Instant Pot Ramen

July 20, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I finally got a pressure cooker for my birthday this year! I've only wanted one for about 5 years now, hah. I've had so much fun playing around with it and learning how to use it. And I gotta say, I'm super impressed and can totally see what all the hype is about! So far, I've made a lot of really yummy stuff in it that would normally take me several hours to make in a slow cooker.

My little blonde mind is blown, y'all! How in the world does this contraption manage to cook things so quickly?!...

Mermaid Noodle Salad

July 5, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I've decided that this week on the blog is going to be all about... drumroll please... Mermaids! Ta-da! That's right. It's going to be a week full of mermaid inspired dishes; eats and treats alike. This Mermaid Noodle Salad is an old family favorite that originated in one of my daughter's cook books, but has been tweaked and adjusted so much that it's a whole new recipe by now.

After carefully transcribing all of my notes on it in the cookbook, I finally settled on the perfect end result. One thing that I love most about this noodle salad is that you can serve it hot or cold. Being as it's the middle of summer here in Texas though... I'm naturally opting for a cold noodle dish myself. However, if you still feel like being a mermaid in the winter months, feel free to enjoy it warm! Just serve it right away instead of giving it an hour+ of chill time...

Healthified Crock Pot Kalua Pork

June 29, 2017 Amanda Plott

Summer time around here (especially July) is when my mom always likes to throw a mostly annual luau. Unfortunately, she hasn't really been able to do that for the past couple of years, just because they had moved about an hour further away from me and well... all of their friends basically too. Either way, this is one of our family favorite recipes for these such luaus! And with it being nearly July, I thought it would be a great time to update this Kalua Pork with a bit of a facelift.

So, what do you do in Hawaii? You go to a luau. What do they serve at a luau? Kalua pork.

Kalua (as not to be confused with Kahlua) is a traditional way of cooking pork in Hawaii. The word kalua actually translates to 'to cook in an underground oven'. While they use something in Hawaii called an imu for this process, I don't readily have one of those at my disposal... so I used the next best thing. My slow cooker!...

Healthified Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes)

January 13, 2017 Amanda Plott

Originally when I posted this back in May of 2013 Mother's day happened to fall on my parents anniversary and unfortunately the day hadn't started off well for either me or my mother. I had the dilemma with my laptop, which I now have back, and my mom was having some car issues.

Needless to say, I went to pick her up and us three girls (my mother, daughter, and myself), decided to stop and have brunch in downtown Austin at a local hot spot...

Skinny (2 Ingredient) Cream Cheese Rangoon

December 13, 2016 Amanda Plott

This year, we'll be doing things a little different for Christmas. Instead of our usual mass of cooking, we'll be heading out to enjoy some Asian cuisine on Christmas day. Of course, you know I'm always inspired by the goings-on around me and today is no different. With Asian food on my mind I decided that it was high time for some Cream Cheese Rangoon.

I know, I know... Generally you'll find some sort of meat inside of a rangoon, however... I'm not too big on seafood. So, I always make mine with tofu cream cheese. Sounds interesting, right? Tofu. Cream cheese. Trust me, this stuff is amazing. It looks, tastes, and feels just like traditional cream cheese (but with a lot less calories and obviously dairy free!) so I'm often using it in place of standard cream cheese. Especially if it's involving anything with an Asian flare...

Healthified Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli

May 20, 2016 Amanda Plott

So, as you can see I'm busy blowing the dust off of some of my older and more popular dishes. I've been making minor changes and updating pictures along the way as I've needed to. Of course, Beef and broccoli is one of those things that is always a crowd pleaser. It's certainly one of my favorite asian dishes!

That being said, it's likely that a serving of it at your favorite local restaurant will cost you a good 600+ calories, a lot of sugar, and even more sodium. Yikes! No thanks...

It's take-out fake-out time...