Sweet Potato & Bacon Quiche

I had every intention for this to be a meatless meal but the bacon seemed just so necessary. Roasted bites of sweet potato with salty bits of bacon and buttery cheese come together to make this quiche substantial and so full of flavor. If it had to be meatless, I’d have substitute the bacon for sage. Bacon makes everything better so it felt important here. The sweet potato really called out for some salt.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche

Ingredients:

Pie crust
1 large sweet potato
3 strips of bacon
6 oz fontina
6 eggs
2/3 cup cream or half & half
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees and par bake the pie crust for 10 minutes.
Chop the sweet potato and toss in a coating of olive oil, salt & pepper and then roast for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Pan fry the bacon until crisp, then drain.
Grate the fontina.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and cream of tartar.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Layer cheese, potato, and bacon into the pie crust.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Pour the egg and milk mixture on top of the filling.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Bake for 40 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
I like the buttery crust here. Make it yourself if you’re so inclined, or unroll a frozen one and marvel at how quick this dinner is. I got the whole thing prepped and into the oven annnnnnd cleaned up by the time it was done baking.

The little one just wasn’t into it. I can’t figure out why he won’t eat things cooked together. Much like the components of my chicken pot pie, he loves these ingredients but didn’t eat much. He’s into sweet potatoes and loooves bacon but this wasn’t his thang. I on the other hand, was thrilled to have leftover quiche for breakfast following this dinner!

Maple Bacon Baked Brie

For Christmas we had apps all day instead of lunch/dinner. I made this baked brie in puff pastry with a maple, bacon, and caramelized onion topping. It was good, but a touch too sweet. Do as I say not, as I do!
Baked Brie with Maple Bacon & Caramelized Onions
I love baked brie but it needs to be served hot, and had a chance to set for a few minutes…otherwise all the brie oozes and is gone in a second!

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry
1 wheel of brie
1 cup caramelized onions (made ahead of time)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs maple syrup
3 strips of bacon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
Pan fry the bacon until crispy and let cool.
Mix up the onions, bacon, syrup, and brown sugar.
Baked Brie with Maple Bacon & Caramelized Onions
Unfold the puff pastry dough and put 1/3 of the filling in the middle, and put the brie on top. Spoon the rest of the filling on top of the brie.
Baked Brie with Maple Bacon & Caramelized Onions
Fold a corner of the puff pastry over the top, and keep folding around in a circle getting to the end.
Baked Brie with Maple Bacon & Caramelized Onions
Put onto a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Brush with maple syrup (or eggwash). Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with crackers to dip.
Baked Brie with Maple Bacon & Caramelized Onions
Enjoy!
Baked Brie with Maple Bacon & Caramelized Onions
I used a bit more brown sugar & syrup than I probably needed so I decreased it for the recipe above. I like the oozy cheese with the bacon and the onions. Anything in puff pastry is a winner in my book!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone

Theeeese a a few of my favorite things…

I found some frozen roasted chicken in the freezer and decided it would fare best if cooked and would be perfect in a calzone. Add my fav flavors, and thus, a meal is born. I used roasted chicken, crispy bacon, chopped tomato, alfredo sauce, ranch seasoning, and mozzarella. I felt like a rockstar to prep this 75% of the way the night before and just finish it before serving. Boo-yah.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone

Ingredients:

pizza dough
2 cups roasted chicken
3 strips of bacon
1 1/2 cups mozzarella (mine was a mix of fresh & shredded)
3 tbs dried ranch seasoning
1 cup alfredo sauce
1 small tomato, diced

Directions:

Preheat the oven & pizza stone (if using one) to 400-degrees.
Pan fry the bacon until crispy.
Warm the chicken in a medium pan over low heat and add 1 tablespoon of the ranch seasoning.
Lay the dough onto the pan or pizza stone, off center, for the filling to go on the bottom and for the rest to fold over.
Add chicken, tomatoes, cheese, alfredo, and ranch seasoning.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone
Then repeat the layers making sure to get the filling all the way to the ends & edges.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone
Fold the rest of the dough over the filling and pinch to close. Press down slightly to push the filling throughout the inside. Cut a few slits into the top to vent.
Bake 30 minutes until browned and crisped.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone
Serve and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone
I knew we’d love this. What’s not to love? It was a perfect use for some leftover roasted chicken from the freezer (also the dough and bacon came from the freezer too). It was equally perfect that I prepped it the night before when I didn’t have to rush. I cooked it for about 20 minutes that night and just 15 minutes to serve. Dinner time is such a race against the clock and it was really nice to have this pretty ready. #winning
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone

Maple Bacon Creamed Corn

I was totally inspired by this lunch-lady-dude on Next Food Network Star when he made maple bacon creamed corn to top with a crab cake. I wish it were time for local fresh corn, but we’re not quite there yet. Instead, this is the snazziest freezer-side-dish ever.

Maple Bacon Creamed Corn - The Three Bite Rule
We grilled some chicken to serve over this sweet and smokey creamed corn. I couldn’t believe it…the little one gobbled almost a whole chicken thigh! He tends to choose the fruits/veggies/carbs over chicken but we just keep serving it. He had some regular corn and some of this maple bacon creamed corn.

The creamed corn took the same amount of time to cook as the chicken. Perfect!

Ingredients:

2 slices of bacon
1/2 yellow onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups corn
3 tablesoons of water
1/3 cup milk or cream
2 tbs maple syrup

Directions:

Pan fry the bacon.
While the bacon is cooking, chop the onion and add the onion pieces and butter to a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Let the onions cook until soft & translucent ~8 minutes.
Add in the corn (mine was frozen), the water, syrup, and the milk.
Maple Bacon Creamed Corn - The Three Bite Rule
Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5-10 minutes.
If using frozen corn, remove about 1/3 – 1/2 and blend or food process it a little bit. Break it down a bit without totally obliterating it. Fresh corn will likely break down a bit on is own.
Maple Bacon Creamed Corn - The Three Bite Rule
Add that back in, stir, and then add in the crispy bacon.
Maple Bacon Creamed Corn - The Three Bite Rule
Stir while cooking another minute or two. Serve and enjoy!
Maple Bacon Creamed Corn - The Three Bite Rule
I loved the sweet maple-y bacon flavors with spiced grilled chicken. It was a quick & unusual side dish for us with some pretty easy grilled chicken thighs. I like a new thing to go with something hands-off/no-stress/straightforward other foods. It would have been ideal to have a sharp & peppery arugula salad with this, but this was what we could make happen. This family dinner outside was glorious.

Bacon Blue Cheese Pasta Salad

We tend to be slaw/potato salad folks around here. I almost made this as potato salad, but that takes so. much. longer. This, as pasta salad, was super quick…like end of naptime quick. I boiled the pasta and started to fry the bacon while the pasta got a chance to cool. It got dressed to hang out in the fridge until dinner time. Voila! This is best when chilled for 1-3 hours and served then. To serve the next day it’ll need some mayo/plain yogurt/sour cream. The blue cheese dressing is more on the oily side versus the purely creamy side.

The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Blue Cheese Pasta Salad

Bacon Blue Cheese Pasta Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/4 box of large elbow pasta
2-3 slices of bacon
1 1/4 cup blue cheese salad dressing
2 tbs fresh chives, chopped (or green onions)
salt & pepper
crumbled blue cheese (optional)
hot sauce (optional)

Directions: (prep at least 1 hour in advance)

Boil pasta according to the package, cooking until soft, less than al dente.
Chop and pan fry the bacon until crisp, then drain.
Let the pasta cool. Stir a few times so it doesn’t become one chunk of pasta. Once cool, mix in 1 cup of the blue cheese dressing and the chives. Add in salt & pepper. Then cover and refrigerate at least an hour, preferably 1-3 hours.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Blue Cheese Pasta Salad
Before serving, mix in the rest of the dressing and most of the bacon, reserving a little for the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Blue Cheese Pasta Salad
Serve with the rest of the bacon on top. Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Blue Cheese Pasta Salad

This was great! I liked the flavor and the subtlety of it. I didn’t add in additional blue cheese or hot sauce, but this could totally become buffalo blue cheese pasta salad. I used the good, produce-area, blue cheese dressing. I think this is so easy that it is worth repeating and adds a great alternative to the normal, often-lackluster pasta salad.