Cranberry Orange Pecan Salad

December 10, 2022 Amanda Plott

Winter means don’t always have to be warm and hearty. Sometimes (like when it’s 80 degrees out in December) you just need something cool and light to enjoy. That’s where I’m at right now. This Cranberry Orange Pecan Salad takes the flavors of winter and puts them into salad form so that you get the best of both worlds.

For being a super flavorful, this salad is made with just a few ingredients and you can even make it ahead of time ‘salad jar’ style if you leave the dressing separate until you’re ready to enjoy. The dressing is good stuff too. I tried to get plenty of orange goodness in there to play well with the sweet of the dried cranberries and the sharp of the feta cheese…

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…

Jalapeño Cheddar Bread Machine Bread

August 5, 2022 Amanda Plott

It’s H.O.T. Hot. It’s the long stretch here at the end of Summer and I can’t wait to get to the other end of it when we hopefully roll into the cooler weather of Fall. With it being the heat of the Summer, I’m still in avoiding-the-oven mode for the most part. But, that being said, I haven’t made any fresh homemade bread in a while and my bread machine was starting to collect dust. We can’t have that!

So I busted my bread machine out and decided to make a savory flavorful bread to have on hand for lunches this week. This Jalapeño Cheddar Bread Machine Bread is super easy to make since the bread machine does literally almost all of the work for you. The mixing, the kneading, the baking - yep… all of it…

Artichoke Salad

July 24, 2022 Amanda Plott

I was looking for something light and bright, and that didn’t involve the stove, for dinner and maybe even lunch this week. This Artichoke Salad has some big Mediterranean vibes and it really is so simple and delicious to make. It also ends up being gluten free and vegetarian too! One of the best parts is, that this salad can be made ahead of time, and any leftovers make a great grab-and-go lunch.

This Artichoke Salad starts off with its namesake - artichokes. It’s then got loads of other tasty bits like roasted red bell, tomatoes, and garbanzo beans. It can be served as part of a main meal or even as a side. I decided to serve mine over some baby spinach and baby kale and topped it all off with a few pieces of shaved parmesan…