Chicken Faux Pho (Instant Pot)

July 31, 2018 Amanda Plott

For a good long while now I've heard nothing but good things about pho. And to be honest, I've never given it a try. My brother swears by it and about the time that my hair stylist said the same thing, I knew it was going to have to happen. So, when I was planning out my meals for the week, I decided that I was going to dive head first in and make a quick and easy version of pho.

...And let me just tell you... it's pho-king delicious.

This pho isn't what I would call traditional. It hasn't spent all day cooking down in it's broth, and the ingredients are pretty minimal. The most of what's going on here is spices and fresh veggies - which I am anything but mad at…

Low-Carb Instant Pot Cheesecake

July 23, 2018 Amanda Plott

Today it's going to be a whopping 107 in Austin, Texas! I'm at that point of summer where it's so hot that I nearly want it to be over, but I'm also not quite ready to end the freedom with the onslaught of another school year for my daughter. Let's face it, there is just something about waking up in the morning naturally and having absolutely nothing on the schedule that's required to be done that day.

So, while it's literally as hot as hell in Texas... That doesn't stop me from wanting the things that I can't have. Or dare not have, anyway. Things that generally require the oven. Things like... cheesecake. Here we have a no-bake cheesecake that still manages to be cooked!…

Loaded Cauliflower Mashed No-Tatoes (Sponsored)

July 10, 2018 Amanda Plott

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

If you're looking for a mashed potato alternative, look no further! I've made mashed cauliflower a lot of times and for many different kinds of meals. This one though, is the perfect quick and easy side dish that is sure to wow the entire family, whether as part of a busy weeknight or weekend get together.

These mashed no-tatoes are made with cauliflower instead of potatoes and are loaded up with all the goodies to make them 'fully loaded'. We're talking bacon, cheese, green onion... the works!…

Low-Carb Copycat 'Chili's Queso'

June 21, 2018 Amanda Plott

Oooooh, yes I did.

I've said it before... and I'll say it a million more times. Cheese and/or queso are my biggest weak points. I will legit do almost anything for a good cheese or queso. And one of my all time favorite guilty-pleasure quesos? Yep. The one at Chili's.

Now, their queso isn't like a traditional tex-mex queso. It's more of a chili cheese dip actually. Which, obviously I'm totally down with since it's one of my faves. Again... it's cheese. So, yes. Please, get in my mouth hole. The one thing in which you may notice about their queso is that it's clearly made using their house chili, sans beans. After a bit of plugging around a few copycat recipes, I've finally put my more 'healthy' spin on a proper knock-off…

Low-Carb Chili (Keto-Friendly!)

June 19, 2018 Amanda Plott

There's a great debate somewhere out there in this world of ours on whether chili should have beans in it or not. Is it 'technically' chili with or without beans? {Shrug} Who knows? ...Now, being a native Texan... I've got my own opinions on the matter. And I can honestly say that any chili I've ever been served before has always had beans in it.

But, that doesn't mean that I'm not open to a bean-less version! In fact, these days... it's all about those low-carbs it seems. So when deciding to make my take on my mom's Chili Con Carne for our camp themed week this summer, I thought I'd try my hand at taking all those beans out and instead filling it full of more veggies and protein…

Garden Vegetable Soup

June 15, 2018 Amanda Plott

Last week it was 'ocean' week here in my house, and this week we're going with the theme of plants! In doing so, I decided to throw a LOT more veggies and vegetarian dishes into the mix this week. We always have a couple of vegetarian dishes every week, for health reasons, cutting the cost of food, and also because it just makes me feel better all around.

I could easily be a vegetarian. In fact, my daughter was basically a vegetarian of her own accord up until she was about 5 years old. Meat just wasn't something she was a fan of. And I can't say that I was far off from that myself with I was a little girl too.

Ready for a true side story about myself? My parents used to have to tell me that meat came from a meat tree when I was little to get me to eat it!…