Instant Pot Apple Cider

October 25, 2019 Amanda Plott

Whohooooo. It is coooold out today, y’all. It is cold. Windy. And I am in the process of recovering from a cold. Current state? My body needs all the warm things. Thankfully, I had this Instant Pot Apple Cider on my list to make this week. And can I just say, it really really hit the spot.

There isn’t much that can top a homemade mug of spiced apple cider soothe a sore throat. Especially while we’re in the throes of Fall season.

To be pretty honest, I didn’t think making homemade apple cider would be this easy. Toss everything into a pressure cooker and in 15 minutes you’ve got the makings of apple cider…

Skinny Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

October 4, 2019 Amanda Plott

Oh, my goodness. Oh. My. Goodness.

The first time I intended to make this soup, I had it planned for a while , and oddly enough a similar butternut squash soup was served to me at The King's Feast of The Texas Renaissance Festival. I had never had butternut squash soup before then, but I immediately fell in love. It was thick and rich and served with some sort of toasted seed and herb topping.

It was such a good soup that I thought I would have dreams about it that night.

I was a bit curious when I got home if the recipe that I had come up with would be anything similar to the amazing one that I had at the feast. Needless to say I was somewhat skeptical that so few of ingredients would actually come together to make such an amazing soup…

Fall Breakfast Quinoa Bowl

October 17, 2018 Amanda Plott

It’s been unusually cold here in Austin, Texas lately. Generally speaking, we don’t get the first ‘cooler’ bits of weather until Halloween. But, this year we’ve already been in the 40’s - which is completely fine with me. I love Fall weather and I am always more than thrilled to get anything below 80 in October. It means that I get to use my oven and stove again without regret!

With it being cooler, overcast, and raining off and on, I thought it was high time for a nice warm hearty breakfast. And that’s exactly what this Fall power bowl is all about! I loaded this breakfast bowl up with plenty of good stuff. Quinoa, fruit, nuts, seeds, and just a touch of cinnamon to add further to the warmth of the flavors…

Cranberry Apple Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

July 13, 2018 Amanda Plott

Product was provided to me on behalf of Cape Cod Cranberries to review, use, and write about. As always, all opinions are entirely my own.

It's hot. It's hot. It's really really hot here in Texas right now and all I want to do is avoid using my stove or oven! So, today for lunch, I decided to go with a super quick and easy cold and crunchy salad. And when I say easy, I mean almost ridiculously easy. It's so easy that it only takes a whopping 5-10 minutes from start to finish with preparing it.

The best part? There is absolutely NO cooking or heating required! How do you do that? Well, cranberries! Cranberries are a favorite of mine and I love finding clever ways to use them up all year round. They are so versatile that they can be used in just about any meal or in any type of drink. Trust me, I've got a lot of tricks up my sleeve when it comes to these tart bright red little gems. Never mind all their health benefits…

Skinny Irish Apple Cake

February 23, 2018 Amanda Plott

Yaaay, St. Patrick's Day is coming. Maybe it's some of my Irish heritage or something to do with it being my Dad's birthday, but I really do enjoy St. Patrick's Day more than most. I can honestly say that it has absolutely nothing to do with green beer. Now, if they had green wine... that might be another story.

So every year I like to dive into Irish recipes leading up to St. Patrick's Day. I've made Corned Beef, Shepherd's Pie, Irish Soda Bread, Irish Cream Donuts, and so much more. This year though, I wanted to get in there and make another Irish sweet treat. So, Irish Apple Cake it is! It's a tender cake, similar to a coffee cake, that's loaded LOADED up with apples...

Grilled Market Salad & Zesty Dressing (Chick-Fil-A Copy Cat)

February 18, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I was telling my mom about one of my all time favorite salads at a pretty well known fast-food chain the other day when she was looking for some quick lunch options. Anytime the family wants to 'be bad' and have chicken nuggets at this place, I always tend to opt for their Grilled Market Salad. It's a really large hearty salad that's extremely filling and easily could be turned into two meals rather than just one.

That discussion got me to thinking about the salad, how good it is, and how simple it is too. Surely there had to be a way to make it myself! The hardest part would be the zesty apple cider vinaigrette. Thankfully, I found a good starting place and made a few more tweaks to that to get exactly what I was looking for after reading the ingredients on the actual dressing packet...