Pumpkin Spice Poke Cake

September 19, 2022 Amanda Plott

Not all poke cakes are created equal! This Pumpkin Spice Poke Cake is basically taking a poke cake and mashing it together with the deliciousness that is pumpkin spice. It starts off with a boxed spice cake mix and adds even more spice to it a long with a TON of pumpkin. In fact, whipping up a cake mix or brownie mix with pumpkin puree is an old trick I’ve used before to lighten up a cake!

Once the cake is baked, it’s poked through and topped off with some sweetened condensed milk that seeps through and makes that cake sweet and full of richness. Then it’s all topped off with some whipped cream and even heath bits for added crunch texture!…

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…

Jalapeno Popper Air Fryer Wontons

September 4, 2022 Amanda Plott

Sometimes you just need a new sort of side dish or snack, or even to take an old favorite and mesh it together with another to come up with something new and different. That’s where these Jalapeno Popper Air Fryer Wontons came in. I decided to keep it simple one night this week with a spiced up homemade tomato soup, and wanted something fun and exciting to pair with it.

My first thought was jalapeño poppers, but I wanted something that I could dip into the soup too if I wanted, sort of how you do with tomato soup and grilled cheese or crackers! So, I settled on these Jalapeno Popper Air Fryer Wontons which are basically jalapeño poppers inside a wonton wrapper to make them perfect for dipping and dunking!…

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…

Pistou Soup

August 14, 2022 Amanda Plott

I know what you’re thinking… Soup? In the Summer?! Yeah, yeah. Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but sometimes you have to lure the cooler weather in by enticing it with appropriate foods. I don’t know, maybe it’s working. It’s at least coming off the triple digits for a few days here. That being said, this Pistou Soup is very light and definitely is more of a Spring or Summer soup because of that.

It starts off with a base of onion, leek, and celery and is then layered with some potato, green beans, peas and more! Like I said, this is soup that’s packed with vegetables while also being meatless. The soup is topped off with a pistou, which is basically a pesto that’s made with basil, garlic, and some cheese too…

Caprese Jar Salad

July 27, 2022 Amanda Plott

It’s salad season, and right now, I’m all about these jar salads. I love having a few ready made lunches on hand in the fridge that are put together and just need a good shake up to enjoy. They make for great grab-and-go lunches too since you can eat them straight out of the jar. This particular one is based one of my all time favorite salads, a caprese.

A caprese salad is tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and usually some sort of greens to go along with it. I started this one off with an Italian based dressing along with some basil pearled couscous to make the salad just a touch more filling…