Black Bean & Squash Enchiladas

August 31, 2016 Amanda Plott

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Veetee Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own.

've been wanting to make some red sauce enchiladas again for a while now since it's been such a long time since the last ones. Enchiladas have always been one of my favorite Tex-Mex things to eat, though more often than not they are a guilty pleasure from a restaurant. For whatever reason, the last few batches I've made have all been with a verde sauce, so I wanted to get back to the basic today.

While my little brother is staying with me, I've made it my mission to put him to good use with being my guinea pig with a lot of vegetarian dishes. He was a vegetarian a couple years ago, so I figure if anyone has experience with a good vegetarian dish, it's him. I always want meatless dishes to be filling and not feel like their missing something; as some vegetarian dishes tend to...

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 Hoppin' John (Crock Pot)

January 2, 2016 Amanda Plott

Here in the south, black-eyed peas are a staple when bringing in the New Year. Funny enough, my mother was actually telling me the story this morning of how black-eyed peas became known in the south as a symbol of 'good luck'. Apparently though, there's a lot of stories out there that tie black-eyed peas and luck to one another.

No matter the actual and factual truth, having black-eyed peas on New Year's day has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Seriously, my mom wouldn't let us go to bed on New Year's day until we had at least one spoonful of what were then plain old canned black-eyed peas.

Thankfully, as soon as cooking came into my life our take on black-eyed peas changed. It sort of became my mission around New Year's to create better-for-you and delicious ways to enjoy black-eyed peas...

Cuban Black Beans (Crock Pot)

December 12, 2015 Amanda Plott

I was trying to use up some of the odd-and-end things that I had leftover in the kitchen this week (mostly to start making room for Christmas foods), and one of the ways that I like to do that is with a nice pot of homemade beans.

Black beans are one of out family favorites, in fact for several years there it was one of the only sources of protein that I could manage to get my little girl to eat. She was basically a vegan for the first four years of her life, by her own choice of course. She's always had a pretty sensitive palette, especially when it comes to spice, so I'll blame it on that.

Beans have always been in her 'safe zone' so, I've made myself rather familiar with making beans in my crock pot over the years. I've found that beans are one of my favorite and most versatile ingredients...

Mediterranean Olive Salad

July 15, 2015 Amanda Plott

Thank you California Ripe Olives for sponsoring this post. Click here to enter the California Ripe Olives Facebook sweepstakes for a chance to win a Midsummer Mediterranean prize package!

As a health food blogger, I like to stay in the know about all the different diets and ways of eating that are currently being circulated. One of the ones that's become quite popular over the past few years has been the Mediterranean Diet.

The Mediterranean Diet is pretty simple and incorporates the basics of healthy eating; including fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, and limited unhealthy fats. Any way of eating that allows for olive oil and a few glasses of wine is a bonus in my eyes.

The basis of the Mediterranean Diet is eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Replacing butter with healthy fats, such as olive oil. Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor your foods. Limiting red meat and eating fish and poultry at least two times a week. Plus, red wine in moderation!

All of these things are pretty much how we eat in my house on a day to day basis...

Pumpkin & Black Bean Soup

September 24, 2014 Amanda Plott

I'm putting pumpkin in everything while I can since it's 'seasonable' for the next couple of months. I love fall for many reasons, but pumpkin has to be pretty close to the top of the list! In my opinion, there just isn't too much that you can't put pumpkin in; drinks, desserts, entrees... You name it, and I've probably already thought of a way to put pumpkin in it, if I haven't already put pumpkin in it before - that is!

This pumpkin soup is pretty great. I'd compare the consistency of it to a creamy tomato soup. In fact, it's color and texture are pretty much the same too but a lot more soft and calm with it's flavors since tomato soup has the zing of acidity....