Giant Valentine Cookies

January 8, 2021 Amanda Plott

Nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like a GIANT cookie. these big cookies are about 4-5 regular sized cookies in ONE. BIG. COOKIE. And do you want to know a secret? They’re made with HALF the amount of sugar as the originals. That’s right, I was able to shave off half the sugar by making a couple of simple swaps.

The first swap that I made was subbing in a brown sugar/stevia blend for the regular brown sugar. I also swapped half of the original sugar for a granulated stevia. the important part here is the granulated part. While you could use any other natural sweetener that measures cup for cup like sugar, I prefer the granulated one since it doesn’t have the usual fake sweetener taste…

Vegetarian Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast Casserole

January 6, 2021 Amanda Plott

As is with most New Years, I don’t tend to change my diet up a whole hell of a lot. Though one thing that I do try and do is eat less meat. Especially less red meat. Thankfully these days there are a lot of meatless and meat free options out there. Even when it comes to sausage! That’s why I was able to make this casserole vegetarian with one simple swap.

This Vegetarian Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast Casserole is an absolutely delicious way to serve biscuits and gravy, or even have it on hand as a meal prep for breakfast through the week. (Which is what I did!) Really you could use any sausage you want, vegetarian or otherwise…

Black-Eyed Peas & Cornbread Dumplings

January 3, 2021 Amanda Plott

So, the year has already started off a little rough for me, but at least the food is good. This Black-Eyed Peas & Cornbread Dumplings is as comfort food as it gets, and is truly one of the most tasty and delicious ways that I’ve ever gotten to eat black-eyed peas.

I used fresh black-eyed peas here because they cook fast and are perfect for this seasonal dish. That being said, canned ones or home-cooked would work too. I also used a vegetarian sausage because I have one in my house that doesn’t like traditional sausage for reasons. But any kind of sausage, pork, beef, or vegetarian will be just as good here!…

Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole

December 26, 2020 Amanda Plott

Breakfast casseroles are one of the best ways to feed a group of people (large or small) with little effort. And this Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole is probably one of the most easy and quick ways to get breakfast (or brunch) done in a hurry. Whether its for a special occasion or just a weekend morning, this Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole is here to save the day. and your sanity.

I kept this casserole pretty basic with the usual savory breakfast bits that everyone knows and loves. Bacon. Eggs. Cheese. A plethora of veggies. And YES even hash browns…

Mini Shortbread Christmas Cookie Bites

December 21, 2020 Amanda Plott

These tiny Mini Shortbread Christmas Cookie Bites are really one of the best things I’ve put in my mouth this week. They’re light, crisp, buttery and full of festive holiday sprinkles. Of course, I didn’t go with traditional ‘red and green’ sprinkles. I found some awesome colorful ‘gingerbread’ holiday sprinkles that really made these tiny bites pop!

The very same ones that I used in my Healthified 'Lofthouse' Soft Sugar Cookies! The sprinkles here DO make a difference, so be sure to use your favorites. Jimmies and ‘confetti’ style sprinkles work best because they don’t bleed out color into the batter as easily as some others…

Healthified 'Lofthouse' Soft Sugar Cookies

December 13, 2020 Amanda Plott

I've basically taken that original tried-and-true recipe and trimmed it down as best I could without losing the amazingness of that cookie.

The first thing I did was swapped out some of the regular flour for some whole wheat white flour. If you're going to be bad, you may as well get some good in there too! At least you can say you had some whole wheat, right?

I also substituted in some sweetener for about 1/3 of the sugar originally called for. Why? Well, if you can get away with less sugar, then why not? For the cookie dough, I used a light butter rather than full fat. Again, if you can get away with it... do it!

I made a few other minor changes as well, and still ended up with a perfectly light and decedent cookie that has over 50 calories less per serving than it's store bought counter part. Plus, I know exactly what in these cookies since well... I'm one that put it all there!

I'm telling you, they taste almost exactly like the original…