Cheesy Tamale Sauce

April 8, 2023 Amanda Plott

I was cleaning out my freezer the other day when I found that my mom had stashed some tamales in there from Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s hard to say which. Either way, I was trying to think of what to do with them outside of my usual go-to which is to serve them with a bowl of chili. Then I started to think about how they serve them at restaurants - which is generally as a main and not a side dish.

Enter this Cheesy Tamale Sauce! It’s easy. It’s cheesy. And you’re going to want to make it for your tamales from now on. You might think this sauce is something like enchilada sauce, but it’s actually very different. It starts out with a roux and builds from there with broth, a lot of seasonings, and finally cheese!…

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

March 27, 2023 Amanda Plott

Yes, I'm a huge salad fan. I love all the veggies and different ways to dress up your leafy greens with one dressing or another. Plus, there's just something refreshing about indulging in a crisp cool salad when it's upwards of 80... 90... 100 degrees. Which we’ve already gone over 80 here!

So I guess what I'm saying is... be prepared for the montage of salad recipes that are sure to come this way through the next few months. Strawberry and spinach salad is actually one of my old favorites. I think it was one of the first salads that I ever had feta cheese on. It could even be when I fell in love with feta cheese…

Air Fryer Sopapillas

March 8, 2023 Amanda Plott

Everyone loves a good Sopapilla after some tasty Mexican food. And these Air Fryer Sopapillas are not only easy to make, they also only take a handful of ingredients and just a few minutes of cook time. Being as there’s only a handful ingredients, there really isn’t much you can do to make them much ‘better for you’.

Sometimes you just need to indulge just a little bit. But, even with that being said? You get four of these to a serving that’s well under two-hundred calories. Dust them in some cinnamon sugar and a little bit of hunny and you’ve got an amazing dessert!…

Skinny Antipasto Pasta Salad

March 5, 2023 Amanda Plott

I've been making Antipasto Pasta Salad for almost my entire adult life. It's one of those things that is readily asked for in the Spring and Summer in my house and everyone can find something about it at that they love!

The original idea for this pasta salad came some years ago back when I was in high school. There was a great italian restaurant that we used to go to on occasion that served something similar as an appetizer and we were all hooked on it…

Air Fryer S'mores

February 17, 2023 Amanda Plott

It’s true. You don’t need a campfire to make a s’more! You can make a s’more in the comfort of your home with the same basic ingredients and an air fryer. One of the best parts is that you can have several of them done at the same time with no fussing around with sticks! Being as s’mores only require a whopping three ingredients, there isn’t much to make better-for-you here outside of the chocolate and graham crackers.

I went with a low fat graham and you can definitely swap in some dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate here too. Outside of that? A s’more is a s’more…

Air Fryer Toasted Ravioli

February 11, 2023 Amanda Plott

These Air Fryer Toasted Ravioli are not only easy to make, but they’re pretty damn good too! I took some refrigerated raviolis that happened to be on theme this month, and I decided to see if air frying them would get the same effect as frying or toasting would. And it absolutely does! The ravioli turn out crisp on the outside and melty cheesy on the inside. Perfect for dipping and dunking into your favorite pasta sauce.

They can be served as a pain part of dinner or as a side, snack, or hot appetizer. I lightened them up by using a whole wheat bread crumb and of course by using the air fryer rather than deep frying. I found too, by seasoning the egg mixture rather than the crumb mixture you get a lot more even seasoning and the seasoning is locked in with the breadcrumbs!…