Crock Pot Japanese Onion Soup

October 1, 2022 Amanda Plott

We all know that soup that they serve at the hibachi style steak houses and how good it is for being something so simple. It’s one of the main things that my kiddo happens to look forward to when we go, so a lot of years back - way back in 2013, I decided to try my hand at making the soup at home and it was a success!

Not only that, but I also made it in the crock pot, which meant that I didn’t have to have almost any hands on time. It’s definitely one of those ‘set it and forget it’ sort of things which makes it perfect for serving up as a part of an asian themed dinner…

Simple Mango Salad + Lime Dressing

September 1, 2022 Amanda Plott

It may be cooling off outside finally, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love salads any less. I was in need of a good ‘tropical’ style of salad to pair with something else that I’ve been working on for a couple of weeks now and this Simple Mango Salad + Lime Dressing slid into fill that role perfectly. This small and simple salad is deceiving. It’s delicate and delightful while being big and bold in flavors. And one of the best parts is that it only takes a handful of ingredients to make.

Being as it’s got just the limited ingredients, it doesn’t take long at all to make - including the homemade dressing which, let me just tell you, is SO good. That being said, there isn’t a whole lot here to substitute for lighter alternatives…

Healthified Chicken & Mash Bowl

August 8, 2022 Amanda Plott

Okay, so there's this fried chicken chain restaurant that honestly I couldn't tell you the last time I ate at. They have these horribly amazing 'famous bowls' that I used to get back when I was younger and more naive when it came to food.

Fast-forward to today and I don't think that I could stomach sitting in that restaurants parking lot, much less eating anything that came out of it. Never mind that particular 'famous bowl' is nearly a whopping 800 calories and full of who-knows-what.

Even so, I decided to take on the task of re-creating that chicken bowl into one that I could eat and be proud of without feeling guilty...

Rainbow Soda Cake

June 15, 2022 Amanda Plott

Another continuation of rainbow inspired eats and treats geared towards PRIDE month! This fun and vibrant rainbow cake is made with literally just a handful of ingredients and fairly little hands on time. This cake uses one of the oldest tricks in the book as far as cake mixes go, and that’s simply using sparkling soda with the mix and nothing more!

That’s right. You can make a cake with a box of mix and a can of soda. Pretty impressive, huh? It’s so super easy to do too! Outside of that, you divide the batter and color it accordingly. I went with the rainbow colors of the PRIDE flag, but you can use whatever colors you wish…

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

June 12, 2022 Amanda Plott

It’s almost too hot outside here to grill lately. Almost, but not quite. And being as my kiddo is in love with steak right now, it’s become a part of the weekly rotation. Even if a good steak is on the meal plan each week, I like to keep things fresh and new as far as the sides go. That’s where these Salt & Vinegar Roasted Fingerling Potatoes come in.

I got my hands on some local fingerling potatoes recently, the yellow ones are ‘banana’ fingerlings and then I also got some purple fingerlings. Instead of just the usual oil and salt, I took them a step further this time and pre-cooked them in some vinegar. What’s the point of that, you ask…?…

Strawberry Crunch Monkey Bread

June 3, 2022 Amanda Plott

So you know those strawberry shortcake ice creams with the crumbly bits of strawberry crunch on the outside? So I may have come across the crumbs, and yes, you can actually buy them! Now what does one do with strawberry crunch crumbs? Well, obviously make some sort of tasty strawberry sweet! That’s when the idea for this Strawberry Crunch Monkey Bread came to be.

Take it as a breakfast, brunch, or even dessert. This nostalgic twist on monkey bread has to be one of my new favorites. It’s ridiculously easy to make too, just as most monkey breads are. Now, there really wasn’t a whole lot to do in the ways of making this lightened up. But, I did sub out some of the sugars for natural sweeteners…