Skinny Cranberry Bliss Bars

December 16, 2022 Amanda Plott

Here’s another recipe from years back that needed an update in the looks department… but, not so much to the recipe itself! Here’s the original post below.

The madness is just about over here with the mass of holidays! Phew, thank goodness! I was happy to step back and have a few days to spend with my family, but now it's time to get back to work. Okay, so... here we go.

I've been wanting to make a skinny variation of the Cranberry Bliss Bar that they have Starbucks for a long long long time now. I have, in fact, had this recipe in my handy-dandy little note book for quite a while now (about two years actually) but for whatever reason it keeps getting pushed back each year.

Well, a few weeks before Christmas one of my aunts sent me a special request for a Skinny Cranberry Bliss Bar recipe. She mentioned that the one at Starbucks is something like 360 calories for one bar. Yikes! And just like me, it's one of her favorite holiday treats! So, of course I was more than happy to oblige…

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

December 1, 2022 Amanda Plott

After the rush that was last week, I've kept it pretty simple this week. And nothing is more simple than a grilled cheese. This Air Fryer Grilled Cheese takes it a step further, leaving you making the famous American sandwich hands free in the air fryer. The best part is that you get a perfectly crisp toast on the outside and an ooey-gooey melted cheese on the inside. You truly can’t go wrong here.

There isn’t a whole lot here to healthify or make better-for-you while also keeping with the classic. I started this sandwich off with Texas toast, because there’s no other way to have the sandwich if you’re aiming for traditional. But, you could definitely swap the bread out for something whole wheat or sprouted grain. Today though? I want CLASSIC…

Giant Instant Pot Pancake

November 18, 2022 Amanda Plott

It’s been… a week. And I couldn’t be more stoked that it’s Friday. Normally Friday doesn’t mean a whole lot to me since I’m technically ‘always working’, but today means that my kiddo will be out for school for the next week and I can’t wait for the bit of a rest! To celebrate, I decided to try and make something epic. Something BIG.

That’s where this Giant Instant Pot Pancake comes in! This big boy is about an inch and a half tall and nearly takes up an entire dinner plate. That’s how big it is! It’s definitely not meant for just one person, unless you’re spreading it out over a couple of days. And it’s for sure a fork and knife sort of situation here…

Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

November 9, 2022 Amanda Plott

Dinner is SERVED. This Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake is super simple to make, it’s meatless vegetarian, and it only has a few ingredients. It starts off with a whole wheat pasta. I used some odds and ends of small pasta that I had on hand; some elbow and some shells that I put together to make a full 10 ounces of noodle. Of course, it’s lightened up with reduced fat cheeses, both with the mozzarella and with the ricotta which goes along with a full 16 ounces of spinach!

I did decide to use a jarred pasta sauce to keep it extra simple. But if I had any leftover sauce stored in the freezer, I would have used that instead. So feel free to use your favorite tomato based spaghetti sauce or marinara here. And you’ll want to reach each part individually so that you really get the flavor through it all that you want…

Spinach Pie

October 22, 2022 Amanda Plott

I like spinach and I like pie, so here we are. This Spinach Pie sort of reminds me of a quiche but it doesn’t have any egg in it. I could still see it being a good pie to have for just about any time of the day, be it breakfast, brunch, lunch or even dinner. It’s completely meatless and vegetarian. Another good thing about this recipe is that it’s super easy to make and is pretty tasty when you take the time to season each layer to your liking.

Can I say how much I enjoy using puff pastry as a crust for pies? I love the flaky crispy brown bits that you get and the bread crumb on the bottom layer adds a bit more texture and serves to soak up any of the leftover moisture from the spinach…

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!…