BLT Pasta

After making the BLT Panini, I had some really good bacon leftover so I wanted to make something else fun with it. I have no trouble finding uses for it but I thought about adding it into a pasta and then decided to let it have the spotlight. Sundried tomatoes and spinach rounded out the BLT-ness of this and the sauce was really minimal. The minimal is good in this scenario since the 1980s are probably trying to reach me and take the sundried tomatoes back.

BLT Pasta - The Three Bite Rule

Ingredients:

6 slices of thick cut bacon
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 pound pasta
2 tbs butter
1 tbs creamed cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Pan fry the bacon until crisp in a large skillet, then remove and drain on paper towels. Remove from the heat and discard half the bacon grease (keeping half in the pan).
BLT Pasta - The Three Bite Rule
Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package.
Chop the sundried tomato and spinach to the size of your liking. I chopped the spinach just a bit and chopped the sundried tomatoes a lot.
BLT Pasta - The Three Bite Rule
Drain the pasta when cooked reserving a bit of the starchy water.
In the skillet with the bacon drippings, add in the butter and the cream cheese, melting over medium low heat. Add in the milk, pasta, sundried tomatoes, parmesan, spinach, salt & pepper.
BLT Pasta - The Three Bite Rule
Raise heat to medium and toss well to coat for 1-2 minutes. If it seems too dry, add in a splash of the cooking water.
BLT Pasta - The Three Bite Rule
Serve promptly & enjoy!

I liked the simplicity of this dinner. I didn’t want the spinach to disintegrate completely, just to warm a touch. I’m all about sundried tomatoes lately. Sometimes you just need to revisit something to remember what a fun tough it brings. Roasted cherry tomatoes would be good too.
BLT Pasta - The Three Bite Rule
In case you aren’t up on every. single. line. of Friends episodes…
Friends episode with sun dried tomatoes

Bacon, Cheddar, and Caramelized Onion Quiche

This might be my new favorite quiche. Bacon and cheddar is a happy union but the caramelized onions add some sweetness to the party. I need caramelized onions in my life more often. I bought onions and then discovered I already had a bunch. Oops. Time to make a batch of caramelized onions before mine start growing sprouts. I made a big batch and froze the rest for the next pizza that needs a topping, or omelette that needs something special, or the next panini. If you’re going to take the time/patience to caramelize one onion, you might as well caramelize a bunch.

Bacon Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Quiche - The Three Bite Rule

Ingredients:

pie crust
5 slices bacon
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup milk
1 tbs dijon mustard
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
salt & pepper
1 onion, caramelized
6 oz cheddar

Directions:

Cut onions into thick rings then in half and half again the other way. Caramelize onions in a heavy skillet over low heat and 1 tbs of olive oil.
Bacon Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Quiche - The Three Bite Rule
Cook over low, stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned.
Bacon Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Quiche - The Three Bite Rule
Pan fry the bacon until crisp.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Whisk together the eggs, yolks, milk, mustard, cream of tartar, salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Quiche Lorraine
In the crust, add in the cheese, bacon, and onions in layers.
Bacon Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Quiche - The Three Bite Rule
Pour the egg liquid mixture over the top.
Bacon Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Quiche - The Three Bite Rule
Bake 30 minutes until the center is set. Let cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Bacon Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Quiche - The Three Bite Rule

I love the smoky bacon with the sweet onions, with the sharp cheddar. Pure bliss. Quiche is perfect for breakfast or lunch and I loved having some on hand. I doubled the egg mixture (thanks to eggs from the ‘rents) and made my sis a broccoli cheddar quiche at the same time. A crust pack of 2 and plenty of cheese on hand helped remind me that making 2 quiches at once was the same amount of work as making one. Try it. Double the egg mix and use the veggies you have around and gift one away. It’ll feel as good as it tastes.

Ultimate BLT Panini

There are only so many variations on a BLT that I can share (like this Avocado BLT, or this BLT Burger, or this BLT Scallop Pizza, or this BLT Pasta Salad, or Bacon Jam BLT Pizza) but I panini-ified my BLT and splurged on good ingredients to make it a dinner. I went all out on thickcut, pepper-crusted bacon. Think expensive bacon. I mean, it was dinner, so the pricey stuff was worth it.

The Three Bite Rule - BLT Panini

Ingredients:

thick cut bacon, 3 slices per sandwich
oatmeal or sourdough bread
arugula
tomato
colby jack or sharp cheddar cheese
aoli/mayo (I used this!)/parmesan peppercorn dressing/honey mustard

Directions:

Bake the bacon slices in a 400-degree oven for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack ontop of a baking sheet.
While the bacon is baking, spread the bread with mayo. Top the bread with the bacon. Load it up, this is a dinner sandwich.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Panini
Layer the sandwiches with arugula, and tomato.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Panini
Top with cheese and 2nd slice of bread. Preheat the panini press, a grill pan, or a griddle.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Panini
Brush the bread/griddle/press with olive oil and grill the sandwiches until crisp and melted.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Panini
I liked this one a lot. I think the arugula and the peppery bacon were great touches to elevate this to a more special sandwich.  The greens need to be one that can stand getting warmed, like arugula or spinach. Regular lettuces would just get wilty. I liked this sandwich grilled. Toasty bread is my favorite and those grill lines are the best but melting the cheese and warming everything through took it from a toasted sandwich to a panini.

Do you ever bake your bacon? It keeps it flat, you don’t have spatters of bacon grease, and you don’t have to flip & babysit it. I don’t always bake it, but it is such a great method. Anytime I’m going to chop the bacon I do that before cooking it and then I can push it around the pan and just scoop with a slotted spoon instead of trying to keep it from curling up and cooking unevenly.

Loaded Potato Skins with Extra Seasoning

Woah! A real recipe! I know, I know, contain yourself. I’m back at it…sort of.

For the Superbowl I was wanting to make something that would be do-able with Baby T dictating my schedule. I thought of potato skins and thought they’d be good since they’re sort of football shaped, and I could do most of the prep earlier and just pop them in the oven when it was game-time. I added one not-so-secret ingredient to kick them up a touch and it was great!

Mr. J loooves his sports snacks and I’m really only into the Superbowl for the snacks (and commercials – my fav was the Budweiser Clydesdales and the puppy…I was in tears). We had a spread of these, veggies with ranch, guac & queso with tortilla chips. Perfection!

The Three Bite Rule - Potato Skins

Ingredients:

6 potatoes, baked
4 tbs butter
1 tbs French Onion Soup Mix
6 strips of bacon
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

Directions:

Half then hollow out the potatoes leaving some potato around the skin.
Melt the butter. Mix the butter and soup mix together.
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Skins
Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
Cook the bacon until crisp and drain the excess grease. Chop into small pieces.
Brush the butter/seasoning mix over the potato halves on a baking sheet.
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Skins
Sprinkle with shredded cheese and top with bacon.
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Skins
Bake at 375-degrees for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the potato crisps.
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Skins
Enjoy!

I baked the potatoes earlier in the day. I always forget how long they take to bake. I could have gotten them started in the micro to speed it up. I saved the innards thinking it’d become mashed potatoes for a side dish or lunch. Being home everyday and feeding myself lunch has been interesting…these potato skin leftovers became lunch a few times!

I liked the additional seasoning and think it’d be easy enough to use a spice rub or any seasoning mix you have around. I didn’t salt/pepper them since the seasoning had plenty of salt. Next time I’d be sure to brush it on more evenly…some had more flavor than others. I know pre-packed soup mix isn’t the healthiest but I’m considering making (and blogging) something with a newborn to be a win. #winning

Breakfast Panini

Breakfast sandwiches are one of my favorite things to eat. Offer me anything and a breakfast sandwich and I’ll always go for the bfast sand. This time I made it as a panini and it was so good. I like to think the panini made it more dinner-ish but that might just be me. Bfast for dinner is so fast and I only used one pan and the panini press to whip all this up!

The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Panini

Ingredients: (makes 2 paninis)

4 slices of bacon
3 eggs
6 slices of cheddar
1 tomato, sliced
4 slices sourdough bread

Directions:

Chop the bacon and pan fry until crisp. Drain out the grease, spray with nonstick spray.
Whisk the eggs, season with salt & pepper, then pour into the bacon pan.
Cook through and flip once making one flat egg disk.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Panini
Preheat the panini press, grill pan, or a griddle.
Assemble the sandwich with the bread, half the cheese, and tomato slices.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Panini
Then add egg, bacon, and the remaining cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Panini
Brush with olive oil and grill the sandwiches.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Panini
Serve with potatoes or fruit! I went with sweet potato tots…my fav.

The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Panini
My local bagel joint makes their sandwiches with egg cooked like this…more like an omelet than a fried egg. Cheese on either side of the bread holds everything together, and the egg stays together more than scrambled would. My other favorite breakfast sandwich spot chops the bacon instead of leaving long strips which is genius. You get some in every bite!

Suggested adaptations: 
bfast panini + cheese with the egg = omelette panini
bfast panini – bacon + ham/sausage/or meatless
bfast panini – bacon + ham + sautéed onions = western panini
bfast panini – bread + english muffin (still panini pressed)