Healthified Jarlsberger

June 30, 2015 Amanda Plott

What's a Jarlsberger? It's basically an all American burger that's covered with a delicious melted slice of Jarlsberg® cheese! I've take this traditional burger and made it more my own by adding in some sneaky vegetables and some seasoning to the lean meat; making it all the more guilt free for your grill and you this summer.

Trust me, you won't even know the vegetables are there, and neither will anyone else for that matter! Adding veggies to my burger meat has been something that I've been doing for all of my cooking-life. It's one of my secret weapons for making a good moist burger, even when using poultry or a lean meat!

As an added bonus to a good juicy burger, you get the keen knowledge that you just got some wholesome vegetables into your friends and family...

Healthified Spicy & Smoky Tomato Soup

June 28, 2015 Amanda Plott

It's sweltering here right now. I'm not quite sure how I've made it past the brutal Texas summers in the past, since this year is mild so far by comparison. Usually by now we're well into the 100's for many days in a row and you could literally fry and egg on the concrete. Even so, it's hot out. 90+ degrees lately and all the humidity you can stand. We actually had 100% humidity the other day. I think I'm officially growing gills this year due to the rains and humidity together.

Gills or no gills, I've officially banned the stove until late August or Early October.

Okay, okay, except for another birthday/party or two that I'll be making desserts for.

While the oven is out of commission until cooler weather arrives, my stove top, grill and crock pots have their work cut out for them. Even though it summer, I was really in the mood for some tomato soup; so I went to work coming up with a summer inspired variation of a winter staple in my home...

Skinny Chicken Parmesan Casserole (Sponsored)

June 23, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #GetSaucy #CollectiveBias

I love Chicken Parmesan, and since I'm always trying to come up with new and innovative ways to put my spin on old classics, I decided to make a Skinny Chicken Parmesan Casserole! I wanted this dish to be light, easy (with only a handful of ingredients), and super delicious.

This is one of those great weeknight meals that you can pull together easily. Almost all of the ingredients are pantry staples in nearly every house. Such a simple and honest dish got rave reviews from the household. Full bellies and a clear conscience is what it's all about!

One of the biggest bonuses was that I was able to cook this one dish meal in just 30 minutes, with the oven being on only minimally in this warm Texas summer heat!...

California Chicken & Vegetable Bowl (With Green Goddess Dressing)

June 22, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, Birds Eye®, and Tyson® but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #FastFreshFilling http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

The heat of Texas summer is upon me! The last couple of weeks I've been doing everything possible to use my oven as little as I can manage. It's amazing the difference that just a few minutes of the oven being on can make when it's above 90 degrees outside. So, I'm starting to get really creative with creating tasty and easy meals during the busy and rather hot days of summer without having to give up nutrition in the process.

I was wanting something fresh and light that also involved avocado, and then I remembered this Green Goddess dressing that I made a few months back that I was absolutely in love with. So, I decided I wanted to make use of it again in this California style Chicken & Vegetable bowl. Perfect!

The only change that I made to the dressing this time was around was using some fresh basil in placed of the thyme or tarragon that I had used before. Fresh basil just screams summer to me...

Skinny 'Fried' Green Tomato BLT

June 18, 2015 Amanda Plott

I know, I've been talking a lot lately about my local produce box that I've been getting weekly. But, I just have so much fun with it. I get a lot of fresh ingredients that I normally wouldn't think to cook with, so it really stretches my cooking muscles and pushes me outside my usual box.

This week I got some lovely green tomatoes. Green tomatoes? What's that? Basically it's an unripe tomato. Nothing fancy here. They are firmer and more tart than their ripened brethren. They are definitely one of those simple things that you just can't seem to find at the grocery store often (if ever at all.) Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get my hands on these green beauties finally!

Now, what do you do with unripe tomatoes? Well, in the south... we fry them. Since I don't like to fry anything though, I'm doing a lighter take on that. After all, I've made Faux Fried Tomatoes before; a great starting point...

Skinny Summer Breakfast Parfait

June 16, 2015 Amanda Plott

I love a good parfait, especially for breakfast! Parfaits are the perfect summer time breakfast. Why? Because you don't have to heat up or cook anything, which is a pretty big deal here in the southern states when we start pushing 100 degrees. Every little thing will set off that expensive air conditioner bill. Yikes! Let's not do that...

This beautiful little breakfast is the perfect way to start off your day; keeping you full, satisfied, and so happy! I mean just look at all those fun bright colors. How could you not get a smile on your face with eating that rainbow?...