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…

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

March 5, 2018 Amanda Plott

With the schedule around my house changing up a bit recently, I've had to make some adjustments to when and how I cook. So, I've been cooking a lot less and mostly just for myself since my little one is still a rather picky eater and lately dinner time is our mommy-daughter time.

That being said, dinner time for me has included quicker, easier dishes that are either meal prepped or a one and done toss together sort of salad. Most recently I've had a stockpile of leftover feta in my fridge that needed to be used up, which for me always means it's time for a Greek/Mediterranean style salad!...

Roasted Beet Hummus

February 11, 2018 Amanda Plott

There isn't much that's prettier than this hummus right here. I mean... look at it. It's perfectly gorgeous. Roasted beets make for the beautiful fuschia pink hue in this hummus that is sure stand out any time of year but especially around Valentine's Day.

Hummus is super easy to make, and it will save you a ton of money to make yourself too! Plus, you have complete control over what goes into it. And let's face it... It's just fun to eat pretty stuff. You eat with your eyes first...

Avocado Chickpea Feta Salad

July 13, 2017 Amanda Plott

Who doesn't love a good cool avocado dish on a hot HOT summer day? Okay, you caught me. I'm not going to lie. I love avocados year round, but there's just something about them during the summer that just brings even more joy and rapture to my soul.

This 'salad' is being called a salad because it sort of reminds me of what a vegetarian style 'chicken salad'. It's loaded up with plenty of avocado and summer flavors that bring a perfectly fresh and refreshing bite, and I've been looking for a good reason to use chickpeas again since they're one of my personal favorites...

Roasted Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad with Pesto

March 9, 2017 Amanda Plott

It's this wonderful time of year where I'm starting to see more and more fresh 'spring' vegetables coming into the produce department; which always excites me. Especially when there's still plenty of winter squash to be had. I love to take seasonal produce and mix them together as the seasons start to turn from one to another. It always gives you something interesting and exciting.

This Roasted Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad is the perfect blend of winter and spring coming together for a wonderful bite. The butternut squash is what's coming in here from winter, while the pesto and fresh baby spinach and pop of lemon are a sure sign of spring approaching...

White Bean Avocado Dip

September 28, 2016 Amanda Plott

Thank you to Graze for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.

I'm a little bit of an avocado fiend. Okay, so... a lot of an avocado fiend. I could easily go through a whole avocado every day and completely all on my own. So when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with these Super Beet Chips, I figured it just had to be something with avocado and it needed to be a dip.

This White Bean Avocado Dip is super easy to make, full of flavor, and is the perfect dipper companion. It's somewhere between a guacamole (with it's Mexican inspired flavors of lime and cilantro) and a hummus (with garbanzo beans being my bean of choice.) The best of both worlds, if you ask me...