Instant Pot Asian Sweet Chili Chicken

September 20, 2017 Amanda Plott

If you haven't yet jumped onto the pressure cooker band wagon, you definitely should as soon as you can! I got mine back for my birthday and I haven't looked back. One of the things that I love the most about it is that it's multi-functional as a pressure cooker, crock pot, and even for a quick sauté. This makes it the perfect 'one pot' meal maker.

For a few weeks now, I've been working on perfecting this Asian Sweet Chili Chicken recipe. The first time I made it - it was really good. But, it wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. So, with a few more tweaks I gave it another go or two until I had it on point...

Instant Pot Ramen

July 20, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I finally got a pressure cooker for my birthday this year! I've only wanted one for about 5 years now, hah. I've had so much fun playing around with it and learning how to use it. And I gotta say, I'm super impressed and can totally see what all the hype is about! So far, I've made a lot of really yummy stuff in it that would normally take me several hours to make in a slow cooker.

My little blonde mind is blown, y'all! How in the world does this contraption manage to cook things so quickly?!...

Mermaid Noodle Salad

July 5, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I've decided that this week on the blog is going to be all about... drumroll please... Mermaids! Ta-da! That's right. It's going to be a week full of mermaid inspired dishes; eats and treats alike. This Mermaid Noodle Salad is an old family favorite that originated in one of my daughter's cook books, but has been tweaked and adjusted so much that it's a whole new recipe by now.

After carefully transcribing all of my notes on it in the cookbook, I finally settled on the perfect end result. One thing that I love most about this noodle salad is that you can serve it hot or cold. Being as it's the middle of summer here in Texas though... I'm naturally opting for a cold noodle dish myself. However, if you still feel like being a mermaid in the winter months, feel free to enjoy it warm! Just serve it right away instead of giving it an hour+ of chill time...

Skinny (2 Ingredient) Cream Cheese Rangoon

December 13, 2016 Amanda Plott

This year, we'll be doing things a little different for Christmas. Instead of our usual mass of cooking, we'll be heading out to enjoy some Asian cuisine on Christmas day. Of course, you know I'm always inspired by the goings-on around me and today is no different. With Asian food on my mind I decided that it was high time for some Cream Cheese Rangoon.

I know, I know... Generally you'll find some sort of meat inside of a rangoon, however... I'm not too big on seafood. So, I always make mine with tofu cream cheese. Sounds interesting, right? Tofu. Cream cheese. Trust me, this stuff is amazing. It looks, tastes, and feels just like traditional cream cheese (but with a lot less calories and obviously dairy free!) so I'm often using it in place of standard cream cheese. Especially if it's involving anything with an Asian flare...

Steamed Vegetable Dumplings

April 16, 2016 Amanda Plott

I've been debating buying a bamboo steamer for a good long while now since I've been in full on wonton mode, and there isn't any better (or healthy) way to make potstickers or dumplings other than by steaming them. Needless to say, I finally broke down and got the steamer. I love it too because I can use it to steam other things too, not just dumplings.

I need something for steaming tamales too! So this was a good excuse to cover all my steaming bases.

The first thing I wanted to make with my bamboo steamer was some perfectly easy vegetable dumplings. These dumplings seriously couldn't be more easy to put together, and I'd like to think that after sealing up my fair share of wontons lately that I've become a lot more proficient with it...

Crispy Tofu & Roasted Vegetable Buddha Bowl

April 5, 2016 Amanda Plott

It's National Soy Foods Month, and I couldn't be more excited. I've been working pretty hard lately to try and meet a more plant based diet. So to celebrate, I've created a perfectly light and flavorful plant powered Buddha bowl!

This Buddha bowl (or Hippie Bowl) has a base of purple cabbage, it's layered on top with roasted vegetables (brussels sprouts, butternut squash, and edamame) and crispy tofu fries that were paired with a perfectly spiced Skinny Sriracha Aioli - perfect for dipping! It's easy to make too! With just two baking sheets and the oven doing almost all of the work for you...