What I Ate: Sugared Lime Watermelon

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.

Summer produce is in prime and I was wanting to make this snack but a fourth of a seedless watermelon seems like a lot when it isn’t anyone’s fav fruit at home. We gravitate to berries, cantaloupe and nectarines. It seemed like a good choice to bring to a BBQ to feed others though!
The Three Bite Rule - Sugared Lime Watermelon

Sugared Lime Watermelon

Ingredients:

1/4 seedless watermelon, sliced
zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Slice the watermelon.
Zest the lime and mix in the sugar and salt.
The Three Bite Rule - Sugared Lime Watermelon
Sprinkle generously over each side of the sliced watermelon, serve, and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Sugared Lime Watermelon
Not rocket science, but ohh-so-good. I love the lime and the salt with the watermelon. It was perfect for a warm day to eat outside – or any setting appropriate for watermelon juice to run down your arms!

I brought it ready to go, but next time I might sprinkle the sugar/salt/lime zest mix just before serving. It’d be cute cut onto skewers for a mobile snack!

 

Peach Cornmeal Pancakes

These pancakes are what summer Sunday mornings are made of. Mr. J and the little one went to a bike path nearby and I had some time to myself! With my four legged sous-chefs, of course. These pancakes are fluffy and have a cornmeal texture and flavor with juicy peach. I made a whole batch, despite eating breakfast by myself. I popped some into the fridge for later this week and the rest went into the freezer.
The Three Bite Rule - Peach Cornmeal Pancakes

Peach Cornmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1/4 cup half & half or whole milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 peach or nectarine
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

Mix together the dry ingredients: cornmeal; flour; sugar; baking powder; and salt. Mix together the wet: milk; cream; eggs; and vanilla.
The Three Bite Rule - Peach Cornmeal Pancakes
Then mix together the wet and dry – gently, and add in the melted butter and stir.
Chop the peach/nectarine into thin slices then diced. Half goes into a small pot with water, sugar, and syrup to boil and thicken for about 5 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Peach Cornmeal Pancakes
Heat a large pan or griddle to medium heat and spray generously with non-stick spray.
Ladle small scoops onto the hot griddle. Let cook for a minute or two and add in a few pieces of peach onto each pancake. Wait patiently for the pancake to bubble, puff, and get golden brown before flipping.
The Three Bite Rule - Peach Cornmeal Pancakes
Serve with peach topping and extra syrup.
The Three Bite Rule - Peach Cornmeal Pancakes

Enjoy!

My first two were crumbly messes. I didn’t let them cook long enough. Be patient. Do a yoga position and some breathing before trying to flip. They get delightfully golden and crispy…if allowed to cook enough. If regular pancakes take 2 minutes, these take 5.

What I Ate: German Chocolate Cake Topped Waffles

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.

The little one is obsessed with waffles. Seriously, he wants a waffle every. day. I saw Belgian waffles in the freezer section and was totally intrigued. I wanted to start with the frozen waffle but go with really fun toppings.
The Three Bite Rule - German Chocolate Cake Waffles

German Chocolate Cake Inspired Waffles (for 2)

Ingredients:

Belgian waffles
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon chocolate sauce
3 tablespoons nuts
2 tablespoons coconut flakes

Directions:

Toast the waffle until crisp and keep warm until serving.
Whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. While it is whipping, add in the chocolate sauce. Chill until serving.
In a dry pan, toast the nuts.
Then, use the pan to toast the coconut.
Top the waffles with coconut and nuts.
The Three Bite Rule - German Chocolate Cake Waffles
Add the chocolate whipped cream to a plastic bag and cut a corner and add to the top.
The Three Bite Rule - German Chocolate Cake Waffles
Enjoy!

I loved this 5 minute fun breakfast for a weekend morning. Swap out the walnuts for almonds and poof, you have an almond joy waffle I guess!

 

Sweet Pickle Macaroni Salad

Mr. J wasn’t into pickles until he had a bread & butter sweet pickle a few years ago. Now he wonders where they had been his whole life! I mixed up this sweet pickle macaroni salad as a side dish using not only the pickles, but the pickle “juice” for the dressing. It was an easy side to prep the night before for a faster week-night meal.

The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Pickle Macaroni Salad

Sweet Pickle Macaroni Salad (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of pasta, macaroni or other short noodle
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 small shallot, diced
2-3 sprigs of green onion, diced
3-4 bread & butter pickles, chopped
1/2 cup pickle juice
1/2 green pepper

Directions:

Boil salted water and add the pasta once it comes to a boil. Cook according to the package.
Mix together mayo, mustard, pickles, shallots, green onions, and pickle juice.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Pickle Macaroni Salad
Stir well and toss with the cooled pasta.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Pickle Macaroni Salad
When ready to serve, mix in the green pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Pickle Macaroni Salad
Enjoy!

I almost mixed in a hard boiled egg, but ended up sending that as the little one’s lunch. This was good and the sweetness was good with a grilled dinner.

Shrimp Cakes

I had another post queued up but was just so psyched by this one so it is cutting the line!  I loooove shrimp and went all out – even pan frying these! Gasp! I tend to get annoyed frying things since they require so much babysitting. These stayed together pretty well and were worth it. The shrimp cakes were full of such great corn & chive flavor! Plus if you’re growing chives, chances are you have tonssss – or sub parsley, or green onion, or whatever herb suits you.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Cake

These shrimp cakes have a touch of lemon and some sweet corn and shallots provided freshness and crunch. My corn was leftover and I used some frozen shrimp since I like to have them on hand. I’d totally whip a bunch of these up for a group, or as mini appetizers, or they were great to just make 2 servings.

Shrimp Cakes (for 2 entree servings, or 4 appetizer portions)

Ingredients:

1 cup shrimp (shelled, deveined, defrosted, etc as necessary), about 1/4 pound
2 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chives, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
~1 cup corn, off the cob
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt & pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Rough chop the shrimp into approximately thirds – smaller pieces but chunks.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan and oil to medium heat. (I used a small cast iron pan and added oil to be less than a quarter inch deep.)
Add shrimp, mayo, cornstarch, garlic, chives, shallot, corn, lemon juice, egg, and salt & pepper into a bowl and mix well.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Cake
Test the oil temperature by dropping in a tiny bit of the mixture. If it sizzles, spoon in about 3 tablespoons for each shrimp cake (or your desired size). Pan fry for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from the oil to a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Cake

I made these on a weekend afternoon and ate some of the more crumbly ones as lunch then the next night for dinner I just toasted these through and had them on salad for dinner. I looooved that these were full of shrimp and corn. I also really didn’t want them full of filler. I love me a good crabcake but wanted these to be different. The cornstarch makes them puffy and crunchy.

Make sure that oil is hot…otherwise they’ll be greasy and not crisp. I go with the small pan to just do a few at a time. Pop the done ones in an oven to stay warm if making for a crowd! I’d do little bites in advance for an app!