Crock Pot Irish Beef Stew & Cheddar Herb Dumplings

March 11, 2015 Amanda Plott

I'm an Irish girl, what can I say? If I can find an excuse to cook with bourbon and beer, I'll find it! The idea for this dish actually came from my love of St. Patrick's Day and also my love of these Healthified Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings, which I made a bit over a year ago and many many times since then.

I basically took the same structure of the Chicken & Dumpling recipe and made it into a hearty Irish inspired Beef & Dumpling recipe instead. This stew is packed full of bold flavor and lots and lots of chunky beef and vegetables. I promise, you won't feel like you're eating anything healthified, but you are. It's definitely a meal in a bowl.

Who knew that Beef & Dumplings would just as awesome as Chicken & Dumplings?

I wasn't sure this would work out, but in the end I'm extremely happy that I tempted the fates with this one...

Skinny Broccoli Cheese Soup

December 17, 2014 Amanda Plott

I gotta say, I'm a sucker for cheese! And I'm not cheese picky either, oh no-no. I will eat just about any kind of cheese that is out there. Blue, pink, soft, hard, sweet, sharp... You name it, I'll probably try it if I haven't already!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I'm weak for cheese. So what's a girl to do about this known weakness? Certainly not cut cheese out of my life. I mean... that's just cruel and unusual punishment.

Nope! This girl needs her cheese fix. So, instead I'll opt to pack as much veggies in with my cheese as I can and do a little Jedi mind trickery on myself.

This is -not- the cheese that you want... but, this is!...

Healthified Homemade Ramen

December 1, 2014 Amanda Plott

Okay, okay... so we all know what Ramen noodles are. Guilty as charged! I think that I almost survived in college off of Ramen, microwave burritos, pizza bites and hot pockets. And please... don't ask me about my colored ketchup phase.

Several months back now, my mom was going through (I mean... raiding) my pantry as she usually does when she comes over. She happened to stumble upon a single package of reduced sodium chicken flavored Ramen that I had in there. I was in the process of turning over the stuff in my emergency food preparation packs that I keep on hand just in case of power outage or... you know... Z-Day (haha.) Anyway, my mom immediately started to bust my chops. Hard.

'I would have never thought I'd see RAMEN NOODLES in YOUR pantry AMANDA. HAHA. Sooo healthy!' - My mom...

Skinny B.L.T. Soup

November 25, 2014 Amanda Plott

I'm busy in the kitchen this week as I prepare for Thanksgiving so... I needed something super simple to make myself for lunch that I could then enjoy for a few days after the one preparation. I've been craving a nice BLT sandwich lately, but I'm also trying to stay away from gluten a little bit too. So, with bread out of mind (and BLT Lettuce Wraps already done), I started to think about how else I could enjoy the flavors of a BLT in a different form. Ta-da! BLT soup.

This soup is pretty amazing. When topped with the shredded lettuce, the greens wilt just enough to soften but still retain a bit of texture; adding another dimension to an otherwise rather smooth soup. And of course, the bacon adds all the awesome. How can you go wrong with anything involving bacon? You can't!...

Crock Pot Pork Chile Verde

November 20, 2014 Amanda Plott

I had some leftover tamales that I stored in my freezer a week or so ago, and I was wanting something warm to pair them with that wasn't chili. I'm a little burned out on beans lately. Gasp! No, no. Just meat and vegetables here. Somewhere in the midst of racking my brain, I remembered this Mexican style stew that they serve up at one of the favorite local Mexican places here in Austin. Pork green chile verde.

The name is debatable. It's called 'green chile verde' because it's made with green chiles. Not because it comes out green in the end result. Generally, pork chile verde is a slow simmered pork that's stewed in hatch green chiles...

Healthified Hangover Soup

October 13, 2014 Amanda Plott

I'm getting things ready around here to go on a trip this weekend to the Texas Renaissance Festival. Yes, I'm one of those women that dresses up in a tightly bound corset and faerie wings. Any excuse to play dress up... is a good excuse! Not only am I going to the Masquerade Ball this year, I'll also be going to the King's Feast for the very first time. At both events, you're served a plentiful bounty of food and either beer or wine.

Bring it on. I take no shame in the fact that I like my vino.

At any rate, I'm making this soup this week in honor of my galavanting to take place this weekend... even though I am hoping that I don't actually end up with a hangover. It'd be the first time in a few years, I think!...