Tag Archives: kacy meinecke

This Pile of Trashcan Nachos is Not Yo Average Plate of Melty Cheese and Chips

My husband has the completely normal sweet tooth. I, on the otherhand, have what he lovingly refers to as a grease tooth. Keep your cookies and candies, I’ll take the chips, and fries, and the cheese. The hotter and meltier on that cheese, the better, please!

One of my favorite guiltiest indulgences is nachos. This is not the plate of tortilla chips and cheddar cheese nuked until crispy of our youth. These are grown up nachos. These are my trashcan nachos, and they come piled high with all the meat, beans, peppers, and, of course, cheese.

These are light, gooey, crispy nachos. These are big and bad on flavor like any nacho worth its weight in salsa should be, but they are leaner and lighter.

Fully loaded, these nachos don’t skimp. I start with blue corn tortilla chips. These tend to be sturdier and don’t get mushy when they cook (read: I don’t need as many). I get an organic variety that’s unsalted.

Then, we fill ’em with fiber. Fresh bell peppers, juicy Roma tomatoes, and creamy black beans get tossed across the chips. Each bite is more filling than a chip and cheese, plus, it’s one of those easy, sneaky ways to add some extra veggies to my day.

We really trim the fat by using ground turkey instead of ground beef. I season the turkey the same as I would any other taco meat – green chilis, sauteed onions, cumin, coriander, ancho chili powder. You can season yours however you like! (more…)

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Natalie K

Spice Up Fall with a Chicken Taco Soup Recipe That’s Simple and Satisfying

It is the crunchy season, aka fall, and that means it’s soup and stew season, too. Woohoo!

I love fall. Like lovvvve fall.

Not such a fan of the soups though. I’m more of a stew and chili kind of girl, if I have to be. But a few years ago, I found a compromise in my Crock Pot and it has become my family’s single most favorite meal of fall and winter.

I used simple, healthy Mexican ingredients — a food genre I swear I could eat every single day — stirred them up, and started filling bowls with Taco Soup.

It’s one of those slow cooker meals that fills the house with intoxicating smells for hours until you’re so hungry you’ll risk third degree burns on your tongue just to get that first taste! (more…)

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Natalie K

Twice Baked Shepherd’s Pies Makeover a Favorite Winter Classic with Baked Potatoes

New on our “cozy food” seasonal menu rotation is a made-over classic. It’s the Shepherd’s Pie like you’ve never tried it before. It’s usually not my thing – loaded with lamb and mashed potatoes – two foods I don’t particularly care for. But I’ve got a pretty big thing for the baked potato.

I made a Shepherd’s Pie that’s a little leaner, bigger on flavor, and maybe even cuter.

Call them miniature. Call them single-serve. Call them dinner! These Twice-Baked Shepherd’s Pies are bound to be a staple of your winter menu.

I skipped the mashed potatoes because, like I said, I’m a little un-American and truly can’t stand the stuff. But, a baked potato, much less one that’s been baked twice, I’m all over that.

Then I cut the lamb and even skipped over the beef and went right to ground Italian turkey sausage – super lean with a great taste that fits right in here. (more…)

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Natalie K

Score a Win with Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad at Your Next Football Tailgate

Nothing is better than tailgating season. And nothing is better than buffalo-flavored anything at a tailgate. Which would then suggest that this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad is the best food of tailgate season. At least that’s how our math works.

It’s that big, bold buffalo flavor that you love, in a less fatty serving.

We’ve taken everything you love about a big platter of wings, blue cheese dip, and fresh veggie sticks and tossed it all with whole grain penne pasta. Think of it as the buffalo chicken platter deconstructed.

Frank’s Red Hot is kind of the definitive sauce for buffalo-flavored dishes, but we also like the new buffalo flavor from Tabasco. Any hot sauce will work, and you can use as little or as much as your fierce taste buds can handle.

Loaded with crisp, fresh veggies, you aren’t as likely to pass these over when they are tossed with the pasta. And rather than an endless bowl of blue cheese dip, which can run more than 500 calories alone, we give you a generous 1/2-cup shake of the crumbles. All the flavor for around 50 calories! (more…)

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Natalie K

You’ll Fall in Love with This Harvest Chopped Salad with Orange Ginger Vinaigrette

Summer is over but my salad bowl is still full! I’m a big fan of the big a– salad trend. Just a plate piled high with greens, veggies, berries, nuts and frankly anything else you want – it’s an entree that never disappoints. I always finish feeling full, satisfied, and not weighed down.

With Autumn as my muse, and my refrigerator quickly filling with the early seasonal produce, I crafted an entirely new entree salad. And it’s gooooood.

“How is this even real?” was our photographer’s reaction upon tasting hers. And then she proceeded to demolish the rest of the food props.

Our Harvest Chopped Salad is like a farmers market truck unloaded in your kitchen. And then it rained down this homemade vinaigrette and what bloomed was just the best darn thing you’ve eaten in a while!

With red beets, carrots, quinoa, and ginger, this salad is not only hearty and satiating, but it’s also a great way to get your food experimentation on. If it’s been a while since you’ve tried some of these ingredients, or presents the first time, get after it! All of the complementary flavors blend perfectly together and it’s so darn pretty you won’t have any choice but to want to eat it. (more…)

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Natalie K

Creamy Parmesan White Wine Sauce with Pasta for a Guilt-Free 419 Calories!

If I were going to be stranded on a desert island, and I could take only one food with me, it would be macaroni and cheese. It is the single most comforting comfort food. With its chewy noodles, gooey sauce, and creamy mouthfeel, I’d have no qualms about eating that every day.

But here in the real world, that’s hardly an option. The stuff in a box actually tastes terrible and is laced with chemical ingredients that kind of ruin the whole experience when you think about it. And if you really go for it at a restaurant, a bowl of chicken Alfredo at Olive Garden has 1500 calories! The classic mac at Macaroni Grill has nearly 700 calories… in the kids serving!

Nah, that’s not going to work. I’d like a big bowl of pasta, tossed in cheese sauce, and I’d like it for less than 500 calories.

This pasta in a white wine Parmesan sauce is very real, much more likely to happen that the desert island scenario, and comfort food I can enjoy without any discomfort of guilt. Why? It rings it at 419 calories for the whole bowl! (more…)

Posted on September 30, 2023 by Natalie K

Make Mint Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Your Favorite New Dessert

Who doesn’t have too much zucchini right now? It’s one of those good problems to have as summer turns to fall. A high yield garden means tons of fresh veggies for you, but honestly, how many zucchs can you eat in a day, a week? At some point you’ve got to start giving them away.

Or baking them. In to bread. The most delicious bread.

There’s zucchini bread, which sure, everyone loves. But now, there’s Mint Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. It’s a real thing. We made it.

It’s a very real thing baked full of freshly grated, garden-picked zucchinis, fresh mint leaves that could have very well come from your garden, too, and sweet little morsels of chocolate. (more…)

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Natalie K

Pick a Peck of Homemade Sweet and Spicy English Cucumber Pickles

I will never buy pickles from the grocery store ever again.

I’ve seen the light.

I’ve tasted victory.

Why didn’t I figure this out sooner?

When I remember the summer of 2024, it will be the Summer of the Pickle!

My grandfather planted a beautiful garden in his backyard this spring. We’ve been reaping the benefits of his hard work all season and I couldn’t be more thankful. My house doesn’t allow for a garden, so when he emailed and asked, “what would you like me to plant?”, I sent him a list that probably took him by surprise.

At the top of that list were English cucumbers. A thinner skin, sweeter taste, and fewer seeds, English cucumbers are a much better eating experience than the ‘ole standard cucumber. While not an issue when grown in the backyard, when bought at the store, English cucumbers typically come without the layer of wax found on regular cucumbers. And they’re prettier. For what that’s worth!

Grandpa’s harvest has been good, which means we’ve had English cucumbers out the wazoo. A girl can only eat so many before she starts daydreaming about getting rid of cucumbers. So I asked my three-year-old sous chef, and pickle aficionado, if she’d like to spend a Saturday making pickles. She was delighted at the invitation and we set to slicing a heaping pile of cucs. (more…)

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Natalie K

The Ultimate Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Stuffed Doughnut for Awesome Mornings

Doughnuts have been stuffed with chocolate, jelly, and cream for as long as doughnuts have been baked. They’ve even been used as buns to hold burgers with bacon and fried eggs. None of those are really great for you. In fact, we named that 1500-calorie Krispy Kreme doughnut burger by Paula Deen one of the worst things she ever did to food.

But we liked her innovative culinary spirit. We liked where her head was, and we also just like doughnuts like everyone else. We kept the eggs, bacon, and ditched the glaze and beef. What we whipped up, and can’t wait for you to try, is the ultimate in breakfast sandwiches – bacon, eggs, and cheese all stuffed inside our lighter cake doughnut.

It’s the Ultimate Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Stuffed Doughnut.

It’s awesome.

It’s savory. It’s salty. It’s a little sweet.

It’s also LESS than 200 calories. One whole doughnut weighs in at 194 calories.

It’s. Amazing.

(more…)

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Natalie K

PBJ Quinoa Donuts: A Really Indulgent Breakfast for the Food Sensitive

What happens when peanut butter and jelly, breakfast, and donuts all collide? The atmospheric pressure changes and what you thought you knew about breakfast goes out the window. OK, only fifty percent of that is mostly true. But what does happen is something truly delicious that makes breakfast better than ever!

This recipe for the PBJ Quinoa Donut was born out of a friend’s request over dinner. “I want a quinoa donut,” was her simple request. I haven’t really been challenged in the kitchen in a while, so this was a task I enthusiastically took on. Her goal was something more low-carb, but I knew it would also satisfy so many people out there living by the gluten-free code. (more…)

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Natalie K

The Best Club Sandwich Ever is Made with Cleaner, Fresher Ingredients You Can Feel Good About

If I see a club sandwich on a menu, I’m ordering it. End of story. No matter how you stack it, I rarely find a sandwich that has a better combination of ingredients that meld so perfectly together. That first bite through the crisp lettuce, juicy tomato, sweet ham, and salty bacon sends the endorphin center of my brain to the realm of utter satisfaction.

Eating these sandwiches at a restaurant is anyone’s gamble. It’s all pretty processed, and I know that. The salt is higher than it should be, the meat came from God knows where, and all in all it’s never quite as good as anything I make at home. So I try to take my own sandwich makings to the office to build my own for lunch. It’s always a far better option than what the corner deli is dishing up.

That better option, for me, is Applegate. I’ve been a long-time consumer and fan of their cleaner approach to meat products. How could anyone not be? They source humanely-raised animals to craft quality meat products that are organic and hormone free. The sandwich meats are tender, juicy, and never overwhelmingly salty. For pre-cut sandwich meat, it’s truly as good as it gets. (more…)

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Natalie K

Tag Archives: kacy meinecke

Advertising Disclosure