October 2016 Recap

Tis the season for all the fall foods, and for my busiest couple of months at work so I’ve tried to really be on top of dinners when I can, and still trying to get some workouts despite it being sooo dark in the mornings now!

This Fall Burger had sage and pear in a pork patty for all the best fall-ish flavors. It is still great grilling weather!

The Three Bite Rule - Fall Pork Burger with Pear & Sage
I made a breakfast calzone with braided puff pastry thanks to a friend from college’s post on facebook. It was a really great and quick for a weeknight meal. I’ll totally make this again the next time I have house guests!
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Calzone

Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs were fun and went quickly at a 3-way baby shower at work. 
The Three Bite Rule - Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs

The Little One:
He’s such a love! He likes giving us hugs and it just melts my heart. I’ve enjoyed seeing how long he’ll do some activities. We have some fun activities for halloween: a visit from Grammie C; daycare trick or treating; and maybe a jack-o-lantern thing in the park. He’s been into some pumpkin books. The little one is eating everything, even eggs on occasion!

This Year’s Goals: 
The Year of the: Seasonal Decor: Mr. J picked up some leaf garland when he saw it and it is really perfect for the mantle – also spanning the fall/halloween/harvest timing.
do something a different way: I made conscious time to be social. I went to my college reunion;  I joined a new local bookclub which was great; and one group had a dip-party during a Pats game.
drink more water: I need to do better with this.
make more interesting side dishes: yes! I made broccoli & cheddar risotto in the pressure cooker
cook more soups & sauces: Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese was all about the cheese sauce
watch more movies: we watched The Neighbors and cracked up. I’ve been super into This is Us.
make working out a higher priority: I can amp this up. Work has a Fitbit challenge going on and I’ve gotten some walks in…nothing major, but something is better than nothing!

Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs

My MIL is the queen of stuffed eggs so I channeled her and put a twist on the traditional deviled egg. Work was having a 3-way baby shower for 3 mommas-to-be. They seemed ideal for a snack that didn’t need to be reheated, and was easy to bring, open, and serve without any assembly.

The Three Bite Rule - Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs
Ingredients:
dozen eggs
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon Nutritional Yeast Flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon mayo (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives + some for topping garnish

Directions:
Hard boil the eggs then let cool for at least 3 hours before pealing.
Slice in halves, pop the yolks out and into a bowl. Add in the yogurt, mustard, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast flakes, onion powder, and mayo.
The Three Bite Rule - Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs
Mix well and add in the chives.
The Three Bite Rule - Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs
Spoon into a ziplock bag, push to the bottom corner, and snip of the corner with scissors.
Pipe into the egg halves and sprinkle the remaining chives on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs
Enjoy!

I liked these! The flavors were a bit subtle, but still there. The yogurt gave a little tang and I added the mayo for some creaminess. I added the nutritional yeast flakes because it kind of mimics cheese and I thought it’d help the sour cream & onion touch without dip mix or anything. I have a few more flavor options in my head. Stay tuned!

Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese

This Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese is not joking about the garlic. I loooove homemade mac and cheese and the garlic flavor was so great! The little one hasn’t been interested in boxed Mac & Cheese but he loved this! He has good taste!

The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter +2 tablespoons for topping
3-4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken/vegetable broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon fresh garlic
1/2 pound pasta (elbows, shells, spirals, penne)
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese (+2 tablespoons for baking)
1 cup shredded gruyere (or fontina/provolone/gouda)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (+2 tablespoons for topping)
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (mine were seasoned)
1 cup fried onions, broken up
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

In a medium pot, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring the roux paste regularly.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
Pour in the chicken broth to the roux and stir well to combine. Then add the cream, milk, and garlic, bringing to a low boil.
Add in the cheddar, gruyere, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese
Cook the pasta until al dente & drain – return the pasta to the large empty pot.
Stir well as the cheese melts.
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese
Add cheese sauce into the pasta, stirring to assess how much more is needed (I had some sauce leftover that I froze).
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and pre-heat the oven to 375-degrees.
Spoon half the pasta into the dish. Sprinkle the cheddar in the middle, then pour the remaining pasta on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese
Bake for 15 minutes while prepping the topping.
Melt the 2 tablespoons of remaining butter and mix in the panko, the fried onions, remaining parmesan, and garlic powder.
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese
Sprinkle the topping onto the mac & cheese and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

I loved this. It has been awhile since I made some homemade mac & cheese. The topping was awesome and was kind of an afterthought. I happened upon the Frenches Fried Onions near the panko and thought it’d be perfect. They were!
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Parmesan Mac & Cheese

Smoky Cornbread Chex Mix

Snacks snacks snacks! October for Mr. J’s year of snacks/treats was themed: “homemade.” I tweaked a Chex Mix recipe to play more on the cornbread-smoke flavors rather than how muddy-buddy/powder-y the original recipe was. I added potato sticks, almonds, and corn chips.

The Three Bite Rule - Smokey Cornbread Chex Mix

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons corn syrup
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
4 cups Chex cereal (I used Rice Chex)
1 cup almonds
1 package potato sticks
~1 cup cornbread mix
1 cup corn chips

Directions:

Melt the butter and stir in corn syrup, sugar, and liquid smoke.
The Three Bite Rule - Smokey Cornbread Chex Mix

Mix together the cereal, almonds, and potato sticks.
The Three Bite Rule - Smokey Cornbread Chex Mix
Stir the sugary sauce into the cereal then add in the cornbread mix and the chips.
The Three Bite Rule - Smokey Cornbread Chex Mix
Pour onto wax paper to cool/dry for at least 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

This one was subtly addictive. I liked the smokiness and the chips are the perfect salty touch. It got a bit soggy a few days later so I’m not sure how to change that. Eat quickly! Next month’s theme is chewy!

Broccoli & Cheddar Risotto

Some of the most delicious things are not photogenic. This broccoli & cheddar risotto was so good but totally looks like rice-a-roni or something. I have looooved the pressure cooker and it is so great for risotto. It simmers opened for 4 minutes, then cooks for 6 minutes. Add a few minutes for getting to pressure and releasing the pressure. Done! Or, you could always make rice chop up some broccoli and add some cheese. Whatever works for you!

The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli & Cheddar Risotto

Ingredients:

1 cup arborio rice
1/2 white onion
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup water or white wine
salt & pepper
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups shredded cheddar

Directions:

Cook the risotto in a pot or in a pressure cooker, as you normally would: (Here’s my method via pressure cooker) or (Here’s my method in a pot).
I added in the broccoli to cook with the rice.
The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli & Cheddar Risotto
While is it hot, stir in the cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli & Cheddar Risotto
Enjoy!

At first I was disappointed the broccoli came apart, but then it was pretty great for a very evenly creamy bite. The texture was in the rice, and it was so unbelievably creamy. The little one was into it and it is still pretty addicting as leftovers!

The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli & Cheddar Risotto