Skinny 'Homer Simpson' Donuts

November 3, 2018 Amanda Plott

What can I say? I’m inspired by a lot of things in life. Growing up through the 90’s meant a lot of watching The Simpsons. And anytime you watch the show, there’s like a scene with Homer eating a donut. The Simpson donuts are a classic vanilla donut with pink frosting. So, I took one of my old favorite recipes and reworked it into this riff on Skinny 'Homer Simpson' Donuts!

Needless to say, the house smelled heavenly this morning. It’s been a good bit of time since I baked any donuts. So my little girl was tickled pink when she got her heart-shaped donut fix this morning. Even though I don’t think that she fully appreciated that they were ‘Simpson’ donuts…

Whole Wheat Cheddar & Chive Zucchini Bread

October 13, 2018 Amanda Plott

Once upon a time, I had a bread maker. I used it pretty often, but eventually it gave out and started to give me fits. So. The era of fresh homemade bread in my house ceased since, as I’ve said before, baking tends to scare me. Alas… with Fall in full effect and Winter just around the corner, I thought… I’d try my hand.

Before, when I used my bread maker, I stuck to the basics. I never ventured out into the world of flavored breads. Not really anyway. Over the past couple of years though, I started to enjoy the homemade bread from ‘the bread man’ at our local Farmer’s Market. It was a game changer…

Healthified Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

September 17, 2018 Amanda Plott

It’s no secret that Halloween my favorite holiday and I always like to do something a little special for it. My little girl is quite a pancake fiend. I would venture guess that she eats pancakes for breakfast just about every other morning. Except for Saturday; that is 'donut' day around here.

At any rate, with all the great pumpkin flavors going around this time of year, I thought it would be a great time to make a healthier pumpkin pancake!

No matter your age or pancake preference, these whole wheat pumpkin pancakes are a great way to start off any Fall morning! They are really easy to mix up and cook. Plus, they taste amazing with just a subtle hint of pumpkin and spice in there…

Strawberries & Cream Monkey Bread

September 3, 2018 Amanda Plott

What a weekend! It was a mix of fun, excitement, and even some drama - to say the least. While my house was a little more than full, It was FULL of people that I love and adore. And when I love and adore you, I feed you. That's why I decided to press on with making this Strawberries & Cream Monkey Bread for breakfast one morning.

I based this monkey bread off of one that I had made before, with just a few simple adjustments to use up the last bits of fresh strawberries in the season. To say that this sweet treat is delicious, would be a sad understatement! It's loaded with strawberries and sweet ooey-gooey goodness among every nook and cranny…

Healthified Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

August 21, 2018 Amanda Plott

This is my healthier take on an old classic comfort food. I think the very first time that I had chicken and dumplings was at my grandmother's house with my dad when I was pretty young... elementary school still, I'm sure.

She cooked the soup up on the stove for a few hours and then tossed the raw dough into the pot. I thought she was crazy at the time, but after my first bite... I was in love.

Years later when I first started cooking, I dabbled with the infamous chicken and dumplings in the crock pot using canned condensed soups and biscuit dough. I'll be the first to admit that it was delicious, but a huuuge guilty pleasure! Full of preservatives and nothing good for you. Bleh!...

Healthy Macaroni & Cheese

January 25, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I've been working on this top secret recipe right here for a while now. And I say that it's top secret because if my little girl knew what was in it, she would instantly turn her nose up at it. I've made a handful of mac-and-cheese recipes in the past. Some were good. Others were terrible. None of them were what I could consider a viable option to really sneak past my six year old and pass off as plain jane macaroni and cheese.

Like I said, it's been a work in progress. That is... until today. (Well, actually it was last week that I had the initial success and knew that the recipe was ready to share.) Today I got my little mac-and-cheese aficionado to eat her macaroni and a good heaping serving of vegetables hidden along inside it. Don't worry though, this mac-and-cheese is so creamy rich and perfectly saucy that you will never guess there's veggies tucked away in it.

Sneaky, sneaky, mac-and-cheesy!...