Cheeseburger Hash Brown Cups

These were a superbowl snack for us but cheeseburger hash brown cups would be a great non-grilling season dinner too! Mr. J grills year-round but a burger-ish app is great to use up leftovers, prepped as an app for a party, or as a twist to the format. These gave me another idea so stay tuned for that one too! 

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

They weren’t perfectly intact, but still good. I think my muffin tin in a bit bigger than usual and maybe a bit more care forming them would have helped.

Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups
Ingredients: 

~1/3 bag of tater tots (~4 per muffin cup) 
1/2 pound ground meat/meatless mix
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional, or sub 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
3 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup cheese, shredded
toppings: pickles, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, etc!

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (or as tot package calls for). Spray the muffin tin with non-stick spray and put 3-4 tots in each muffin hole. Bake for ~10 minutes and then press down to mold them into the cup shape. Spray again and bake for another 5 minutes until crispy.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

While the cups are crisping, pan fry the ground meat. When mostly cooked through, drain excess grease and add in liquid smoke, garlic powder, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.
Add in the crumbled bacon.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

Sprinkle each cup with ground meat, and cheese.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

Return to the oven to melt. Top with pickles and drizzles of ketchup and mustard. Enjoy!

I thought these were fun. It is easy to prep the cup part in advance and the rest comes together quickly!

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

Pickle de Gallo

Pickle lovers unite! This idea is by Grillo’s Pickles, but I never see it sold in my stores so I made my own. Eat it like a dip, put it on a burger/dog and you’ll love it on a taco.

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle de Gallo

Pickle de Gallo
Ingredients: (as dip for ~4)

~3/4 cup dill pickles (~4-5 spears)
~3/4 cup sweet pickles (mine were bread & butter chips)
1/2 cup tomatoes
1/4 white onion
2 cups baby arugula (or a bunch of cilantro or parsley)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup pickle juice (some dill & some sweet)

Directions:
Chop the pickles, tomatoes, onion, and greens/herbs.

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle de Gallo

Add it all to a bowl and stir in the oil and pickle juices. Stir well and refrigerate at least an hour.

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle de Gallo

Serve as dip or as a topping. Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle de Gallo

We put this on pulled pork tacos the first time and ate the rest with tortilla chips. I became obsessed and made it again serving it with crackers and another time with potato chips. It is so addicting. I love having bringing an offering that is vegetarian/dairy-free/gluten free (depending on your dipper) and fresh!

The mix of pickles is the key – it would be so strong with only dill pickles so definitely try it with both. I used greens for freshness (and once because cilantro is polarizing and I wasn’t sure if the group is into that). We all need more veggies, right?

It is flavorful and crunchy – make some and tell all the pickle puns. 😉



Lemon Herb Deviled Eggs

It has been a minute since I made some deviled eggs! These beauties are so springy with lemon and herbs.

The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Herb Deviled Eggs

Lemon & Herb Deviled Eggs
Ingredients: (for ~6 servings)

6 eggs
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice (half a lemon)
~4 chives
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper

Directions:
Hard boil and cool the eggs, then peal them.
Slice them in half and pop the yolks into a bowl.
Chop the chives.
Add in the mayo, mustard, lemon juice, chives, oregano, salt and pepper.

The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Herb Deviled Eggs

Mash and mix well, beat with a hand mixer or stir and blend in a food processor.
Set up a zip-top bag to sand upright into a heavy drinking glass. Then spoon the filling into the bag.
Plate the egg halves, snip a bottom corner off the bag and pipe the filling into each one – fill each just to the top of each well, then go back and add a swirl to the top to ensure each has enough filling.
Sprinkle remaining chives and grate some lemon zest over the top. (I lost one half in the pealing process – RIP, it couldn’t be saved).

The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Herb Deviled Eggs

Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Herb Deviled Eggs

I loved these! They were definitely lemony (only too much according to the 7-year-old but don’t trust his palate, he loves sour candies so I’m not sure what he’s talking about). He ate one half quickly and had thoughts about another one. The little girl dipped her cheese and crackers into the filling of her deviled egg a few times then ate the egg white.

I’ll definitely repeat. I’m envisioning the summer when we have herbs growing in the garden out of control! I had chives but the other fresh herbs that are ready was sage & mint – either of those would be weird. I don’t care about parsley but go for it. Fresh oregano and thyme would be my other picks!

We had these with an appetizer dinner and I love that they’re easy to just make a few and have no leftovers. Leftovers are fine for these but if I did have leftovers, I’d chop them and serve it on toast for a savory breakfast or into a pita for lunch!

Brie & Cranberry Cups

Apps for dinner might be a new tradition here! I didn’t have an occasion so I just made these delicious bites for dinner with a few other snacks and it was so fun! Phyllo cups get filled with brie and whole berry cranberry sauce and just a bit of rosemary – just a little assembly required.

The Three Bite Rule - Cranberry Brie Cups

Cranberry not your jam – lots of alternative ideas below!

Brie & Cranberry Cups
Ingredients: (app for ~6)

1 package phyllo cups (15 mini cups)
1/2 wheel of brie
1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1 sprig of rosemary
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Slice the brie into small pieces. Open and stir the cranberry sauce.

The Three Bite Rule - Cranberry Brie Cups

Chop the rosemary while the butter is melting then stir together.
On a baking sheet, lay out the phyllo cups and fill each with 2 small pieces of brie (to mostly fill the cups but not over the top edge).
Spoon a tiny dollop of cranberry on top, then spoon butter/rosemary into the cups.
Bake for 5-8 minutes as the package indicates and until the brie melts.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Cranberry Brie Cups

I had whole berry cranberry sauce and used it for these Thanksgiving Hot Wraps so I froze the remainder and here it is! These brie cups would be great with some raspberries or blackberries, out of the oven they could get a dab of jam (don’t bake that), or some pieces of bacon or caramelized onions.

We had these little cups as well as some crackers and dip, some caesar salad, and some ranch popcorn chicken. Everyone liked something and it was a fun meal.

Greek Chicken Turnovers

These little turnovers had a few flavors we love, in an easy format, plus the kiddos helped and liked them. We used puff pastry, hummus, roasted chicken, salad dressing, and tomatoes.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Turnovers

Anything in crescent dough is good in my book but the hummus in here was great! They would be perfect as an app or we had them with some orzo and some salad.

Greek Chicken Turnovers
Ingredients:
(for 8 turnovers, serves ~4 as a meal or 8 for apps)
1 tube crescent rolls (or crescent dough as a roll would make double sized ones)
1 cup roasted chicken (~1 chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken)
1-2 tablespoons creamy caesar dressing
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or fresh chopped oregano
1/4 cup hummus
1-2 small tomatoes

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees (or as the package directs).

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Turnovers

Chop and mix the chicken, the dressing, and oregano.
Unroll the crescents and lay each triangle flat, then spread hummus onto each triangle. Add chicken onto the wide part of the triangle and top with tomato slices and salt & pepper.
Carefully roll the wide end of the triangle and roll over onto itself towards the point.
Place onto a baking sheet.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Turnovers

Bake for ~10 minutes (according to your crescent rolls) until golden brown.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Turnovers

Enjoy!

We had these with orzo and some tomato/cucumber/feta salad in Italian dressing. They were so fun! The hummus is really subtle but adds some substance and keeps them from being too liquid-y and dripping.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Turnovers

Each kid ate one. They’re not always excited about foods all together but these are flavors we like and they were a hit. They’re very, very into feta in salad.

They reheat well too – especially if you undercook a bit (maybe 8 min versus 10) and reheat in the oven or toaster oven. They don’t need to be served hot – room temp is good too!

Need an alternate along the same lines?
Cheeseburger turnovers
Broccoli & Cheese Pinwheels
Chicken, Bacon, Ranch turnovers

Thanksgiving Nachos

Plan now – these Thanksgiving inspired nachos are perfect for leftovers, or if you’re not the host and want to whip up something with Thanksgiving vibes leading up to the holiday!

The Three Bite Rule - Thanksgiving Nachos

Thanksgiving Nachos
Ingredients: (serves ~4 as a meal, or ~6 as an app)
1 package waffle fries
2/3 cup jellied cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mayo
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
~1 cup turkey (I used roasted chicken as it was before Thanksgiving)
~1 cup turkey gravy
6 sage leaves, chopped

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400-degrees (or as waffle fry package directs).
Bake the fries (or air fry, but like nachos, there will be toppings and continue to cook).
Blend together cranberry sauce, sour cream, and mayo. This can be prepped in advance and refrigerated.

The Three Bite Rule - Thanksgiving Nachos

Chop or tear the turkey into bite-size pieces and warm.
Mix or warm the gravy.
When the fries are cooked, top half with the cheese, half the chicken, and a drizzle of gravy. Then place the remaining fries on top with remaining cheese, and another gravy drizzle. Return to the oven for ~3-5 minutes to melt the cheese.

The Three Bite Rule - Thanksgiving Nachos

Remove from the oven and top with sage and a drizzle of cranberry sauce.
Enjoy and serve remaining cranberry sauce and gravy on the side.

We had it for dinner with some green beans on the side. It was so fun! The 1st grader ate it all – and took care of the remaining cranberry sauce. The pre-schooler ate the cranberry aoli-sauce by the spoonful and only took a few bites of the rest.

The Three Bite Rule - Thanksgiving Nachos

I loved the bites with everything together! They are kind of a fork-nacho but these would be fun with sweet potato fries too! They could be party friendly as mini “stacks” and maybe a toothpick to hold together to serve a portion. The subtle cranberry was really good and would be great on a sandwich or wrap for leftovers or on a turkey burger!

Add this to your leftovers – or make this if you’re not having a turkey dinner!