Frozen Breakfast Burritos

I whipped up these breakfast burritos to freeze so I could have them on hand for whenever the mood strikes. I love savory breakfast options and this packs a punch without a lot of work. I wanted them to be a smart portion and healthier than fast-food breakfast so I opted for turkey sausage, getting a veggie in there, and mostly eggwhites.

The Three Bite Rule - Frozen Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients:

1 cup egg beaters
2 eggs
8 oz turkey breakfast sausage
2 cups arugula or spinach
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
6 wheat tortillas, 8″

Directions:

Heat a medium skillet to medium high heat, then fry the sausage. Once cooked, let it cool.
Whisk together the egg beaters and eggs, then cook in a large skillet over medium low heat. Once cooked, let it cool.
Assemble the burritos with greens, eggs, sausage, and cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Frozen Breakfast Burrito
Fold the sides in and roll the burrito closed. Then wrap in plastic wrap to freeze.
The Three Bite Rule - Frozen Breakfast Burrito
To eat, defrost in the fridge overnight, or microwave on defrost for 1 minute. Toast in the oven or toaster oven.
The Three Bite Rule - Frozen Breakfast Burrito
The arugula is a big flavor. I might use spinach next time.

suggested adaptations: 
bfast burrito + pepper jack cheese + salsa + black beans + corn – greens = Mexican Breakfast Burrito
bfast burrito – sausage + bacon – greens + herbs + a schmear of cream cheese = fancified bfast wrap
bfast burrito – cheddar – sausage + goat cheese + tomatoes + basil = vegetarian bfast wrap

Tortellini Salad with Spinach & Tomatoes

This tortellini salad could easily be a side dish but this ended up as the whole meal one warm night. It is addictive and packs a fresh and flavorful bite after bite after bite.

The Three Bite Rule - Tortellini Salad

Ingredients:

9 oz cheese tortellini
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups baby spinach leaves, chiffonade
1/4 cup cheddar
1 tbs creamy Caesar dressing

Directions:

Boil salted water and cook the tortellini according to the package.
Let cool, and toss with Italian dressing. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. I did this much before work.
The Three Bite Rule - Tortellini Salad
Stir in tomatoes, spinach, cheddar, and creamy dressing.
Salt & pepper to taste.
The Three Bite Rule - Tortellini Salad

I loved the juicy tomatoes adding a bit more moisture to this. The spinach acted like an herb while providing the benefit of vitamin A & vitamin C. The cheese was subtle but a great bite behind the freshness of everything else.

This was a great one-bowl-wonder dinner. It hit a few food groups and was suuuuper easy.

The Three Bite Rule - Tortellini Salad

Marinated Cucumber Salad

Normally I throw English cukes into everything. For this salad, it was all about regular cukes. This is the easiest side dish ever. I threw it together while some pork ribs were slowly doing their thing in the oven, before hitting the grill. This cucumber salad is fresh, crisp, and crunchy.

The Three Bite Rule - Marinated Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber, pealed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/2 tsp dill
1-2 tsp sugar

Directions:

In a jar, shake together the oil, vinegar, dill, and sugar.
The Three Bite Rule - Marinated Cucumber Salad
Add the cucumber slices, and mix well.
The Three Bite Rule - Marinated Cucumber Salad
Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Serve & enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Marinated Cucumber Salad
My mom used to make simple cucumber salads and simple tomato salads. They are such a great fresh side during BBQ season. They go with anything and are exactly what you need with a burger, something grilled, or something saucy.

Peppers and Meatball Calzone

This calzone isn’t such a far cry from my sausage and peppers calzone or from my meatball and spinach calzone but I think some of the best calzones are really the most successful. I like the mix of flavors and textures. Turkey meatballs have rent-controlled residence in my freezer and make a great calzone filling.

Not all turkey meatballs are created equal. Trader Joe’s has, hands down, the best ones out there. Perdue Turkey Meatballs are terrible…though this wouldn’t be the worst way to use ’em up. Cooked Perfect are pretty good. I’d definitely try Butterball’s turkey meatballs but I haven’t seen them in passing. I’ve made turkey meatballs myself but I think I like the ground chicken meatballs I’ve made better.

The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Calzone

Ingredients:

pizza dough
6-8 turkey meatballs
1/2 green pepper
1/2 white onion
1 cup tomato sauce
8 oz shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat the oven, and a pizza stone if using one, to 375 degrees.
Slice the meatballs into disks, the pepper into strips, and the onion into strips.
Saute the onions in a tsp of olive oil until tender, and starting to get translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add in the peppers, cook for another 5 minutes until everything is cooked through but still has some texture.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Calzone
Spread the pizza dough onto the pizza stone or onto a baking sheet. Lay the dough out onto the pan off center, so you’re adding the fillings to what will be the bottom, and you’ll be folding over the top. You won’t be repositioning it on the pan again.
Add the fillings in layers: cheese, peppers & onions, meatball disks, and a drizzle of tomato sauce. Repeat the layers filling and adding what seems like over-filling.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Calzone
Fold the top over across the filling. Pinch it closed, and slice some vents across the top.
Bake 20 minutes, then brush with eggwash or olive oil. Bake another 10 until golden brown.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Calzone
Let sit 5 minutes before slicing. (I cut it too soon, and look what happens).
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Calzone
It was so good. I loved the tradtional-ish flavors. Sometimes I go for out-there flavors but that made me appreciate what works together. The turkey meatballs being fully cooked helped speed this along. I tried to be careful to cook the onions enough before adding the peppers so they could cook evenly.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Calzone

Afternoon Tea Time

For a belated Mother’s Day outing, sis and I took our Momma to tea. We got dressed up and went downtown. Many of the hotels offer tea, but we went to The Langham, Boston because I just had an event there and they are lovely to work with. I was happy to give them our business.

The Three Bite Rule - Afternoon Tea
After cosying around a coffee table in plush sofas and arm chairs, we each ordered the Tiffin selection. For tea, I had a pomegrante green tea. I liked the showiness of getting smell the samples.

We got our tea and the sandwiches. There was a smoked salmon on Boston brown bread, egg & chive salad on brioche, roast beef and farmer’s cheese on sourdough, and English cucumber and dill with cream cheese. My fav was the egg salad.

The Three Bite Rule - Afternoon Tea
Next came the scones. Ohh the scones. This was the best scone I’ve ever had. Ever. There was clotted cream, strawberry jam, and lemon curd for the scones. I loved the mix of clotted cream and sweet jam. I could have just had the scones and tea. They were, hands down, the best part.
The Three Bite Rule - Afternoon Tea
We ended it with dessert. I think some were lacking and not really my thing. The raspberry macaroon and a little chocolate crunch cake were both amazing. I didn’t care about the other two.
The Three Bite Rule - Afternoon Tea
It was fun. I think we would have liked to order a la carte better. The sandwiches were good, but there was probably twice as many as we each needed.