Extra Cheesy Baked Macaroni (Mac Hack)

January 30, 2023 Amanda Plott

Sometimes you just have to be a little cheesy. But today, we’re going to be extra cheesy! This Extra Cheesy Baked Macaron is made all in ONE PAN and is tossed together to bake up in the oven in just over half an hour. The best part is? It’s some of the most rich, creamy, decadent macaroni dishes that you’ll ever make. That blue box of powdered crap has nothing on these noods!

I’ve heard about this hack before of being able to one pan macaroni in the oven, but I’d never tried it until today. I’ll be honest in saying that I was super impressed that it worked so well! I mean, why would you make macaroni any other way?…

Honeycomb Lasagna

January 27, 2023 Amanda Plott

I’ve seen this Honeycomb Lasagna trending all over the place and I finally decided it was high time for me to make my own iteration of it. So, this version of the famous Honeycomb Lasagna is healthified. The very first thing I did was to make and use my own meat sauce. And this one right here has to be my favorite. Now, I know the sauce takes a lot of time but I promise that it’s worth it. BUT. You can really use whatever spaghetti sauce that you want, meat sauce or just standard spaghetti sauce.

I liked the meat sauce here because it gave the noodles something hefty to stand upright in. And making the sauce myself means that I got to reduce it down to be as thick and full of flavor as I wanted it…

Toaster Oven Egg-In-A-Hole

January 24, 2023 Amanda Plott

I feel like I keep saying ‘it’s at that point in the year when I’m too busy to…’ when in reality… I’m just always too busy. I remember hearing once, that while parenting, things get easier in some ways but harder in others. And let me just tell you, that’s the truth. I don’t spend the same amount of time toting the little around from dance class or cheer practice, that’s true. I do spend more time checking in, going to appointments, and working on homework and bigger projects.

Either way, I don’t have any more time now than I did before. But, I still enjoy each and every moment I get with the kiddo. This morning? We’re getting off to an appointment so early that I will barely time for breakfast. Enter this Toaster Oven Egg-In-A-Hole!…

Huevos Rancheros Casserole

January 21, 2023 Amanda Plott

Huevos Rancheros is a traditional Texmex dish that’s usually served for breakfast or brunch… or maybe even lunch. It’s a little bit like a breakfast taco in that it involves tortillas and eggs, but it also usually has ranchero sauce and beans too. This morning I decided to make it into a casserole instead, and let me just say… it was the right decision!

This breakfast casserole takes the breakfast or brunch game to the next level. Plus, if you make the sauce ahead of time, like I did, it’s super quick and easy to toss the casserole together. The ranchero sauce, while it’s homemade, is really easy to make too and only takes ten minutes to cook up…

Skinny Brunch Bake

January 18, 2023 Amanda Plott

This Skinny Brunch Bake is from some years back now and I thought it could use a bit of a facelift when it comes to the post and the images. This bake has been one of my family's traditions for when I have a lot of family come to stay over because it definitely can feed a crowd really well!

Over the past few years as the get-togethers have been hosted at my home for the most part, I've made sure to have a nice warm breakfast on the table the morning after our little sleep-over. I always like to make something simple, warm, wholesome and easy to do…

Dill Pickle Chex Mix

January 14, 2023 Amanda Plott

It’s been a while, but I had seen this idea a while back now for a pickle flavored chex mix which I’ve got to be honest, really intrigued me. I like pickles, and I like chex mix… but would I like them together? As it turns out, I do! As is usual with chex mix, this one starts out with - you guessed it - chex cereal. I went with corn, but you can really pick wheat, rice, etc. Whichever base you want to start with.

Then we’re adding in other tasty bits like cashews, pretzels, and even some bagel crackers. You can use bagel chips/crisps, but I couldn’t find any of those to save my life, so I went with some small round bagel inspired crackers that I found instead. That’s sort of the fun part about chex mix anyway, isn’t it? Getting to swap things around!…