Skinny Chocolate Ginger Bat Cookies

October 16, 2015 Amanda Plott

I've made these particular cookies for a few years now. It all started when we first moved to Austin and my mom made us all take the trek down to the famous Congress Street bridge around Halloween to watch the millions of bats fly out from under it once it was dark. It's a pretty cool thing to watch, especially when leading up to my favorite holiday, Halloween!

When we go to see the bats, and we usually do every year, I always like to take some wine and a snack. We always take the guided bat boat tours which can last a good hour or two while we wait for it to get dark enough for the bats to surface.

I had seen ginger-bread skeletons before, so one year I got smart and thought it would be super cute to make these cookies over in a healthy way while also packing them up for a 'bat night' treat...

Skinny Buffalo Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs

October 12, 2015 Amanda Plott

This stuff right here is what dreams are made up of. I've a southern girl, so deviled eggs are a staple to any holiday or 'special event'. Instead of the same ole' same ole', I love to play around with different combinations.

My last adventure with deviled eggs was quite a big hit, so I decided to try my hand at it again. This time though, I wanted to make my deviled eggs 'game day friendly'. How do you make something more game-day inspired than to throw buffalo sauce at it and call it a day?

Plus, their orange and white just like the colors of my favorite local college football team. Hook'em!...

Skinny Boo Bites (Sponsored)

October 8, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #CelebrateLosMuertos #CollectiveBias

A while back now I had made these yummy little cookies for my daughter's birthday, and called them 'Fairy Bites'. They were more so a snack on the trip that we were taking to her fairy themed birthday destination. With Halloween and Dia de los Muertos coming up soon, I wanted to take those cookies and make them again with a few special changes!

Halloween is actually my favorite holiday. I think it has to do with the cooler weather and the fact that people get to prance around in costumes and pretend to be someone or something else for a while. Here in Texas, Dia de los Muertos or 'The Day of the Dead' is a pretty big holiday too. In fact, my mom is in love with sugar skulls. They seem to be becoming quite trendy, not just here either. There's even a neat little shop in down town Austin here that actually sells full sized sugar skull inspired skeletons year round. They are amazingly intricate while being bright and colorful too...

Skinny Vegetarian Jalapeño Poppers (Sponsored)

July 6, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #GrillWithATwist #CollectiveBias

My dad is the grill master of the family and has been for many years now. One thing that has become a staple item anytime my family gets together to grill (no matter the occasion) is jalapeño poppers!

My family has always done poppers a little differently. Originally, we tried to stuff the jalapeños with a cream cheese and cheddar mixture and then wrapped them with bacon, but... the bacon never cooked through evenly. So, one day we got smart, chopped cooked bacon up and mixed it in with the cream cheese mixture to stuff in the jalapeños that way. We've never breaded our poppers in anyway. My dad always felt that the breading was unneeded, and I must say that I agree. It's just wasted calories.

These jalapeño poppers are our standard way of making poppers, but with one grilling twist this time around, making them perfectly vegetarian! Because after all, meatless can still be delicious....

Healthified Jarlsberger

June 30, 2015 Amanda Plott

What's a Jarlsberger? It's basically an all American burger that's covered with a delicious melted slice of Jarlsberg® cheese! I've take this traditional burger and made it more my own by adding in some sneaky vegetables and some seasoning to the lean meat; making it all the more guilt free for your grill and you this summer.

Trust me, you won't even know the vegetables are there, and neither will anyone else for that matter! Adding veggies to my burger meat has been something that I've been doing for all of my cooking-life. It's one of my secret weapons for making a good moist burger, even when using poultry or a lean meat!

As an added bonus to a good juicy burger, you get the keen knowledge that you just got some wholesome vegetables into your friends and family...

Skinny Cherry Cheesecake Dip

June 8, 2015 Amanda Plott

So this weekend a pretty amazing thing happened, American Pharoah won the Triple Crown. He was the first horse to do so in 37 years and also the first to do so the entire time I've been alive! (And I'm turning 30 this year!) My family has been watching the derbies together for the past several years now, a tradition that I believe started sometime when I was fresh out of college. I've been dreaming of the day since then that I would get to see a horse take the triple crown. And man... was it worth it.

A few horses have come close, winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness... but, falling short of winning the final of the three at the long track of Belmont. For whatever reason, this year was different. There wasn't nervous tension in the air, but more of an excitement. Everyone just wanted American Pharoah to get it done. Let's see it already. Let's do it!...