Healthy Macaroni & Cheese

January 25, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I've been working on this top secret recipe right here for a while now. And I say that it's top secret because if my little girl knew what was in it, she would instantly turn her nose up at it. I've made a handful of mac-and-cheese recipes in the past. Some were good. Others were terrible. None of them were what I could consider a viable option to really sneak past my six year old and pass off as plain jane macaroni and cheese.

Like I said, it's been a work in progress. That is... until today. (Well, actually it was last week that I had the initial success and knew that the recipe was ready to share.) Today I got my little mac-and-cheese aficionado to eat her macaroni and a good heaping serving of vegetables hidden along inside it. Don't worry though, this mac-and-cheese is so creamy rich and perfectly saucy that you will never guess there's veggies tucked away in it.

Sneaky, sneaky, mac-and-cheesy!...

Broccoli & Butternut Squash Omelettata

January 6, 2017 Amanda Plott

Brrrr! It's freezing here in Austin today. No, like... literally it is. I needed an excuse to turn the oven on since that always helps warm the house up and I sure enough found that excuse when trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself for breakfast. I remembered that I had gotten these wonderful farm fresh eggs and local produce yesterday and just knew they would fit the bill.

So, I kicked on my oven and got to work.

I've made an omelettata before, but it's been a while. Almost a year to the day actually! It's pretty funny how things work out sometimes...

5 Ingredient Thai Butternut Squash Soup (Crock Pot)

March 25, 2016 Amanda Plott

So about a week ago I got my hands on the biggest butternut squash that I've ever seen in my life. The best part about it was that it was from a local Texas farm, which you know I'm all about. I had already used the squash in two previous meals this week and was racking my brain to come up with a third and final use so that I could get it all eaten up before the weekend. Because, you know, there is a lot of Easter happenings and I couldn't let this beauty go to waste.

This smooth and creamy thai butternut squash was the perfect was to use up my mammoth of a squash. And what's better is that it is super simple to make since there is little prep work with only 5 ingredients, and the crock pot will do all of the cooking for you...

Corned Beef Breakfast Hash

March 18, 2016 Amanda Plott

Now that St. Patricks day is over, the big question is... what do you do with all that leftover corned beef? Well, here is one of my favorite breakfast ideas that will use up that salty beef goodness while also soaking up some of the party from the night before.

There is more than one reason to stay away from the green beer!

This breakfast hash is quick to cook up and gives you all that needed carbs and protein to get over any amount of Irish celebrations. It's definitely a hearty and filling dish that couldn't be any more perfect as a post St. Patty's Day breakfast or brunch...

Chickpea, Butternut Squash & Green Pea Curry

September 11, 2015 Amanda Plott

I've had this love-hate relationship with curry lately. I made a new vegetarian version of it a few weeks ago and it turned out great. I then made it again about a week ago and it was horrible. So, I went back to the drawing board.

I wanted to keep this version of curry somewhere between summer and fall with flavors and vegetables blending over from both seasons. So, I decided to use fresh green peas and spinach as an ode to summer, while the butternut squash was my fall inspiration.

This curry is full of flavor, but not very spicy if you ask me. The sweetness of the peas and butternut squash naturally tone down the spicy kick of the curry. So, if you're not one for hot and spicy things, this curry is right up your alley!...

Skinny Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup

May 28, 2015 Amanda Plott

Oh, man - I've survived the great storm and flood of 2015 here in Austin! Not everyone was as fortunate as us. We had a 6+ hour power outage, multiple trees blown over, and several fences that were ripped apart by 70 mph straight-line winds here in my immediate neighborhood. At one point many places were evacuated to ground level central rooms, and I was ready to jump into the closet under my stairs with my grandmother and daughter at a seconds notice when we were under a tornado warning. Scary stuff!

Our wonderful lake is thriving off all the recent rain, which is one great thing that has come out of all this crazy weather here lately; going up from 37% full to 63% full!

Of course, as I was watching the weather on the news during the most recent storm, I was taking my mind off things as best I could by cooking. What goes better with a stormy day than a nice warm bowl of soup?...