Cutting Watermelon

July 6, 2014 Amanda Plott

If you have tiny hands in your house (like I do) or are just looking for an easier and less messy way of cutting your watermelon this summer - then this idea is for you!

I've done my fair share of watermelon butchering, and it's almost always been a rather unpleasant task that more often than not ends up with my kitchen in the midst of a sticky mess that lasts for days. Thankfully, about a year ago, I came across a method of cutting watermelon that skips the waste and saves so much time. Plus, it's great for little fingers to grab up...

Skinny PB&J Sandwich Cookies

June 27, 2014 Amanda Plott

Who doesn't love peanut butter and jelly? (Well, other than those unfortunate souls that have nut allergies.) It's such a classic combination... you just can't go wrong with it!

These cookies are soft, decadent, and actually very reminiscent of little peanut butter and jelly whoopie pies. When I originally began to make plans for this tasty treat, I thought I wanted more of a crunchy peanut butter cookie... but for one reason or another it didn't work out that way.

In hindsight, this was a rather happy accident. A firmer cookie wouldn't have worked out nearly as well, since taking a bite of a hard sandwich cookie would force all that lovely jelly to squish out and make for gooey fingers. This softer more cake-like cookie seems to absorb the jelly a bit so it doesn't make a giant and unwanted mess.

Crock Pot Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

June 23, 2014 Amanda Plott

Today, I was lucky enough to have an expert chef join me in my kitchen. Her lifetime of knowledge and her very particular palette are what I aim to please with each dish I create. She is my inspiration through and through!

Yes. That's right... Chef Lily spent some of her very valuable time lending me a hand with dinner...

Roasted Honey & Cinnamon Peaches

June 20, 2014 Amanda Plott

Okay, so... I know I've done the whole... broiled grapefruit thing, which is pretty amazing. But, as I've found out, there are actually a lot of people out there that cannot enjoy grapefruit for one reason or another. Yes, even a few in my own family! Now, I looove peach season. I think that I may have mentioned that once or twice before. So naturally, I've been waiting rather eagerly for the prices of peaches to go down and huzzah! It finally happened this last weekend!

I rather enthusiastically plucked a few gorgeous ones up and immediately began planning. Though... I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted to try. Honey roasted peaches!...

Skinny Italian Stuffed Peppers (Crock Pot)

June 18, 2014 Amanda Plott

I've had a few stuffed peppers in the past. When I was younger, I remember my mom making some spanish style stuffed peppers that I thought were pretty good even though at the time I wasn't a huge pepper fan.

Oh, how times have changed.

These stuffed peppers are pretty amazing and ridiculously easy to do. With around 10-15 minutes of preparation, you can have these babies set to cook through the day in your crock pot with hardly any fuss at all!...

Mango Chile Lime Popsicles (Paletas)

June 15, 2014 Amanda Plott

A couple of months ago I was out at Eeyore's birthday here in Austin.

Yes... we celebrate Eeyore's birthday here. It's quite a thing, actually.

Anyway! It was pretty warm out that day and there was a vendor selling some rather interesting sounding homemade organic local popsicles. One of the flavors on the list was a mango chile flavor.

Of course, that's the one that I ordered! Unfortunately, they were all sold out. Ergh!

Well, it sounded easy enough. I've made my share of popsicles in the past so I thought I'd try my hand at this mango chile one too!