Halloween Amaretti Cookies

September 28, 2022 Amanda Plott

I’ve taken Amaretti cookies and turned them into a lightened up version that also happens to be seasonal to Fall! They’re lightened up easily with a simple swap of half of the sugar for natural sweetener. I prefer to use a stevia or monk fruit sweetener. The important thing here is that the sweetener should measure cup-for-cup like sugar. Other than that, feel free to use whichever you prefer.

The only real thing I did here to make them ‘Halloween’ was the sprinkles that I used. So honestly, you could swap out sprinkles for other seasonal colors and themes to change these cookies up! These also call for cake batter extract, which can be tricky to find in some places. If you don’t have it and can’t find it, no big deal, just use some vanilla extract instead!…

Cheeseburger Salad Jar

September 25, 2022 Amanda Plott

It’s the weekend so why not do a little bit of meal prep work ahead of the work week? These Cheeseburger Salad Jar are super easy to make and are the equivalent of a cheeseburger turned into a salad and then shoved into a jar for ease of grab-and-go lunch on the run. It’s got everything in there that you know and love about a traditional cheeseburger.

Ground beef, lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheese, and of course special sauce for dressing! It doesn’t have to stop there either. I also drizzled a little bit of ketchup and mustard over mine because it gave it even more of that cheeseburger feel!…

Butternut Squash Salad + Maple Vinaigrette

September 13, 2022 Amanda Plott

Yes, another salad! This Butternut Squash Salad is a little different though since it’s got a lot of fun Fall flavors packed into it and it’s super easy to make. The homemade maple vinaigrette has to be one of my all time favorites, and it’s easy to see why. This salad starts off with a base of greens. I went with a mixture of baby spinach and a spring blend, but arugula would be a good option too!

After that it’s loaded up with oven roasted butternut squash, cranberries, feta cheese, and YES even bacon! The homemade maple vinaigrette might sound strange, but trust me, you’re going to love it. I used a bourbon aged maple syrup, but you can use any kind you want so long as it’s actual factual maple syrup, and not just flavored like maple syrup. Trust me, there IS a difference…

Simple Mango Salad + Lime Dressing

September 1, 2022 Amanda Plott

It may be cooling off outside finally, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love salads any less. I was in need of a good ‘tropical’ style of salad to pair with something else that I’ve been working on for a couple of weeks now and this Simple Mango Salad + Lime Dressing slid into fill that role perfectly. This small and simple salad is deceiving. It’s delicate and delightful while being big and bold in flavors. And one of the best parts is that it only takes a handful of ingredients to make.

Being as it’s got just the limited ingredients, it doesn’t take long at all to make - including the homemade dressing which, let me just tell you, is SO good. That being said, there isn’t a whole lot here to substitute for lighter alternatives…

Taco Jar Salad

August 29, 2022 Amanda Plott

If you can’t tell, I’ve been in jar salad mode for a while now. For me, it’s super easy to accidentally skip out on lunch, so having prepared jarred salads ready to go in my fridge means that I don’t have any excuse to miss out on a meal! These Taco Jar Salad are another great option too. You get a lot of bang for your buck here since there technically isn’t any salad dressing. We’re using salsa here!

The salsa naturally gives the salad a dressing of it’s own that is low in calories and in guilt. Which means you get to load this salad up with all the more taco goodness. We’re talking beans, corn, cheese, tomatoes. All of it! Even the meat and cheese…

Turkey Thai Curry Meatballs

August 26, 2022 Amanda Plott

When it comes to food, and especially dinner, fusions of all kinds can be a lot of fun to play with. These Turkey Thai Curry Meatballs are one such thing! This dinner comes together really quickly, and you can even mix and put together the meatballs ahead of time to have them ready to start cooking at dinner time. For not taking much time, these meatballs and the curry sauce that they’re cooked in are SO unbelievably full of flavor.

Seriously. These are going to be a new staple dinner in my house. Plus, the leftovers make for a great make-ahead lunch that’s perfect for a grab-and-go reheat bite. You can serve them as part of a meal over some rice or noodles, or even as an appetizer!…