Chicken Faux Pho (Instant Pot)

July 31, 2018 Amanda Plott

For a good long while now I've heard nothing but good things about pho. And to be honest, I've never given it a try. My brother swears by it and about the time that my hair stylist said the same thing, I knew it was going to have to happen. So, when I was planning out my meals for the week, I decided that I was going to dive head first in and make a quick and easy version of pho.

...And let me just tell you... it's pho-king delicious.

This pho isn't what I would call traditional. It hasn't spent all day cooking down in it's broth, and the ingredients are pretty minimal. The most of what's going on here is spices and fresh veggies - which I am anything but mad at…

Garden Vegetable Soup

June 15, 2018 Amanda Plott

Last week it was 'ocean' week here in my house, and this week we're going with the theme of plants! In doing so, I decided to throw a LOT more veggies and vegetarian dishes into the mix this week. We always have a couple of vegetarian dishes every week, for health reasons, cutting the cost of food, and also because it just makes me feel better all around.

I could easily be a vegetarian. In fact, my daughter was basically a vegetarian of her own accord up until she was about 5 years old. Meat just wasn't something she was a fan of. And I can't say that I was far off from that myself with I was a little girl too.

Ready for a true side story about myself? My parents used to have to tell me that meat came from a meat tree when I was little to get me to eat it!…

Spring Chicken Soup

April 2, 2018 Amanda Plott

I may not be a spring chicken anymore, but this soup sure is! Just because it's Springtime, doesn't mean that we have to quit eating soup. Let's face it, sometimes you just want a good meal in a bowl to warm your soul, and that's what this soup is meant for! Even if it is warming up outside.

I'm going to hold onto Spring for as long as I can and go kicking and screaming into the hot blazes of another Texas summer. The, at least, 4 months of the year where my air conditioner is running constantly on full and the air outside is almost so hot that it burns your lungs when you breathe. Ughhh... No, thank you! I'll just sit here and enjoy the Spring weather while I can. Soak ever ounce of it up...

Asiago Roasted Garlic & Purple Cauliflower Soup

January 8, 2018 Amanda Plott

Colorful foods are where it's at and I've had my eye on colored cauliflower for a couple of years now. A lot of people think that colored cauliflower is made using food coloring, but they couldn't be more wrong! These rainbow cauliflowers are natural to nature and have been hanging around farmer's markets for a long time now.

And well... it finally happened. I got my hands on not only 1 color of cauliflower, but on 3 different colors; lime/green, orange/cheddar, and you guessed it - purple! The colored cauliflower doesn't really taste any different than a traditional head. The only real difference that I could find is that they're so freakin' gorgeous!...

Low-Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup (Keto Friendly)

December 18, 2017 Amanda Plott

It finally seems like the cool weather has settled here in Austin Texas. Cool weather. Not cold weather. I'll take anything below the 80's we had around Thanksgiving though, especially as we get closer and closer to Christmas. So, between the cool weather and a second round of what I've deemed 'the plague' descending on the house, I thought that a nice hearty warm soup would be just what the doctor ordered!

This has quickly turned into one of my new favorite soups, and let me just tell you that I'm pretty fond of soups. So, for me to say it's made the list of favorites... is a pretty big deal. It wasn't just me either. My mom (the sickest of us right now) got seconds, and my little brother who happened to be visiting me as well was mighty impressed...

Skinny Zuppa Toscana

October 24, 2017 Amanda Plott

Okay, so there really isn't enough good things that I can say about this soup. I actually made my first attempt at this soup a few years ago. Long before I originally posted it here. My in-laws were in town and I knew that this soup from a well-known restaurant happened to be one of my father-in-laws' favorites. Since he's a health-conscious individual such as myself, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at making a healthier version of it for him.

I hadn't had the soup before, so I couldn't say at the time if it was anything similar to the one that he was used to, but he did have a couple of bowls of it for dinner! Me? I was anything but a fan. Why? One word. Kale.

Yes, I've ranted on before about my strange love/hate relationship with kale. And, this is basically where the hate part of that started...