Refrigerator Dill Pickles

September 3, 2014 Amanda Plott

We love pickles in this house.

My little girl alone goes through about a jar every week or two this summer. She's especially fond of pickled carrots as I've found out recently. And have you seen the price for pickles? Holy moly! If you're wanting a good pickle, you're going to be paying $3-4 bucks a jar. Eep!

The past few weeks I've been playing around with a grocery service that delivers organic and local produce straight from nearby farms to your home. I've been getting the 'local box' which comes with a variety of that weeks 'special' produce, fruits and herbs. It's been fun and very interesting. I get to work with a lot of new-to-me ingredients that you normally wouldn't find at the grocery store either; such as sweet potato greens, hon tsai tai, and cucamelons.

Well, I was supposed to get cucamelons, but unfortunately they were swapped for something else after I had planned on pickling them. Bummer. Oh well! I did still get some fresh organic dill in my delivery so I decided I'd just pickle some cucumbers and carrots instead!...

Skinny Southwest Chicken Dip (Crock Pot)

August 6, 2014 Amanda Plott

I was craving something that was a little 'snacky' for a dinner this week. Sometimes, you just don't feel like having a meal for a meal. If that makes any sense at all to anyone else. So I settled on a chicken dip.

A while back I made a really tasty Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip before, but since this was going to be partially for dinner, I wanted something that was a little different and maybe had some more substance to it. I did, however, use the same basic idea from the buffalo dip to create this southwest version of it.

This southwest chicken dip was nothing short of amazing, and it totally didn't feel or taste as if there was anything skinny or light about it. It's always nice to feel as if you're indulging, even if you aren't!...

Garlicky Parmesan & Rosemary Roasted Chickpeas

July 21, 2014 Amanda Plott

I was turned on to roasting chickpeas several years back when seeking out healthier snack alternatives. Roasted garbanzo beans are seriously so easy to do that my four year old could almost pull it off all on her own. Well, almost. Plus, they taste absolutely amazing!

If you are a fan of hummus or chickpeas in general, then you will love toasted garbazo beans. I've been on a bit of a chickpea kick lately, if you hadn't noticed already. So... I thought what better time than now to roast some up for a grazing snack to have on hand...

Mexican Summer Tomato Salad

July 14, 2014 Amanda Plott

If you're looking for a super easy and fresh Mexican inspired side dish for the summer, this is it! This salad takes all of 5 minutes to prepare and toss together while tasting absolutely amazing with it's bright and bold flavors.

This dish actually reminds a bit of a greek antipasto salad, except that it's meatless and hints towards Mexican roots. There's queso fresco instead of feta, jalapeño in place of peperoncinni and the proud zing of some lime and cilantro added in there...

Strawberry Caprese Salad

May 20, 2014 Amanda Plott

Sometimes, you just have to step outside the box for a moment to find something truly amazing.

I have always loved caprese salads, and I have also always loved the combination of strawberries and balsamic vinegar... So, why not put the two together? While the pairing might seem a little odd to some, I promise this is sure to surprise and de{light}!

There's just something about the mixture of sweet juicy strawberries and the twang of balsamic vinegar that goes so perfectly together. I guess you could say, it's sort of a play on the whole 'sweet and sour' thing...

3 Ingredient Biscuits

May 17, 2014 Amanda Plott

Yes, only 3 ingredients are needed to make these perfectly guilt free biscuits! I can honestly say that I've never made biscuits from scratch before, so I was a little nervous about trying this for the first time. I'm not really sure why I've never made them before. Perhaps I had it in my mind that they were supposed to be daily difficult and taxing. I've made plenty of other breads, rolls, cakes, etc... So why not biscuits?

These were super easy and I was entirely surprised and thrilled with how well they turned out! Especially considering that they only took 3 ingredients and about 10 minutes of preparing. That's it!...