Spinach & Strawberry Salad

March 27, 2023 Amanda Plott

Yes, I'm a huge salad fan. I love all the veggies and different ways to dress up your leafy greens with one dressing or another. Plus, there's just something refreshing about indulging in a crisp cool salad when it's upwards of 80... 90... 100 degrees. Which we’ve already gone over 80 here!

So I guess what I'm saying is... be prepared for the montage of salad recipes that are sure to come this way through the next few months. Strawberry and spinach salad is actually one of my old favorites. I think it was one of the first salads that I ever had feta cheese on. It could even be when I fell in love with feta cheese…

Japanese Egg Salad

March 21, 2023 Amanda Plott

It doesn’t get any more simple than this right here. This Japanese Egg Salad is made with just 4-5 ingredients and takes hardly any time at all to make and the end result is creamy, light, and delicious! So what makes this egg salad Japanese? The secret is in the mayonnaise! This egg salad uses kewpie, which is the Japanese version of mayonnaise. But, don’t worry! You can find it at most grocery stores.

American mayonnaise is made with whole eggs and white vinegar. Kewpie is made with egg yolks and rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Kewpie eggs up being sweeter and has less tang. It’s also a lot richer and creamer too!…

PB&J Rice Cake

March 18, 2023 Amanda Plott

Peanut butter and jelly at it’s snacking finest with this PB&J Rice Cake! I found these fun rice cakes recently that are shaped and textured a bit differently than the old school ones so I picked a few of the strawberry flavored ones up. But then it’s - what to do with them. Well, when I think strawberries, I tend to think of strawberry jam. And when I think of strawberry jam, I think of PB&Js!

This PB&J Rice Cake is a fun take on a PB&J that is lighter and pretty filling too. It would be great as an afternoon or after school snack, or even as a part of a light lunch! So, it starts out with a strawberry rice cake on the bottom which is covered with some peanut butter and then topped off with fresh strawberries, peanuts, and some strawberry jam too…

Marinated Chickpea Pita

March 14, 2023 Amanda Plott

It’s Spring break week here and we’re sticking pretty close to home which I’m totally fine with. Spring time is one my more favorite times of year. I don’t care for the allergies that come along with it, but I do enjoy the brighter lighting of the sun, the blooming trees and flowers, and also the berries that start to pop up. With Spring rolling in, I always like to lighten and brighten things up myself, and that’s where this Marinated Chickpea Pita comes in.

This Marinated Chickpea Pita is light, and bright, and full of flavor. Being as this is made with mostly whole ingredients and seasonings, there isn’t much to do here to make it much better-for-you. Though I did go with a wheat pita in place of a regular one…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

March 11, 2023 Amanda Plott

These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars couldn’t be any more delish! They are SUPER chocolatey and have this ooey-gooey texture to them that is similar to a brownie or a blondie. It’s kind of like eating a cookie dough brownie and I am totally here for it. They are decadent and rich and mm-mm good.

They are so good in fact, that my kiddo had one for breakfast this morning and I’m not even upset about it. I might have had one for breakfast too, so it’s not like I can make any judgements. What? I’m an adult. It’s allowed for me to have a cookie for breakfast if I want to…

Instant Pot Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake Bites

February 24, 2023 Amanda Plott

I know that I’ve made mini cheesecakes in the instant pot before, but I still have some strawberry powder and strawberry cheesecake crumbs that I need to use up and for whatever ever reason it just seemed fitting to put them together in these Instant Pot Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake Bites.

The way I was able to pack so much strawberry flavor into these cheesecakes was to use a strawberry powder. It’s basically freeze dried strawberries that have been ground down to a fine powder. That’s it. That’s all. Nothing more added than that - no added colors or artificial flavors there. Just pure strawberry goodness!…