Chicken BLT Grain Bowl

It has been awhile since I shared some grain bowls and today I have a healthier twist still with some indulgent flavors. These have chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, and quinoa. The little bit of bacon adds great flavor and the small amount of chicken gets bulked up with an equal amount of mushrooms.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken BLT Grain Bowl

Chicken BLT Grain Bowl

Ingredients: (for 4)

3 cups quinoa prepared or other grain
1 teaspoon ranch dressing mix
8 oz portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lg chicken breast or 1 1/2 cups shredded roasted chicken
1 tomato, chopped
2 cups lettuce, or greens, chopped
4 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1/4 cup ranch dressing

Directions:

Prepare the quinoa (or grain) and stir in the dry dressing mix.
Saute the mushrooms in butter and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until golden – about 5 minutes over medium heat. Then remove from the heat.
Spoon the quinoa into 4 bowls then top each with mushrooms, chicken, tomato, lettuce, and bacon.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken BLT Grain Bowl
Drizzle with ranch and enjoy!

I loved this. Quinoa is not my fav grain but I do like variety so I prepped some to have around- and with the flavors of bacon and ranch, it seemed like any grain would be fine! I normally go for brown rice or farro- I like the bite of those.

I love grain bowls to get some fresh and rich bites all together. These are also a great way to stretch a small amount of chicken, or lots of small amount of veggies! I also love grain bowls for personalization. Not into mushrooms? Throw in some zucchini. No greens on hand? Swap for avocado. This is great packed for lunch, if you go somewhere, or lunch/dinner at home.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken BLT Grain Bowl

BLT Burger with Ground Bacon and Tomato Jam

Happy Birthday burger Mr. J! Annually I make a special burger and this one was such a good one! Grinding the bacon was no joke but it made for a delicious burger! The bacon flavor is totally up front. This tomato jam has the perfect sweet touch with some smoke and richness.

The Three Bite Rule - BLT Burger w/ Tomato Jam

BLT Burger

Ingredients: (for 4 burgers)

5 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground ginger (~3/4 inch)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
pinch red pepper flakes
1 pound ground pork
1/2 pound bacon
4 burger buns
lettuce

Directions:

In a heavy pot, over low heat, add the tomatoes, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt, cumin, paprika, worcestershire sauce, and red pepper flakes. Simmer on low for an hour. Then remove from heat and chill until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Burger w/ Tomato Jam
Grind the bacon or finely chop it while raw.
Mix the ground pork and bacon together and form into burgers. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Grill until cooked through, until 160-degrees. (We cooked on a flat top.)
Assemble the burgers with the bun, mayo, lettuce, the burger, a generous scoop of tomato jam and the top bun.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Burger w/ Tomato JamEnjoy!

The tomato jam is a great part to make in advance – even a day or two before. I then ate the leftovers on toast and think it’d be great in a grilled cheese, on eggs, tossed with pasta, or on a real BLT as the T.

Here’s the history of the Birthday Burgers for Mr. J:

2019 it was a Manchego Burger with manchego, quince jam, and arugula
2018 it was a Garlic Lovers Burger with garlic butter, chips, garlic aoli and white cheddar.
2017 it was an Ultimate Mexican Burger with queso, guac, and beans.
2016 it was a Mac & Cheese Stuffed Burger topped with bacon, onions, and tomato.
2015 it was a Picnic Burger with slaw & potato sticks
2014 it was a German Burger with horseradish, caramelized onions, pickles and a pretzel roll
2013 it was a Vermont Burger with maple mayo, cheddar, bacon, and spinach
2012 it was a Bacon Wrapped Burger – enough said
2011 it was a Stuffed Burger stuffed with bacon & cheddar or bacon & blue cheese

Bacon Aoli Burger

This bacon aoli is as amazing as it sounds and makes the burger. I’m glad there’s some leftover aoli for another time! It is packed with so much bacon flavor, a little creaminess and lots of smokey flavor.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Aoli Burger
Mine was a beyond meat burger which is SO good. It was, hands down, the best burger I’ve had in a long time. I made the bacon aoli in advance which totally sped up getting the burgers on the table. A toddler waits for no blog photos.

Bacon Aoli

Ingredients: (for 1/4 cup, about 4 servings)

2 strips of bacon, reserve the bacon drippings
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
salt & pepper

Directions:

Pan fry chopped bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and reserve the drippings.
Add the mayo, garlic, liquid smoke, bacon, bacon drippings when cooled, and salt and pepper to a small bowl.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Aoli Burger
Stir well.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Aoli Burger
Spread onto burgers topping them with more bacon, cheddar, arugula, and tomato – like I did. Or spread onto a BLT with more bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Or spread onto a roll with turkey, provolone, tomato, and arugula.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Aoli Burger
I loved this. We had these burgers with sweet potato tots and some white wine. It truly made a perfect mother’s day dinner for me!

Get your hands on some liquid smoke. It seems like a specialty ingredient, but it lasts forever and will transform your chili, it is great in any cheeseburger-ish item you’re not actually grilling (like cheeseburger layer dip) or Rootbeer bbq sauce or in any pork dish (like pork and bacon ragu). I use it all the time and just now need another bottle. I’ve seen it for sale in the grocery store too. In a pinch, Worcestershire sauce would be a back-up.

Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar and Ranch Risotto

These flavors are great on their own, but better together. That’s like all of us, right? These weird times we’re all navigating need meals to connect over. I don’t pretend all meals are perfect though at our house, most of us loved this. T was mostly into the bacon and didn’t go for the chicken. C ate some of all of it, but LOVED the chicken.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar & Ranch Risotto
Chicken was hard to come by on some of our digital grocery orders at one point. I had a few frozen chicken thighs and some panko breaded chicken tenders that were also formal residents of our freezer. However you like/whatever you can get! Risotto or any rice or whatever grain is kicking around your pantry. Any rice, or farro, or couscous, or quinoa, or lentils, or even beans would be good! Adding ranch flavor and cheddar and bacon will make the world seem better- or at least it’ll make dinner seem better!

Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar and Ranch Risotto

Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 cup arborio rice
1 1/2 chicken broth (or liquid ratio according to the method)
2 teaspoons dried Ranch powder mix
1 cup shredded cheddar
4 strips of bacon
4 chicken thighs grilled or pan seared or ~6 chicken tenders breaded and fried or baked
4 tablespoons ranch dressing (optional)

Directions:

Prepare the risotto according to the package (or method – I used the pressure cooker so I use the liquid ratio for that 1 cup arborio to 1 1/2 cups liquid) with the dried ranch mix.
While the risotto is cooking, chop the bacon and pan fry it until crisp, then remove from the grease but save a tablespoon or two.
Add in the tablespoon or two of bacon grease into the risotto when it is fully cooked, and mix in the cheddar cheese and bacon.
Bake or grill or sear the chicken.
Spoon some risotto into bowls or plates, slice chicken on top, and lastly add a drizzle of ranch dressing.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar & Ranch Risotto

The first time I made this I roasted some grape tomatoes for this too. Stirring in some fresh spinach would be good for a complete bowl meal. I tossed some salad stuff together on the side. Or green beans would go nicely with this too!

Waffle-ized Hash Browns with Everything Bagel Egg

Everything can be waffle-ized! I’ll admit, these could be pan fried like a potato pancake, but 1) I hate the splatter and patience of frying things and b) these get so delightfully crispy on the waffle iron. Waffle nooks & crannies to be filled with egg yolk? Sign. Me. Up.

I didn’t win the big burger competition but I’ll put together a post about that soon! For now, here’s an anytime meal I whipped up before we left for the competition.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
I made these for a weekend dinner- mostly for time sake, but they’re screaming: BRUNCHHH! I also made enough for another time and dropped some in the freezer for a rainy day. I used leftover cheese sauce I had in the freezer from homemade mac & cheese but have leftover queso (does anyone have leftovers?) use that! Have a can of Cambell’s canned cheddar cheese sauce (use half a can with a 1/4 cup of milk)? Use that!

Waffle-ized Hash Browns Topped with a Fried Egg & Everything Bagel Seasoning

Ingredients: (for ~4 full waffles, ~8 servings)

6 cups of frozen shredded hash browns (~2/3 of a 30oz bag)
2 cups shredded cheddar
2 eggs
1 cup cheese sauce
salt & pepper
3 teaspoons everything bagel seasoning
eggs (1-2 per serving)
bacon

Directions:

Mix together the hash browns, shredded cheese, cheese sauce, eggs, salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Preheat the waffle iron (or a skillet with oil) and preheat the oven to keep the “waffles” warm.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Heavily spray the waffle iron with non-stick spray- more than for a waffle.
Scoop about 3/4 of a cup onto the waffle iron and spread the hash browns out (spread more than for a waffle).
Cook on the waffle iron for ~5-7 minutes as the waffle iron instructs (mine gets filled, then tilted in the opposite direction to cook for 4 minutes, but these need longer than the waffle).
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Keep the waffles warm and re-spray and reload the iron, repeating to use all the mixture.
In a separate pan, fry the eggs sunny-side up or over easy, as you like.
Top half a waffle with an egg, per serving, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and everything bagel seasoning.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Enjoy!

Not into eggs? Slice an avocado! Cut them into quarters, melt a slice of cheese onto the egg and add the top waffle piece for a sandwich!
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg