Healthified Crock Pot Kalua Pork

June 29, 2017 Amanda Plott

Summer time around here (especially July) is when my mom always likes to throw a mostly annual luau. Unfortunately, she hasn't really been able to do that for the past couple of years, just because they had moved about an hour further away from me and well... all of their friends basically too. Either way, this is one of our family favorite recipes for these such luaus! And with it being nearly July, I thought it would be a great time to update this Kalua Pork with a bit of a facelift.

So, what do you do in Hawaii? You go to a luau. What do they serve at a luau? Kalua pork.

Kalua (as not to be confused with Kahlua) is a traditional way of cooking pork in Hawaii. The word kalua actually translates to 'to cook in an underground oven'. While they use something in Hawaii called an imu for this process, I don't readily have one of those at my disposal... so I used the next best thing. My slow cooker!...

Parmesan Pork Chop Sheet Pan Dinner (Sponsored)

April 17, 2017 Amanda Plott

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AllNaturalPork #CollectiveBias

I don't know about the rest of you, but my life is still in chaos with Easter now being over and the summer fast approaching. Sometimes all I can do is a quick throw-together dinner that's in, out and done. That's why lately, I've been really geared towards 'sheet pan' dinners. The idea of a sheet pan dinner is simple, you toss dinner onto a sheet pan and bake it in the oven until it's one. No fuss. No Mess. One pan dinner.

Now that's what I'm taking about.

This Parmesan Pork Chop Sheet Pan Dinner couldn't be any more easy to prepare (really you're just chopping up veggies here.) Nor could it be any quicker to cook with merely 30-45 minutes of bake time. It's absolutely perfect for those busy weeknights!...

Crock Pot Honey Cajun Pork Tenderloin

February 28, 2017 Amanda Plott

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whole Earth Sweetener Co. All opinions are 100% mine.

Happy Mardi Gras y'all! To celebrate this super special and festive holiday, I cooked up this tasty Crock Pot Honey Cajun Pork Tenderloin. It's full of cajun spices, flavors, and love; the latter of which is a huge part of southern cooking. I should know. I'm a Texan. Another thing I know that Texas and New Orleans has in common is our love of all things spicy when it comes to our food. The more heat, the better.

Don't worry though, I kept this pork tenderloin on the more mild side while also being easily adjustable for those that crave a more in-depth heat. You know, the sort that makes you start to sweat and clears your sinus. I've got you all covered, from one end of the spectrum to the other...

Crock Pot Mojo Pork + Y-USA Food Desert Challenge

July 25, 2016 Amanda Plott

This post was sponsored by Y-USA as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.

It's time to get serious for a minute, folks! When I was in high school my family came in on some pretty rough times and there were some scary moments when my mom even admitted to me that she 'didn't know what she was going to put on the table'. Life was hard and things were a struggle, but we made it through together as a family and were much stronger when we came out the other side because of it.

I learned a great deal from my experiences during those high school years. I'm definitely more mindful and knowledgeable about certain things in life; money and food being two of them. Let's just say that my brother and I can rock the socks off cooking ramen noodles.

Money comes and goes and there is nothing that is guaranteed. So when I was approached to take the Good Desert Challenge, it was something that I just knew I had to do.

Over the summer break, families welcome fun-in-the-sun and BBQ, but for those families who rely on school meal programs to ensure their kids eat three square meals a day, it can prove challenging...

Southwest Grilled Pork Tenderloin Salad

July 13, 2016 Amanda Plott

I've been challenged again this year! They say that the best cooks know how to utilize any ingredients placed in front of them. I'd like to think that my handy skills with creating 'pantry' meals from my kitchen aids me in this.

Today I put my chops to the test in this Chopped At Home Challenge with Sargento®! My goal was to create a recipe within the theme of 'grilling' using all of the secret “basket” ingredients; pork tenderloin, cherry/grape tomatoes, broccoli, and Sargento Chef Blends 4 State Cheddar. Of course, looking at the last three ingredients my mind instantly went to a chef or cobb salad. But, what to do with the pork? Being from Texas, my first thought was grilled pork with a spicy seasoned kick. The spice is what kicked this off into a twist on a southwest salad...

Healthified Cuban Sliders (Sponsored)

April 14, 2016 Amanda Plott

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RealFlavorRealFast #CollectiveBias

This past week was a whirl wind of fun and now with my post birthday party exhaustion, I decided that it was time to focus on a quick and easy 30 minutes meal and creating Real Flavor Real Fast. There isn't much that more real or fast than a sandwich, but I wanted to of course put my better-for-you twist on it.

Enter this Healthified Cuban Slider. I've taken the traditional Cuban sandwich and turned it into a slider while also making a few more health conscious swaps. These little sliders are perfect for a quick meal that requires little effort and no prep. work in the kitchen!...