Healthy Crock Pot Verde Chicken Chili (Legion Chili)

April 29, 2019 Amanda Plott

Ah! Okay, I'm going to reveal something about myself here that I never thought I would so bare with me.

I don't know if you've figured it out yet or not, but I'm sort of a closet nerd. I'm a chic geek to the core, and yet hide it well with what I'd like to think is a very 'normal' exterior. In actuality, I go to renaissance faires (in costume), I've been known to role-play, and yes... I'll even play video games (MMO's mostly). Okay, so really just one in particular, but there are others on my rap sheet as well.

If you're close to me, then you know what that game is. Or if you recognize the name of this chili, then you're probably at least just as guilty as I am. The truth of the matter is, I've been a player in World of Warcraft since it's original vanilla beta back when I was in college. Yep, that's how long this game has been around and in my life. True. Story...

Instant Pot Chickpea Curry

April 17, 2019 Amanda Plott

Meatless Monday is continuing to grow in popularity. To be very honest, there’s more than one meatless night in my house every week. As I’ve sad before, it would be really really easy for me to turn into a vegetarian. This Instant Pot Chickpea Curry really takes the cake though. Not only is it vegetarian, it’s vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and only takes about 10 minutes to make. And that includes prep AND cook time. Don’t worry, you can thank me later.

This curry is started off with yellow onion and then loaded up spices. The trick to any good curry, is to let the curry powder and seasonings cook for a couple of minutes BEFORE adding in the other components. Warming the spices here gives you more depth of flavor and really wakes the seasoning up!…

'Everything' Egg Bites

March 7, 2019 Amanda Plott

It’s just been an EVERYTHING kind of week so far. You know? Everything Deviled Eggs. Everything Pigs in a Blanket. And now… Everything Egg Bites!

Sort of like with the Everything Deviled Eggs the other day, I added a touch of cream cheese to the egg bites this time to give that subtle taste and richness that one would get with an everything bagel with cream cheese.

I also put some bacon in there because…everything is better with bacon! And there’s just enough ‘Everything’ seasoning in there to give the flavor without overpowering everything else…

Beef & Barley Stew

February 19, 2019 Amanda Plott

It is cold, raining, and yucky here today. So, naturally… that calls for a hearty meal. Stew sounds about right to me! And with St. Patrick’s Day coming up soon, you know I’ve got to be sure there’s some Irish stew going on.

This beef stew is one of my new favorite dinners for cold weather. Which let me just say, isn’t a label that comes lightly. I haven’t worked with barley a whole lot before, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. But, it was a wonderful addition to stew! There’s big chunks of beef, mushroom, vegetables, and of course that barley in there to help thicken it all up…

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

February 1, 2019 Amanda Plott

What can I say? I'm a huuuge fan of buffalo flavored anything.

Okay, not anything... but almost!

I think I eat buffalo something for lunch or dinner every week. ...Yeah, that sounds about right.

This skinny buffalo chicken dip is nothing short of amazing. It's super easy and tastes great. Plus, you can cook it up using the crock pot, oven, or even the stove! No one will ever guess that it's lightened up and only about 100 calories per serving.

I found that I didn't have any complaints in serving this with veggies for dipping and I have some picky palates around me!...

Crock Pot Turkey & Cranberry Meatballs

December 23, 2018 Amanda Plott

This is an older recipe that needed it’s photos updated in a bad way. Nothing changed about it except for that! So without further adieu… here’s the original post with brand-spanking-new images!

It seems like I can't seem to have a traditional Thanksgiving anymore. Last year it was decided that we wouldn't be doing the cooking, and instead we went out to a nice restaurant to enjoy the day footloose and fancy-free. This year? We'll be (hopefully) tailgating at the UT game here in Austin. Sounds like a blast, right? Right?!

At first, I was anything but excited when this prospect came across my ears, but after some careful research and lots of thought on it... I soon became pretty excited about it! After all, this will be my first UT game and I've lived here for a good three years now. Plus, my brother is in his last year of college as a Longhorn - which makes the fact that I haven't been to a game yet even more shameful.

So what does all this mean? Game day versions of my usual Turkey Day meal!…