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…

Baked Gingerbread Oatmeal

December 7, 2019 Amanda Plott

Holiday morning breakfasts are always something that I like to plan and make ahead. With the Holidays themselves being stressful enough as it is, I like to be sure that when it comes to breakfast, I’m have little to nothing to worry about. Amish style baked oatmeal has always, and will always, be my go-to staple crowd pleasing made ahead breakfasts.

I took my standard Baked Amish Overnight Oatmeal and turned it into a festive Holiday breakfast that’s full of gingerbread spice and everything nice! This overnight oatmeal has all the warm gingerbread flavors and just a touch of sweetness...

Baked Tortilla Chips

October 30, 2019 Amanda Plott

Being a Texan means that chips and salsa are basically served with every meal It’s a staple snack that can be found in just about any home and perfectly fits the bill. Whether is breakfast, lunch, or dinner! That being said, most store-bought chips out there are a lot of the same. Lots of salt and oil involved.

Recently I’ve found that making my own tortilla chips is not only crazy easy, it’s also WAY better for you. They’re made with just 2 ingredients and are baked. Meaning hardly any oil and YOU get to control the seasoning and salt that goes into them!…

Skinny Southwest Egg Rolls + Avocado Vinaigrette Dip (Sponsored)

September 5, 2019 Amanda Plott

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

Here's another 'take-out fake-out' today for one of my old favorites. It’s no secret that I'm a big fan of baking things as opposed to most other cooking methods out there. I find that it's better-for-you and that it often comes out tasting even better than other versions. The flavors just seem to stand out more. This is also why I use Mazola.com.

Want to find out more? A clinical study showed Mazola Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, see Mazola.com.

With September being National Cholesterol Awareness month, and the fact that I'm not all about frying, I put my noodle to work to come up with a better-for-you baked version of Southwest Egg Rolls. So, with a little research and a lot of love, I'm pretty sure I got this one 100% right.

Egg roll and wonton wrappers have been a pretty big part of my kitchen play time lately. I just love how versatile they are. Plus, they are lower in calories than most other doughs. So, to keep these Southwest Egg Roll better-for-you, I made a few careful swaps. First, I used chicken breast as a leaner cut of meat. As a second swap, I used a reduced fat shredded cheese instead of a full-fat version. And finally, I used Mazola Corn Oil on the egg rolls and also in the vinaigrette dip!

Mazola Corn Oil is an all-purpose, cholesterol free cooking oil that is a smart heart-healthy* choice for your family. *See Mazola.com for more information on the relationship between corn oil and heart health. It has a variety of uses including baking, grilling, sautéing, stir frying, or mixing up a marinade or dressing…

Lightened-Up Fresh Blueberry Cobbler

July 15, 2019 Amanda Plott

It’s summer and the berries are RIPE. Even though I’m trying to avoid turning my oven on like it’s some sort of plague, I knew when I got my hot little hands on some big beautiful blueberries that the best thing to do with them was going to be turning them into a cobbler. Mostly because that was at the request of my mother some few weeks ago.

To start this cobbler off, I basically used the same dough and idea from the peach cobbler I made about a year ago. Only instead, I swapped in blueberries for the peaches. It was a good call, though to be very honest, I love cobbler no matter what fruit is used in it…

Chunky Monkey Amish Oatmeal

May 10, 2019 Amanda Plott

After banana nut on my mind, and a pantry full of leftover oatmeal, I pretty much knew immediately what I was going to be making this week for breakfast. Some sort of… banana nut oatmeal. But! Not just any banana nut oatmeal. I wanted it to be chunky monkey style. What’s chunky monkey? Well, one of my most favorite flavors of ice cream that’s made with bananas, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

There you have it, chunky monkey oatmeal. Of course, one of my favorite ways to make oatmeal is for it to be baked and ‘Amish’ style. This breakfast oatmeal also happens to be gluten-free (so long as you mind your brand of oats.)…