Healthy 7 Layer Fourth of July Dip

July 2, 2017 Amanda Plott

It's the fourth of July weekend! While I'm spending it rather lazily at home as I recuperate from a few weeks of busy, busy, busy - I'm still finding the time to have fun and be festive! With an impromptu visit from my brother, I decided to toss together a quick 'snacky' meal that we could all graze on throughout the day at our leisure.

Naturally, my first inclination was a 7 layer dip. I think that's because it's one of those things that has something it in that everyone likes! It's one perfect montage or mashup of everything I love. Plus, it's perfectly light and cool for a hot summer day. And of course, since it's around the 4th of July, you just know I had to arrange this dip into the shape of the American flag to be all the more cute and festive!...

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

May 11, 2017 Amanda Plott

It never fails. Whenever it starts to get warmer out, I start to think of pasta salad. I guess that's because it's the perfect sort of weather for picnics and backyard BBQs. Today is no different. The weather here in Austin Texas has been absolutely beautiful for the past couple of weeks. It's nice and cool in the mornings and evenings and the middle of the day is pleasantly warm.

When I got some fresh local corn, mayonnaise, queso fresco, and cilantro this past week, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it; Mexican Street Corn. Not just that though, I wanted to turn it into a pasta salad that could be hearty enough for a meal and light enough still to also be used as a side dish...

Protein Packed Migas

May 5, 2017 Amanda Plott

Happy Cinco De Mayo! As per the usual, I'm more than excited about Cinco De Mayo. Why? Because Mexican food and Tex-Mex are my all time favorites. I could seriously eat Mexican all day every day for the rest of my days and be completely fine and happy with it. Honestly though, I've never really ordered Migas from anywhere before. So, this was definitely a journey for me today.

I've heard a lot about Migas and how good it is, and I'm not really sure why I never got it. I guess because my visits to Mexican style restaurants is reserved for dinner time usually. Either way, I got my hot little hands on some local organic eggs, cheese, and tortilla chips this week. What could be more perfect to make Migas with that all that?...

Naked Cheese & Spinach Enchiladas

April 21, 2017 Amanda Plott

It's getting hot in here. So take off all your clothes! Okay, well maybe not. But that's what the enchiladas in my house did. These enchiladas have no clothes on! Can you believe it? Tortilla-less enchiladas. Shame, shame! Naughty enchiladas. Actually, they aren't naughty at all! Some people call these 'zucchini boats' or stuffed zucchini, but I'm taking it a step further and just flat out calling them as they are. Naked.

Even though they are naked, they are ooey gooey cheesy and so very wonderful. I'm not mad at all that these guys are nude. The truth is, when I got my hands on some local zucchini and yellow squash this week, I knew this is exactly what I wanted to do with them with Cinco de Mayo just around the corner!...

Mexican Street Corn & Zucchini Nachos

March 12, 2017 Amanda Plott

Mexican street corn is almost a staple here in Texas. It's perfectly roasted and smoky corn goodness that's covered in spices and cheese. Heaven in the form of corn. Today though, I wanted to take that corn amazingness and move it a step forward into some nachos! These nachos aren't your average nachos either. They're a full blown meal in one. Hearty and loaded up with plenty of vegetables and bursting with flavor.

The zucchini is a perfect pairing to the corn. It's sweet and adds just enough texture to the nachos to not leave you missing meat. That's right. These are vegetarian too and bean-less. It's really a great 'warm weather' dish since it's light but also really filling without weighing you down...

Healthy Freezer-Friendly Breakfast Burritos

February 12, 2017 Amanda Plott

I'm all about breakfast lately, but it's often difficult to find the time to be able to make myself something that's tasty and wholesome. I've tried to make freezer-friendly breakfast burritos in the past, but they never worked out quite the way that I wanted. Live and learn I guess, so I decided to give them another go with a few changes.

The first lesson that I learned was that freezer-friendkly breakfast burritos must be individually wrapped to keep them from sticking together. Plus reheating them can be a bit of a touch-and-go situation. I've found it best to use a loosened paper towel to wrap them up in for a quick reheat in the microwave...