Skinny Creamy Jalapeño Ranch

September 22, 2022 Amanda Plott

This is another fun one that I absolutely had to update with some new pictures.

If you've ever been to Texas... you may have heard of a little place called Chuy's Mexican Restaurant. Mhn, the mere thought that place makes my mouth water. Seriously. They have some amazing Tex-mex. One of my most favorite things at Chuy's is their Creamy Jalapeño Ranch. It's something that they will serve along side chips, but... you have to ask for it! It's also used as a salad dressing option.

I've been trying for years now to find a recipe that's even remotely close to the infamous dip that Chuy's serves. There's a lot of options out there, but none of them can hold a candle to the original, especially when making any healthy substitutions…

Baked Buratta

June 21, 2022 Amanda Plott

Let me tell you guys something. I love cheese. It is my weakness. Not ice cream, or cookies, or cake - but cheese. Glorious cheese in just about any form. Sharp, sliced, shredded, fresh, soft, hard, crumbled. Any of it. All of it. I haven’t met a cheese that I don’t like, and I’ve never tried buratta before even though I’ve always wanted to.

Buratta is a pretty cool cheese. It’s basically a creamy spreadable cheese tucked away inside a skin of fresh mozzarella. So when you cut into it, the creamy cheese oozes out and it’s so so good. I didn’t want to have it just all on it’s own, so I decided to make this Baked Buratta. The name is sort of a lie since the buratta itself isn’t baked…

Pumpkin & Sausage Queso

September 12, 2021 Amanda Plott

Not all queso is created equal. Although, I don’t think that I could ever turn a queso away. This Pumpkin & Sausage Queso is PERFECT for Fall. It’s loaded with a little bit of pumpkin flavor and a lot of warm spices and a real kick-in-the pants! Naturally, while it’s hatch chile season in Texas, I served mine with some green chile hatch tortilla chips and YUM.

This queso is a bit more on the extra spicy side, what with the added chipotle, spicy sausage, and of course peppers as far as the eye can see…

BBQ Chicken Dip

August 7, 2021 Amanda Plott

Like I said, I’m busting out the game day recipes as we roll into football season this year. We’ve got to make up for missing out on game day spreads for a year now! And this BBQ Chicken Dip is sure to be a real crowd pleaser. Shredded chicken, bbq sauce, and cheese make up this delicious and easy to make dip. Really, it doesn’t get more easy to make than this dip right here.

One of my favorite parts about this dip though is that it will vary and change entirely depending on what kind of BBQ sauce you use in it. Like something spicy? Use a spicy sauce? Maybe you’re a sweet heat fan? Give that one a try! The point is, you get to make it your own with your favorite…

Skinny Greek 7 Layer Dip

June 12, 2021 Amanda Plott

I’ve been wanting to make a Greek version of a 7 layer dip for a while now and I finally got the chance today! The AC is being replaced and lets just say that with no AC and the heat index being well into the triple digits we needed something cool and light to munch on. That’s where this Greek 7 Layer Dip comes in.

Layer one is a seasoned cream cheese spread, layer two is hummus because hummus is yummus! For layer three you have zucchini (or cucumber), layer four is fresh diced tomato, with layer five comes some of my most favorite olives - kalamata. Towards the end is layer six with crumbled feta cheese, and finally layer seven is your sprinkling of green onions…

Lemon Poppy Seed Chicken Salad

April 12, 2021 Amanda Plott

It’s Spring and for me that means it’s time to play around with all things lemon and poppy seed. This Lemon Poppy Seed Chicken Salad is a fun twist on a classic chicken salad. That’s chicken salad, not chicken in a salad. Most of the time when you think of lemon and poppy seed, you think of sweet treats. But, not today!

This chicken salad is savory through and through. The bright pop of lemon and the bit of crunch from the poppy seeds really makes this a chicken salad to remember. It’s perfect all on its own or used on a sandwich or as part of a Spring inspired green leaf salad. Though I would absolutely stuff this chicken salad into a tomato too!…