Skinny Mixed Berry Mimosarita (Mocktail + Cocktail)

December 28, 2015 Amanda Plott

With New Year's just around the corner it's always a party around my house. And with all of that, I wanted to be sure to get some fun lighter takes on my favorite sparkling treats and eats that could also be family friendly! One of our family traditions is to go pajama bowling on New Year's day, and this year is no different. Almost everyone is piling up at my house on New Year's Eve and I'm planning on making up some yummy breakfast enchiladas and these lovely mimosaritas to go along with them for New Year's day brunch!

Since I always like to involve my little girl in everything, and not everyone cares for alcoholic beverages, I decided to be sure and have a mocktail of this cocktail ready to go for her and anyone else that might want the same. This way, everyone can be a part of the fun and no one is left out in any way...

Skinny Nog Pecan Blondies & Nog Cream Cheese Sauce

December 8, 2015 Amanda Plott

As we're getting into the thick of the holiday season, I wanted to step out of the box again and create a lighter take on one of my most favorite desserts in the world, a blondie! Any blondie just won't do. It had to be full of pecans, white chocolate, spice, and topped off with a decadent cream cheese sauce.

Yes, I went there. And I brought my 'Egg Nog' with me.

I wanted this blondie to have more of a holiday twist, so I infused with the flavors of egg nog while omitting (most of) the guilt. I am all about small indulgences, especially around the holidays...

Skinny Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies

December 3, 2015 Amanda Plott

Thank you Splenda for sponsoring this post.

We all know that the holidays are all about the sweet stuff. I know that in my family, my mom and I get together once a year (close to Christmas) and spend a day baking up some of our most favorite holiday cookies.

The two of us each have several of our own favorites that we bring to the table; and tend to rotate between a few each year. These butterscotch cookies have been in my deck for a good long while now. I think the first time that I made them was many years back now when I was in search of a soft gingerbread that wouldn't be too spicy for my toddler at the time.

These definitely did the trick. They are perfectly spiced with just enough of that gingerbread flavor that we all know and love while being softened with the sweetness of the butterscotch morsels...

'Leftover' Turkey Wonton Soup

November 28, 2015 Amanda Plott

What can I say? I absolutely love to come up with fun and inspired new ways to use up leftovers, especially Holiday ones! Like I've said before, their's just something that's gratifying about being able to create a new dish from leftover parts of another meal.

I've been working pretty hard with racking my brain and trying to come up with interesting twists that were somewhat outside the box; repurposing my holiday leftovers in a way that maybe isn't something most would think of. My inspiration comes in many forms. This time around it was my wonderful cry-haired bombshell of a mother.

While my mom and I were planning our usual Thanksgiving meal she had mentioned using the leftovers in wontons. Uhm. Excuse me? I'm stealing your idea, mom!...

Scary Good Stuffed Meatballs & Garlicky Sauce (Crock Pot)

October 24, 2015 Amanda Plott

One of my more favorite recipes here is one that is about two years old now. It's a tried and true recipe that I've kept in my back pocket and used numerous times over the years. With Halloween getting closer and closer, I decided to take that recipe out, dust it off, and give it a good scary once over.

A while back now, I had heard of these wonderful cheese stuffed meatballs and just knew that it was something that I had to give a try. So, I thought what better time than now? To make these meatballs even more scary good, I used both ground meat and hot sausage to give that nice little bit of heat. I also wanted to keep the vampires at bay, so I was sure to make the sauce garlicky...

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...