Rustica Salad

October 30, 2018 Amanda Plott

Well, I guess I spoke too soon about the weather cooling off. It’s been cooler, yes… but we’ve still gotten well up into the 80’s for a couple of days this week. It’s been nice for the most part, crips mornings, warm days, and cool evenings to follow. And while I’m completely set on Fall and Winter meals now, I still needed to toss in a light salad into the mix this week.

I’m calling this the ‘rustica salad’ because that’s the name of the salad that I got the idea for this one from. Of course, I had to put my own spin on it with a homemade dressing and plenty of toppings. The homemade Skinny Balsamic Vinaigrette is one of my favorites. I make a double or triple batch of it up at a time and keep it on hand in the fridge quite often…

Skinny Pumpkin Spice Bars + Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

October 28, 2018 Amanda Plott

Baking can be hard. Baking can be complicated. Baking can be exhausting. It’s no secret that baking isn’t my favorite thing to do. It intimidates and scares me a lot. Which is why I’m forcing myself to do a whole lot more of it. I guess you could say that I’m overcoming my fear one cake at a time.

These Skinny Pumpkin Spice Bars are incredibly easy to make despite the slightly lengthy ingredient list, it comes together very very quickly. From start to finish (not including the cooling time) this cakes only takes about 30 minutes to mix and bake, frosting and all!…

Farmers' Market Cornbread

October 20, 2018 Amanda Plott

While it’s chilly here in Texas, you better believe that I’m taking FULL advantage of it. Which is why tonight I’m making a special sort of soup tonight and this awesome Farmers’ Market Cornbread to go along with it!

I based this cornbread off of my Baked Hush Puppies, which made use of a very clever and quick hack for making cornbread things. It’s basically mixing a self-rising cornmeal, creamed corn, and just few other things together to make a one bowl easy-peasy cornbread…

Roasted Tomato Soup

October 15, 2018 Amanda Plott

There is one thing for sure, no one is ever too old to enjoy tomato soup! One of my best memories growing up, had to have been the simple and easy dinner my mom would make on cold Fall or winter days… and that was a grilled cheese and tomato soup. Of course, even though you won’t grow out of tomato soup, your tastes do change. So today, I’ve elevated the classic and my favorite.

I’ve made plenty of tomato soup in the past, but I saw a rather ingenious hack not so long ago about making it by easily and with fresh tomatoes! No other cooking is involved other than that! Roasting the tomatoes also gives a smoky depth of flavor, that you otherwise wouldn’t have too…

Whole Wheat Cheddar & Chive Zucchini Bread

October 13, 2018 Amanda Plott

Once upon a time, I had a bread maker. I used it pretty often, but eventually it gave out and started to give me fits. So. The era of fresh homemade bread in my house ceased since, as I’ve said before, baking tends to scare me. Alas… with Fall in full effect and Winter just around the corner, I thought… I’d try my hand.

Before, when I used my bread maker, I stuck to the basics. I never ventured out into the world of flavored breads. Not really anyway. Over the past couple of years though, I started to enjoy the homemade bread from ‘the bread man’ at our local Farmer’s Market. It was a game changer…

Skinny Chicken Alfredo Dip

October 9, 2018 Amanda Plott

It was a lazy and rainy day yesterday, and after a long 'Fall break’ weekend that was filled with plenty of fun and excitement, it was a good day to rest. I’m honestly not sure I even got out of my pajamas, and neither did my daughter. Yep, that’s just how lazy we were. This Skinny Chicken Alfredo Dip was a perfect rainy day snacky sort of dinner.

Like I said, we were being uber lazy. So cheesy chicken dip for dinner just sounded like it fit. No guilt here though! This Alfredo dip is just about as guilt-free as an Alfredo anything can be. It’s low-carb, delicious, and actually surprisingly easy to make - even from scratch!…