Skinny Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

January 6, 2020 Amanda Plott

The big game is coming up soon - less than a month away, and if you’re looking for a great dip to add to your game day spread, look no further. This Skinny Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip is a real winner. One of my favorite things about this hot dip is that it’s super quick and easy to make while being so damn good that no one will ever guess that it’s made to be a little better-for-you.

To lighten this dip up, I used some plain greek yogurt and reduced fat cheeses. The real powerhouses of flavor are the lemon and the spinach. So don’t skip out on that squeeze of lemon juice. The seasoning in there is important too. Garlic, crushed red pepper, and of course salt & pepper…

Unicorn Banana Bread

January 3, 2020 Amanda Plott

Usually, banana bread is banana bread is banana bread. But, being as I intend to make food a whole hell of a lot more fun and exciting this year, I decided to do what any mother does best. Add rainbows to the mix! This colorful twist on banana bread has lovingly been dubbed as Unicorn Banana Bread and it’s pretty easy to see why.

If you love banana bread, you’ll also love this Unicorn Banana Bread. Other than a few healthy swaps and the sprinkles added into the mix, this is a pretty standard banana bread. Lots of bananas, lots of whole wheat, and lots of color…

Kid-Friendly Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

December 31, 2019 Amanda Plott

And just like that, this is the last post of not only the this year, but of this decade!

I decided that with this being the last one of the decade, I thought I would take it a step further and make this recipe even more special by including my little mini-me in on it. I mean… she has two and a half weeks off from school and I need to entertain her somehow, so I put her to work making cookies and writing about it.

So, we sat down and planned out what exactly we’d make. She happened to a book on ‘kids cookies’ a few months back and so that’s where we started. Within the book there’s a recipe for some chocolate cut-out cookies, and that was our inspiration for today! These Kid-Friendly Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies are easy to make and require just a few ingredients, plus they end up tasting just like the cookie part of those famous sandwich cookies we all know and love. We definitely made a few easy substitutions to make these cookies just a little more healthy…

Southwest Chicken Soup (Instant Pot)

December 29, 2019 Amanda Plott

This Southwest Chicken Soup is based on one that I often get at fairly well known chain restaurant. It’s a broth-based soup that’s light and yet loaded with tons of southwest flavors. Instead of the usual pinto or black beans, chickpeas are used instead!

Bring as we’re at the tail end of the Holiday season, and there’s still a lot going on, I decided to once again make this soup in the pressure cooker. Why? It saves me time and energy. So, I kept this soup pretty simple and made all at one time and in one pot. Toss it in, cook it, and enjoy…

Old Fashioned Spaghetti Sauce

December 27, 2019 Amanda Plott

So obviously, I’m not an Italian lady. My roots are a lot Irish and … well, as many others out there, a plethora of other things. That being said, my love of food stems very much so from my fond memories of sitting on my great-grandma’s kitchen counter and watching her cook for hours on end.

Lengthy cooking times tend to be a thing of the past these days, especially with our fancy gadgets like crock pots and pressure cookers. Trust me, I’m a HUGE fan of the quick and easy recipes, but I’m here to warn you that THIS recipe is not quick by any means. This Old Fashioned Spaghetti Sauce takes it’s time with cooking for a whole TWO HOURS. And I promise, it’s worth every minute of that cook time…

Air-Fryer Blooming Onion

December 24, 2019 Amanda Plott

I know there’s a lot of you out there that are going to be getting a fancy new air-fryer for Christmas this year. If not from someone else, maybe you’re buying one for yourself. They are all the rage right now anyway, right? I’ve been putting off getting one, but I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been curious about the thing; how it works and if it works well.

I have long since made it my duty to not have a fryer in my home. When I was growing up we had one and my mom would rarely use it, and generally only for making french fries. Though there were a few shameless fried-food nights where my parents would fry up literally everything. Clearly, that isn’t how my own kitchen functions. Either way, my brother is in town and he brought his air-fryer for me to try out. And guess what? I don’t hate it…