Butter Infused Pork Tenderloin (Crock Pot)

October 29, 2015 Amanda Plott

I've been in meal prep. mode this week while I get ready for another upcoming trip this weekend for Halloween. I'm taking my little Ice Queen to my 'home town' to trick or treat with friends and family there. In the midst of it, I wanted to keep myself sane with just cooking a couple of meals that I could re-heat easily through the week.

One of the things that I wanted to cook up was this versatile pork tenderloin. Since I've been super busy, I thought it would be a great time to get out the old crock pot to cook this batboy up. While I wanted to keep the pork interchangeable, I also wanted it to have a lot of really good flavor...

Skinny Cheeseburger Soup

October 22, 2015 Amanda Plott

I must admit that I have been in total soup mode lately. I think it's something that happens to me every fall once it finally starts to cool off here in Texas. Of course, it doesn't help that there's been a head cold running around the house for a couple of weeks now too.

Thankfully, we're going to even be getting down into the 70's during the days this week along with some chances for rain, whoohoo! Just in time too. There's a fall festival at my daughter's school this weekend and I'm ready to get into the spirit of Halloween all the more. Pun totally intended.

One of our traditional family favorites no matter the time of year is definitely cheeseburgers. Generally, if we can't think of anything else to grill/cook we end up with burgers and hotdogs. Today I'm taking this delicious staple and transforming it into a better-for-you hearty soup!...

Skinny Chocolate Ginger Bat Cookies

October 16, 2015 Amanda Plott

I've made these particular cookies for a few years now. It all started when we first moved to Austin and my mom made us all take the trek down to the famous Congress Street bridge around Halloween to watch the millions of bats fly out from under it once it was dark. It's a pretty cool thing to watch, especially when leading up to my favorite holiday, Halloween!

When we go to see the bats, and we usually do every year, I always like to take some wine and a snack. We always take the guided bat boat tours which can last a good hour or two while we wait for it to get dark enough for the bats to surface.

I had seen ginger-bread skeletons before, so one year I got smart and thought it would be super cute to make these cookies over in a healthy way while also packing them up for a 'bat night' treat...