Roasted Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad with Pesto

March 9, 2017 Amanda Plott

It's this wonderful time of year where I'm starting to see more and more fresh 'spring' vegetables coming into the produce department; which always excites me. Especially when there's still plenty of winter squash to be had. I love to take seasonal produce and mix them together as the seasons start to turn from one to another. It always gives you something interesting and exciting.

This Roasted Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad is the perfect blend of winter and spring coming together for a wonderful bite. The butternut squash is what's coming in here from winter, while the pesto and fresh baby spinach and pop of lemon are a sure sign of spring approaching...

Quick Pickled Radishes & Carrots

March 7, 2017 Amanda Plott

I'm a little bit of a pickle fiend, y'all. I always have a jar (or several) of pickled vegetables of almost any variety in my fridge at all times. This past week I got my hands on some local radishes and well, I'm honestly not the most familiar with radishes. I know they are a little 'peppery' unless cooked, so part of me really wanted to try them roasted.

But, the pickle loving part of my decided to go another route since I had some verde chicken street tacos on the dinner plan. Street tacos always need something on them with a little tang and pop to brighten them up. Some people use a lot of lime juice for this, and others use pickled jalapeños or radishes...

Crock Pot Honey Cajun Pork Tenderloin

February 28, 2017 Amanda Plott

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whole Earth Sweetener Co. All opinions are 100% mine.

Happy Mardi Gras y'all! To celebrate this super special and festive holiday, I cooked up this tasty Crock Pot Honey Cajun Pork Tenderloin. It's full of cajun spices, flavors, and love; the latter of which is a huge part of southern cooking. I should know. I'm a Texan. Another thing I know that Texas and New Orleans has in common is our love of all things spicy when it comes to our food. The more heat, the better.

Don't worry though, I kept this pork tenderloin on the more mild side while also being easily adjustable for those that crave a more in-depth heat. You know, the sort that makes you start to sweat and clears your sinus. I've got you all covered, from one end of the spectrum to the other...

Grilled Market Salad & Zesty Dressing (Chick-Fil-A Copy Cat)

February 18, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I was telling my mom about one of my all time favorite salads at a pretty well known fast-food chain the other day when she was looking for some quick lunch options. Anytime the family wants to 'be bad' and have chicken nuggets at this place, I always tend to opt for their Grilled Market Salad. It's a really large hearty salad that's extremely filling and easily could be turned into two meals rather than just one.

That discussion got me to thinking about the salad, how good it is, and how simple it is too. Surely there had to be a way to make it myself! The hardest part would be the zesty apple cider vinaigrette. Thankfully, I found a good starting place and made a few more tweaks to that to get exactly what I was looking for after reading the ingredients on the actual dressing packet...

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

February 15, 2017 Amanda Plott

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HuntsHasHeart #CollectiveBias

February is all about hearts and in more way than one! It's true that Valentine's day is in February, but did you know that it's also Heart Health month? Heart health is something that affects each and every one of us. Everyone has at least one person in their life that has been or will be affected by heart disease in some way. For me, half of my grandparents currently have heart disease.

Just this past year my step-grandfather was diagnosed with heart disease. He's been put on medication and told to make some changes to his eating habits in an effort to slow progression of (and hopefully even stop) the disease...

Baked Eggs & Spinach

January 18, 2017 Amanda Plott

I gotta be honest, y'all. I don't feel my best today physically. One of my glands in my neck is huge and swollen and I'm fighting off an optical migraine. So, bare with me! We'll get through this together!

Funny enough, this meal right here has managed to perk me up quite a bit. I'm not feeling as horrible as I did earlier. Maybe part of my problem is that I was hangry? You know... when you're so hungry that you get angry?

When I'm feeling under the weather, I tend to stick to the simple and easy recipes that I know and love. Now, a while back I had made these Italian Baked Eggs. They were new and different and exciting, and I absolutely loved them...