January Round-Up with Superbowl Snack Ideas

The start to 2014 has been great. Work has been rolling along and getting busy. Hitting my first 3-months at the new job has me feeling more settled and more knowledgeable about everything. I can’t believe it has already been 3 months! Lots of folks at work are all about their fitbit/jawbone/nike fuelband/etc. It’d be a great comparison, thought I don’t exactly have the ability to buy them all and test ’em out. It does have me thinking and wanting to blog something….

I’ve been really appreciating the hibernation-feeling of January. I love having some fun things happening over the weekend but it isn’t non-stop. That’s my favorite. There’s time to make last-minute plans and the freezing temps makes me enjoy hunkering down with some great down-time…perfect for old West Wing episodes (I’m up to season 3). I’m behind on the book I should be reading but I’ll get going. A step aerobics class has brought me back to way-back-when I took step 9 years ago.

For February, I’m psyched for the Olympics. I just watched the Price of Gold story about the ’94 figure skaters, which I remember happening. It was fascinating!

Do you follow me on instagram? I posted a pic of an unbelievable dinner of chicken and waffles Mr. J made. He fried the chicken himself and we couldn’t get over it. Crazy good. Also, I found roasted garlic at the salad bar in the grocery store for dirt cheap. Such a great 40-cent find! Who knew?

In January I redid my traditional lasagna with assembly tips and LOTS of adaptation suggestions.
The Three Bite Rule - Traditional Lasagna

I posted my cheese fondue party. I repeated the fondue for New Year’s Eve too. I still need to show you what I did with some leftovers. Ahhh-mazing. Stay tuned.

Maple Dijon Chicken is such a simple but fantastic recipe. It takes barely any time and you’ll make it again and again. Just try it.
The Three Bite Rule - Maple Dijon Chicken


Need some superbowl snack ideas?

Did you see my Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls? Doesn’t get much better than that!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
To add to your Superbowl Spread….
No-Cooking Required Greek Dip is a base of hummus with chopped veggies, feta, and Greek dressing. Super easy and fresh.
Or Make Everything in a Muffin Tin for easy plate-filling and minimal game distractions.
Apple Cheesecake Dip with apple dippers is an addictive sweet dessert-ish dip
Set up a panini bar or a taco bar or a nacho bar and let your guests make-your-own. The ease is great for the host, and everyone loves to customize their own.


Status of This Year’s Goals:

Year-of-the: self imposed cooking challenge resulted in seeking savory breakfast ideas via Quiche Lorraine
The Three Bite Rule - Quiche Lorraine
also I bought myself more flowers

I’m not sure what will be on the menu in February yet. I have some kitchen tips I was thinking of sharing. I have some more salad and panini ideas. February is a great time for wintry food so I’ll see what else I come up with.

Superbowl Snacks: Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls

These are the PERFECT appetizer. There’s crunch! There’s bacon! There’s freshness in the greens! There’s warmth with cool ranch! Soooo good! Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls are not “spring rolls” in any traditional sense, but are such a fun treat that I’m sure everyone would like. They’d be easy to prep and cook partially and then warm in the oven when the big game starts.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 oz dry ranch mix (1 packet)
2 cups arugula
4 green onions
3 slices of bacon
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
Wonton wrappers

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.
In a large pan, fry the bacon until crisp, then remove to paper towels to drain. Leave the bacon drippings in the pan over low heat.
Warm the chicken in the bacon dripping pan.
Add in 3/4 of the dry ranch mix to the chicken, mix well, and then remove from the heat.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Chop the arugula, green onions, and bacon.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Mix in the chicken once it has cooled a bit also adding the cheese to the arugula and bacon. (if the mixture is too hot, the cheese will melt and get all stringy)
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Sprinkle in the rest of the dry ranch mix, then stir well.
Lay out the wonton wrappers. Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of filling onto the wrappers, across the middle at an angle.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Roll them up, folding the bottom point up across the filling. Fold the sides in towards the middle. Roll towards the far point, tucking the edges in as you roll away from you.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Lay the rolls on a sheet pan with the point facing the pan. Spray, drizzle, or brush with olive oil.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Then bake for 10 minutes.
Flip over and bake another 10 minutes to ensure all sides get crisped. Pan frying in oil is an alternative.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Serve with ranch dip or dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
I used some of a roasted chicken for this, which really made this app really easy to whip together. I grabbed a deli roasted chicken and used half for a chicken pot pie. Then I took the rest of the chicken off the bone and froze it, to bring it to life for this! I used the bones to make broth for the chicken pot pie with some leftover too.  For this spring rolls I used all the filling and most of the wonton wrappers I had. I figured any we didn’t eat could easily freeze or reheat in the oven.

This uses a surprisingly small amount of bacon so I warmed the chicken in the bacon drippings for some more bacon flavor and to get some moisture into the chicken. The chicken was already cooked but I wanted to warm it to better incorporate the ranch flavor.

suggested adaptations: 
Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls – wontons + croissant dough or puff pastry = Chicken Bacon Ranch Rolls with less crunch but more doughiness
Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls – ranch + smokey dry rub + BBQ Sauce for dipping = Chicken Bacon BBQ Spring Rolls
Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls – arugula + spinach/cabbage/sprouts = Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls with more mild fresh flavor

What I Ate: BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos

What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

I found roasted pork at Trader Joe’s and grabbed it tossing it into the freezer. I hadn’t made a plan for it, but figured it’d come in handy.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos
It is fully cooked, which saves you about 6 hours of slow cooking pork shoulder.

I heated it with a smokey BBQ sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos

I served it in flour tortillas with sliced tomatoes, sliced avocado, black beans, corn, and BBQ ranch drizzle.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos
Seriously so good. Keep these goodies on hand, or use leftovers in a new way. I’ve made pulled pork tacos before that had a slaw topping. This time the BBQ ranch and avocado made the tacos seem summery and super flavorful.

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza

I love all veggies roasted. Seriously, roasting is the best. all. the. time. I made pizza last year with butternut squash, bacon, and gouda but this time I kept the roasted squash in chunks and I used ricotta as “sauce”. While I haven’t seen it in person, the menu at Otto has a pizza with butternut squash, ricotta, and cranberry. I wonder how theirs is so I started with just those ingredients….somewhat. It was so good.

The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash Cranberry Pizza

I really loved the slightly rehydrated dried berries. I was trying with contain myself and not go overboard (umm unlike when I made this salad) actually wished I had more! I also unearthed a million partial bags of dried cranberries. I guess I need to use them more often. I used dried cranberries that were infused with blueberry juice. They taste like blueberries but are actually cranberries. Whatever. They’re cranberries pretending to be blueberries.
The Three Bite Rule - Roasted Butternut Squash Cranberry Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza dough
1 1/2 cup ricotta
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 butternut squash, cubed
1/3 cup dried cranberries, blueberries, raisins, cherries
2 tbs butter
1 tsp garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat the oven and pizza stone (if using one) to 400-degrees.
Roast the butternut squash drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping once while cooking the dough.
The Three Bite Rule - Roasted Butternut Squash Cranberry Pizza
Spread the pizza dough out and poke a few holes into the dough.
Cook the dough for 10-15 minutes until lightly cooked.
Remove from the oven and spread ricotta onto the dough. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash and Cranberry Pizza
Spoon roasted squash onto the pizza.
Return to the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese melts and the crust browns a bit.
In a small pot, melt butter and garlic over medium heat.
When it starts to gently bubble, add in the dried berries. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash and Cranberry Pizza

Once the pizza is cooked, remove from the oven and spoon the butter/garlic/berry sauce over the top.
Let sit about 2 minutes before slicing.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash Cranberry PizzaEnjoy!

I loved this. I think the garlicky, buttery, and fruity flavors were perfectly contrasted against the nutty and salty squash.
The Three Bite Rule - Roasted Butternut Squash Cranberry Pizza
This pizza would be great if you were making a few pizzas. It might not be everyone’s first choice for pizzas but I swear, try the garlic/butter/rehydrated berries on the pizza before you knock it.

Suggested adaptations:
roasted butternut squash pizza + caramelized onions + toasted walnuts = super topped pizza
roasted butternut squash pizza – ricotta + other cheeses (fontina, gouda, swiss) – dried berries = more flavor if dried fruit isn’t your thing
roasted butternut squash pizza + sliced chicken sausage or chopped prosciutto = non-vegetarian pizza

Parmesan Pesto Tilapia

Mr. J isn’t into fish and I don’t do red meat so sometimes we do his-and-hers with shared sides. I went grocery shopping thinking maybe I’d get salmon, but the tilapia was a steal so I got some which ended up being 2 servings. I popped half in the freezer for another time. We shared some mashed potato/cauliflower and roasted asparagus.

I don’t cook fish that often and I was so happy and surprised by this. I threw it together and think the sauce would be great on other white fish, or chicken, or pork. Seriously, buying pesto pre-made is really handy for a lot of uses.
The Three Bite Rule - Parmesan Pesto Tilapia

Ingredients:

1 tilapia fillet
1 tbs pesto
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp mayo/olive oil
1 tsp parmesan grated
salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Sprinkle each side of the tilapia with salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Parmesan Pesto Tilapia
In a small bowl, whisk together the pesto, lemon juice, mayo, and parmesan together.
The Three Bite Rule - Parmesan Pesto Tilapia
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and spoon a few tablespoons of sauce onto the bottom the baking dish. Lay the fillet on-top, spooning the rest of the sauce over the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Parmesan Pesto Tilapia
Bake 20 minutes. Then flip the fish and bake another 10 minutes.

I absolutely loved this. I thought the sauce was bright and powerful enough to flavor the fish. The lemon seemed appropriate for the fish but the pesto was the shining star on this one. This super simple sauce will reappear again, I’m sure.

The Three Bite Rule - Parmesan Pesto Tilapia
Leftover pesto? Use pesto in grilled cheese. Use pesto on potato pizza. Use pesto in your lasagna. Use pesto aoli on a panini. Use pesto in your tomato soup or wherever you might use basil.