Italian Couscous Salad

February 21, 2019 Amanda Plott

This Italian Couscous Salad is as quick and easy as a ‘pasta’ salad can come. With a few chops here, some dices there, a good hefty few stirs and a little while in the fridge, this salad is ready to go and full of flavor! It’s pretty loaded with fun bits too such as salami, fresh mozzarella, basil, olives, and plenty of Italian veggies.

I’d like to think that it’s sort of a fun twist on Antipasto. It’s light, it’s pasta based, and it’s served cold. While usually it’s as a side, I’ve enjoyed eating this for lunch with a hard-boiled egg on the side. But it would also be great served as a side at dinner. Say… paired with a pesto marinated grilled chicken breast…

Instant Pot Chicken Caldo

December 1, 2018 Amanda Plott

Well, it’s still barely winter here in Texas. Though it is about as winter as it’s likely to get here outside of a couple more cold fronts and a freeze or two. Even so! We’re in the throes of soup season and I wanted to make some more soup, DANG IT.

Caldo is one of the most simple soups out there. It’s a Mexican style soup that’s very brothy and full of several different kinds of vegetables. You will probably find it on any good Mexican restaurant’s menu, whether it’s beef or chicken. The way that I know that? My little brother used to order it all the time when we were younger. It was always one of his MOST favorite things…

Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomato Crustless Quiche

November 25, 2018 Amanda Plott

When in doubt… make a quiche!

This morning I woke up to a rather quiet house after FINALLY managing to get a decent bit of sleep last night. The excitement around the holidays, along with all the coming and going from my house, usually means several restless nights for me. Now with Turkey Day out of the way, I’m ready to get back into a routine for a few weeks.

My fridge once again has space in it and leftovers have all cleared out but now. With a few extra hungry mouths this morning, I started to panic as I rummaged through the pantry, fridge, and freezer for something breakfasty. FAIL. All I had was pieces and parts. Leftover pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, eggs, bacon, cheese… hah! These are the makings for a great quiche!…

Farmers' Market Cornbread

October 20, 2018 Amanda Plott

While it’s chilly here in Texas, you better believe that I’m taking FULL advantage of it. Which is why tonight I’m making a special sort of soup tonight and this awesome Farmers’ Market Cornbread to go along with it!

I based this cornbread off of my Baked Hush Puppies, which made use of a very clever and quick hack for making cornbread things. It’s basically mixing a self-rising cornmeal, creamed corn, and just few other things together to make a one bowl easy-peasy cornbread…

Sailor Stew

October 7, 2018 Amanda Plott

I’ve made this stew a couple of times before, and mostly just for testing purposes. Sometimes it takes more than one run to get these things just right. But, I can honestly say that I haven’t minded the process with this one!

The first time I made it, I did so in the Instant Pot. It turned out well enough, but I really wanted this to be a stew that everyone could cook. Not just those with a pressure cooker. I also ended up adding in some potatoes and carrots to make this a more veggie-ful dish. Those veggies, along with the beans in there, really makes this a hearty meal all on it’s own…

Quarter Pounder Burger Salad (Sponsored)

August 27, 2018 Amanda Plott

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

I tell you, summer is not going to go down without a fight this year. It's been well over 100 degrees here in Austin, Texas and so far we're still hovering in the upper 90's and often with a heat index of 106+ - yikes! It's hot, but nothing is quite as hot as this Quarter Pounder Burger Salad.

Let's face it, we all know what a 'quarter pounder' is. We don't even need to add the 'burger' part to that phrase and we'll all understand what's being spoken about. A quarter pound patty that's got lettuce, tomato, pickles, maybe some onion, and of course special sauce!

While it's unimaginably hot outside and football season is officially kicked off, I decided the best thing to do was to cool off with a nice hearty salad ahead of any big game tailgating (or homegating.)…