Football Cheeseball

The inauguration was so so so important to me and I’m so happy to look forward. Next up: the Superbowl! I’m into the Superbowl for the snacks. And the commercials. And the halftime show. The cheeseball not only resembles a football but it also brings together the two delights of snacking: bacon and cheese.

The Three Bite Rule - Football Cheeseball

Football Cheeseball
Ingredients:

1 package cream cheese
1 onion
2 tablespoons bbq sauce
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon seasoning blend (Todd’s Dirt or Mrs. Dash or Italian Seasoning or 1/2 tsp Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt)
1/2 pound bacon
1/2 slice of provolone cheese
serve with sturdy crackers, like wheat thins or pita chips

Directions:
Caramelize the onion- slice and cook over low heat with a tablespoon of olive oil, for ~40 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat when they are soft and golden brown.
Bring the cream cheese to room temperature.
Using a mixer, mix up the cream cheese, caramelized onions, bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, and seasoning blend.

The Three Bite Rule - Football Cheeseball

Wrap in plastic wrap into a ball and refrigerate until serving, or at least 2 hours.
Chop the bacon and pan fry until crisp. Then drain the drippings.
When serving, unwrap the plastic from most of it and holding the plastic on one side, form into a football shape about 3/4 inch thick so you still have plastic to cover your hands while forming it.
Flip onto a serving plate removing the plastic. Push the bacon crumbles onto the top and sides until completely covered. Slice the cheese into one long strip with short strips across to be the laces.
Serve with crackers and enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Football Cheeseball

If you’re making this one in advance, mix up the cheeseball and chill until serving with the bacon separate.

We looooved this. The flavors are fantastic and very chill – it would fit in well with other tailgate-ish foods! Hot tip: leftover cheeseball spread onto a turkey sandwich = delicious.

Soft Cornbread with Hot Honey

My mom makes several cornbreads and this one is by far my fav- it has real corn and is so soft but not crumbly. The rest of the fam looooves one with dill and sour cream and onions but my heart is with this one. There’s real corn flavor and I can’t get enough of it. Make a half batch to go alongside your BBQ and then griddle some the next morning with a drizzle of hot honey- you can thank me later. Only make a whole batch if you have enough eaters- it lasts about 5 days refrigerated but spoils in 2 days at room temperature. This would be great in times of potlucks whenever that happens again?
The Three Bite Rule - Corn Bread with Hot Honey

Corn Bread with Hot Honey Drizzle

Ingredients: makes 9×9, ~6 servings

1 1/2 Boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
1 stick softened butter + 2-4 tablespoons to pan sear before serving
8 oz sour cream
8 oz can creamed corn
8 oz canned corn or frozen corn
2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Mix together the muffin mix, butter, sour cream, creamed corn, corn, and eggs with a stand or hand mixer until incorporated.
The Three Bite Rule - Corn Bread with Hot Honey
Pour into a 9×9 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake for 35 minutes until set and the edges brown.
While letting it cool, mix together the honey and hot sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - Corn Bread with Hot Honey
In a medium skillet, melt butter and sear each cut side of slices of cornbread.
Drizzle with hot honey and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Corn Bread with Hot Honey

It freezes well or freeze the remainder of the creamed corn and the save the half box of corn muffin mix. Next time you want to whip some together you’ll be well on your way! A whole batch would be 3 boxes of corn muffin mix- everything doubled and that makes a 9×13 so that would take a huge number of cornbread lovers!

 

Lettuce-less Salad Series: Watermelon Mint Salad

All these lettuce-less salad series will not be exclusively with fruit, but this was too good not to come next. Also, we bought a whole watermelon and the kids are just not as into it as other fruit so finding all the ways to use it was necessary. I chopped it up really finely to use the salad as a relish/topping, but it would be great on the side!

The Three Bite Rule - Watermelon Mint Relish

Watermelon Mint Salad

Ingredients: (for 4 as a side, for 6 as a topping)

1 cup watermelon
1 cucumber
1/2 shallot
~10 mint leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

Chop the watermelon, cucumber, shallot, and mint and add to a bowl.
The Three Bite Rule - Watermelon Mint Relish
Add in the olive oil, vinegar, and lime juice plus some salt and pepper and chili powder. Stir well and chill until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Watermelon Mint Relish
Enjoy!

This salad is so fresh and light and flavorful. It could be spiced up with jalapenos or other peppers. It would be great as salsa with chips too or in larger pieces as a side. We had it on top of grilled chicken this time.

The Three Bite Rule - Watermelon Mint Relish

Dark Cherry & Arugula Flatbread

I love the simplicity most about this flatbread. It has some special touches but is wayyy easier than it seems! The cherries were frozen- with the pits already removed! They can pretty much thaw on the counter while everything else is prepping! What a great way to get another color of the food rainbow in!

The Three Bite Rule - Cherry Arugula Flatbread

Cherry, Arugula & Parmesan Flatbread

Ingredients:

4 naan (I used wheat)
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese
3 cups baby arugula
1/4 cup shaved parmesan
1/2 cup dark cherries, frozen
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions:

The Three Bite Rule - Cherry Arugula Flatbread
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, or a toaster oven to toast the naan for 5-8 minutes, until crisping on the edges but still soft.
Toss the arugula in olive oil with salt & pepper.
Spread cream cheese on each piece of naan and sprinkle arugula, parmesan, and cherries on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Cherry Arugula Flatbread
Slice & enjoy!

This takes 10 minutes and I can picture munching it on a patio at a restaurant who’d ask $18 for it. I love the cherries contrasting the arugula and parm. The cherries are a great smoothie addition for leftovers or are fantastic on yogurt.
The Three Bite Rule - Cherry Arugula Flatbread
I use naan for the fastest weeknight pizzas ever. This week is nutty at work with an event this weekend so I planned some quick pizzas on naan for a weeknight meal and my Thursday night self thanks that Sunday planning self! Naan pizzas freeze well too if prepping in advance – not an arugula flatbread, but go for it with traditional toppings! I also found tiny naans that are a great kid size for lunches too!

Pesto Puff Pastry Twists

We go through a lot of pesto pasta here at our table. The pre-schooler and baby both love it and I appreciate it for variety. I smeared some on some puff pastry with cheese for this instant appetizer knowing it would be a hit!
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto Pasta Twists

Pesto Puff Pastry Twists

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator for ~8 hours or overnight
3 tablespoons pesto
1 cup shredded mozzarella & asiago
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Directions:

Roll out the puff pastry sheet.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (or as the puff pastry package suggests).
Spread the pesto across the whole sheet, all the way to the edges.
Sprinkle the cheese on top, all the way to the edges.
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto Pasta Twists
Slice with a pizza cutter into 1 1/2 inch strips. Hold from the ends and twist around. Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking sheet. (Add the cheese that falls out back into a crack.)
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto Pasta Twists
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto Pasta Twists
Let cool 5 minutes.
Serve with tomato sauce to dip. Enjoy!

These were a fun appetizer and could even be a meal of their own! Serve them as an app, alongside soup or pasta or with salad. These are a great use for a smaller amount of leftover pesto. These take so little hands-on time!
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto Pasta Twists