Cowboy Caviar (+ Cowboy Ranch)

June 27, 2025 Amanda Plott

Move over guacamole and salsa, there’s a new hero in town—and it’s bringing all the vibrant colors, textures, and bold flavors with none of the guilt. Say hello to Cowboy Caviar, the zesty, nutritious salad that's basically a party for your taste buds and a superpower for your body.

What Is Cowboy Caviar?

Cowboy Caviar, sometimes called Texas Caviar, is a fresh, tangy salad made from a mix of black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and sometimes avocado. It’s usually tossed in a zesty marinade loaded with lime juice and a kick of spice. Originating in the South and popularized everywhere from backyard barbecues to potlucks, this salad is all about healthy ingredients and crave-worthy flavor…

Cheesy Ranch Chicken Bake

April 21, 2023 Amanda Plott

Here it is, the easies and cheesiest of casseroles for dinner that you’ll ever make from scratch. This pasta dish starts out with veggies and a roux that quickly comes together as a cheese sauce that’s mixed up with chicken and pasta and baked to perfection.

I did the smart thing here and used up the odds and ends of leftover smaller pastas that I had on hand in my pantry. That included some wheat elbow noddles, regular mini shells, and also some veggie rotini. So if you’re looking for a way to use up the ends of boxes of pasta, this is for you!…

Vegetarian Green Curry

July 15, 2022 Amanda Plott

I’ve been wanting to make a Vegetarian Green Curry for a good long while now, and today was finally the day. This curry starts off with onion and spices and quickly gets into veggies, tofu and even some chickpeas. The goal here was to load the curry up with as much veggie goodness as possible to make up for the lack of meat in it.

The end result is a curry that comes together really quickly and tastes amazing. The only thing I might do differently next time, is to add in some jalapeño for added spice and warmth. Every bite of this curry has new tastes and textures that all pair really well together…

Mediterranean Veggie Wrap

July 3, 2022 Amanda Plott

With a busy holiday weekend and a holiday itself cutting into the week, I like to be sure that I have plenty of ready-made lunches on hand so that I don’t have to fret about it in the midst of chaos. This Mediterranean Veggie Wrap is one of my new favorite grab-and-go lunches. It’s cool, and crisp, and filling while also being light and vegetarian too!

This wrap starts out with lavash bread, which is honestly my preferred wrap because it can double as a tortilla, and triple as a flat bread pizza crust! Plus, it’s super high in fiber and low in calories. So, you get a lot of bang for your buck. They can do pretty much anything and have just enough stretch to make for the perfect vehicle for a wrap…

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Lunchbox

July 24, 2019 Amanda Plott

This is a short and not so sweet one today. Not sweet at all. In fact, it’s rather spicy! As we’re getting closer to the start of the school year, I’m doing my best to come up with fun and delicious lunchbox ideas for parents and kids alike. This Skinny Buffalo Chicken Lunchbox is one of my newest favorites.

With being quick and easy to make, this low carb, gluten-free, keto friendly lunch is a real winner, winner, chicken… lunch. I loaded this lunchbox up with plenty of fresh veggies and just as much buffalo chicken. And don’t think for a second that I left out the blue cheese or ranch…

Rainbow Wrap Lunch Box

June 8, 2019 Amanda Plott

It’s getting hot here in Texas, and I don’t know about the rest of you but I could use something to cool me off by the time lunch rolls around. Even though we’re keeping things as simple as possible during the summer months, there’s still a lot of out-and-about happening. (The summer months are when the vast majority of our family birthdays are - so we’re all over the place celebrating!)

With all that’s going on around me, I like to have my lunch prepared and ready to go so that I can grab-and-go on my way out the door to whatever we might be off to. And since we’re in between our themed summer weeks of kids cooking/baking and fantasy, I thought this Rainbow Wrap Lunch Box would be the perfect fit…