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…

Halloween Amaretti Cookies

September 28, 2022 Amanda Plott

I’ve taken Amaretti cookies and turned them into a lightened up version that also happens to be seasonal to Fall! They’re lightened up easily with a simple swap of half of the sugar for natural sweetener. I prefer to use a stevia or monk fruit sweetener. The important thing here is that the sweetener should measure cup-for-cup like sugar. Other than that, feel free to use whichever you prefer.

The only real thing I did here to make them ‘Halloween’ was the sprinkles that I used. So honestly, you could swap out sprinkles for other seasonal colors and themes to change these cookies up! These also call for cake batter extract, which can be tricky to find in some places. If you don’t have it and can’t find it, no big deal, just use some vanilla extract instead!…

Pumpkin Spice Poke Cake

September 19, 2022 Amanda Plott

Not all poke cakes are created equal! This Pumpkin Spice Poke Cake is basically taking a poke cake and mashing it together with the deliciousness that is pumpkin spice. It starts off with a boxed spice cake mix and adds even more spice to it a long with a TON of pumpkin. In fact, whipping up a cake mix or brownie mix with pumpkin puree is an old trick I’ve used before to lighten up a cake!

Once the cake is baked, it’s poked through and topped off with some sweetened condensed milk that seeps through and makes that cake sweet and full of richness. Then it’s all topped off with some whipped cream and even heath bits for added crunch texture!…

Healthified Pumpkin Pound Cake

September 16, 2022 Amanda Plott

I haven’t made a pound cake in a good long while, and I certainly haven’t have the change to make a seasonal one. So today was the day! This Healthified Pumpkin Pound Cake is as good as it gets! It’s dense and buttery and perfectly delish - just as as good pound cake should be. It’s got even more moister packed into its spongy goodness with the addition of pumpkin in there too.

And the added flavors of pumpkin spice makes this pound cake the perfect thing to enjoy as we roll into Fall and hopefully cooler weather. Yes, I’m still hopeful that my Fall inspired recipes lately will continue to cool things off here in Texas…

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…

Pistou Soup

August 14, 2022 Amanda Plott

I know what you’re thinking… Soup? In the Summer?! Yeah, yeah. Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but sometimes you have to lure the cooler weather in by enticing it with appropriate foods. I don’t know, maybe it’s working. It’s at least coming off the triple digits for a few days here. That being said, this Pistou Soup is very light and definitely is more of a Spring or Summer soup because of that.

It starts off with a base of onion, leek, and celery and is then layered with some potato, green beans, peas and more! Like I said, this is soup that’s packed with vegetables while also being meatless. The soup is topped off with a pistou, which is basically a pesto that’s made with basil, garlic, and some cheese too…