Caprese Jar Salad

July 27, 2022 Amanda Plott

It’s salad season, and right now, I’m all about these jar salads. I love having a few ready made lunches on hand in the fridge that are put together and just need a good shake up to enjoy. They make for great grab-and-go lunches too since you can eat them straight out of the jar. This particular one is based one of my all time favorite salads, a caprese.

A caprese salad is tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and usually some sort of greens to go along with it. I started this one off with an Italian based dressing along with some basil pearled couscous to make the salad just a touch more filling…

Tomato Galette

July 12, 2022 Amanda Plott

It’s the middle of Summer and tomatoes are a plenty! I got my hands on a WHOLE LOT of home grown tomatoes from family less than a week ago so I decided to use them up in a lot of ways this week. Now, one of my favorite things to do with tomatoes is to make a tomato pie, but today I decided to go a little fancy with this Tomato Galette!

I started this Tomato Galette off with a basic pie crust, it’s one that I had stashed away in the freezer. Then I layered on some herbed goat cheese and caramelized some shallots to go over that. Then it was the tomatoes; my big beefy juicy tomatoes…

Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna

March 29, 2022 Amanda Plott

I don’t know about you, but we have just two months left until Summer break and I am digging deep to try and muster the energy to get us there. As we’re getting ready for Summer, I’m doing everything I can to make life a bit more easy and low maintenance. This Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna fits the bill for exactly what it says it is: lasagna on the lazy.

So if you’re feeling a hankering for lasagna, but don’t want to fuss with the layers and pots and pans that go along with it, this Instant Pot version is where it’s at! Plus, as usual, I made it just a little bit more healthified along the way too!…

Pantry Pottage (Crock Pot & Instant Pot)

December 7, 2021 Amanda Plott

This Pantry Pottage became a traditional Thanksgiving Eve dinner many many years ago in my family. I think the original recipe was one that my mom had gotten off the local news station when I was still in high school. The idea behind the dish was to use up all the canned beans and vegatables from your pantry and toss them into a crock pot to cook up some fabulous and easy dish that would serve up a house of visitors.

Several years ago now, the original printed recipe that my mom had ended up disappearing among a chaotic move. I've since scowered the web to find it, though to no avail. I did, however, manage to find a similar version that I've tweaked to be closer to what my mom and I remember…

Tomato & Feta Cheese Spaghetti

November 19, 2021 Amanda Plott

With the holidays hot on my heels, I’m keeping it simple this week when it comes to meals. Well… you know, outside of the big main meal that’s coming up that is. This Tomato & Feta Cheese Spaghetti is just about easy as it comes. Just toss some tomatoes and feta into dish and bake it for a bit with some oil and seasoning. Then toss with pasta and tada! Dinner.

This stuff is good too. AND it’s super easy to double up on if you have a larger crowd to feed. Plus, I love the fact that this spaghetti dinner is vegetarian too. It’s a meatless meal that everyone can enjoy!…

Caprese Pasta Salad

June 27, 2021 Amanda Plott

As it’s getting hotter and hotter outside I’m craving the cold stuff. The lighter stuff. The stuff I don’t have to turn my oven on to enjoy. This Caprese Pasta Salad is just that. Get it started in the morning when it’s cool out and then finish it off in the afternoon or evening as lunch, dinner, or a side for one of the two. The pasta dish itself is based off one of my all time favorites - caprese!

What’s a caprese? Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar in one form or another. I basically turned that into a light, easy to make salad that includes fresh baby spinach and some pasta to make it just a little more hearty…