Herb & Yogurt Marinated Chicken over Orzo

Tomatoes were sort of a bust this year…we had a culprit nabbing them and the latest ones aren’t getting ripe. Herbs on the other hand…are going like GANG-BUSTERS. I wanted to highlight a few so they became part of my marinade. We grilled the chicken and I served it over some pretty basic orzo…like butter/tomatoes/basil/salt & pepper. The babe loved both the “chick-ken” and was thrilled to have his own bowl of orzo. It kind of was all over him, but Orzo-man was worth it.

Herb Marinated Chicken over Orzo - The Three Bite Rule

I kept the yogurt-ness going with a tzatiki-like sauce to go with it. I don’t have any dill and I wasn’t about to buy more fresh herbs right now so I improvised with mint & oregano. Yay for all. the. herbs. Let’s count ’em: basil, oregano, mint, & lemon thyme.

Ingredients:

6 oz plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons Greek or Italian Dressing
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons each: oregano & thyme
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon each: mint & basil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic
1/4 cucumber, with the seeds removed, diced or shredded
1/2 pound of orzo
1 tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon butter

Directions:

Mix together the 3/4 of the yogurt, milk, oregano, thyme, and add the chicken to marinade for at least 30 minutes. Mine marinated for ~2.5 hours.
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Meanwhile, mix together the cucumber, yogurt, mint, oregano, lemon juice, and garlic. Then refrigerate until serving.
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Grill the chicken until cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking, boil water for the orzo and cook according to the package (probably 8-10 minutes).
Toss together the orzo, butter, tomato and once it cools a bit, add the basil.
Herb Marinated Chicken over Orzo - The Three Bite Rule
Serve the chicken over a bed of orzo, topped with the cucumber yogurt sauce.
Enjoy!
Herb Marinated Chicken over Orzo - The Three Bite Rule

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

Baked Monte Cristo Pockets

As a kid, one of my restaurant memories with the fam was to a pub that was a bit of a drive so it wasn’t a last minute trip. It was something we planned for and looked forward to. I remember my mom choosing French onion soup and my dad choosing a monte cristo…both choices we didn’t make at home. I had some leftover ham from Easter in the freezer and some sliced turkey so I wanted to try a monte cristo that I didn’t have to fry.

The Three Bite Rule - Baked Monte Cristo
Ingredients: (makes 4)
1 pkg of 8 croissants
4 slices turkey
2 slices ham
1/4 cup shredded swiss
1/4 cup strawberry jam

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Pop the croissant package and unroll the dough. Roll it out a bit, or press it to be more thin with your fingers. Split the dough into 4 squares, not the perforated triangles.
Lay a slice of turkey and a little ham onto each of the 4 squares of dough.
The Three Bite Rule - Baked Monte Cristo
Sprinkle a little cheese onto each, and spoon a few drops of jam onto each as well.
The Three Bite Rule - Baked Monte Cristo
Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the bottom over the fold to close it.
The Three Bite Rule - Baked Monte Cristo
Cut a few vent slits into the top.
Bake for 10 minutes, or as long as the croissant package instructs.
Serve and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Baked Monte Cristo
I liked these. They also were so quick to assemble and bake which made me love them even more! Seriously: 5 minutes of assembly + 10 minutes of baking = dinner in a jiffy. The babe ate one chopped up and I toasted one for a breakfast one day!

Chicken with Garlicky Veggie Sauce over Polenta

Pressure cooker success, again! Jump on board the pressure-cooker train, or really, just cook the chicken as you wish, this sauce was so good. I served it over polenta but rice, pasta, or couscous would be good too. Polenta cooks for about 5 minutes, so that’s definitely a selling point for that one.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Garlicky Veggie Sauce over Polenta

Ingredients:

2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbs Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Marsala wine
2 tbs butter
1 zucchini
1 cup instant polenta
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk or cream
1/2 grated Parmesan
~5 basil leaves

Directions:

Roast the tomatoes in a 400-degree oven with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, until they blister and pop.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on each side. Sear the chicken on both sides in the pressure cooker or in a skillet. Then either add to the pressure cooker with 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, high pressure for 10 minutes, or roast in the oven at 375-degrees for 30 minutes.
In a medium pot, bring 1 cup of the chicken broth to a boil. Add in garlic, Marsala wine, and butter and return to a boil for about 5 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Garlicky Veggie Sauce over Polenta
Chop the zucchini and roasted tomatoes. Stir well and cook for another 5 minutes, covered. Then reduce heat until ready to serve.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Garlicky Veggie Sauce over Polenta
For the polenta, add polenta to the water &  milk and stir while cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add in Parmesan and stir well.
Serve with a base of polenta, then chicken, then veggie sauce and sprinkle with basil.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Garlicky Veggie Sauce over Polenta
I was really happy with this dinner feeling a bit different, very flavorful, and pretty quick! Polenta is such a great break from pasta or grains. I love the parmesan in there for some salt and flavor. The sauce was soooo flavorful. I liked that the zucchini was lightly cooked. I used some leftover roasted tomatoes that I used, but roasting them would be easy while prepping everything else. I think the marsala cooking wine and broth really kept it from being like marinara.

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

I’m trying to work through some freezer items. Some frozen ground chicken was my next victim. Muhh-haha.

I decided to use it for meatballs and thought they’d be perfect being Chicken Parmesan Meatballs. I love homemade meatballs and don’t make them nearly enough. Part of my love is for the crisp bits, though I detest frying stuff so I make my life a little harder and bake them, turning them often but filling the house with scents of garlic/parmesan/meaty goodness. I almost wanted to partially bake them, then coat them in breadcrumbs, and fry them (do it!) but alas, I didn’t have the energy when it came down to meal-time.
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I made these the night before and they were all ready to heat-and-serve after work.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground chicken
1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3 tbs milk
3 tbs chopped garlic
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
Stir the breadcrumbs and milk together.
Gently mix together the ground chicken, breadcrumb mixture, garlic, Parmesan, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Roll into golf-ball sized meatballs.
Bake on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes then roll onto another side. Repeat again to bake a total of 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately, or cool on a cooling rack or paper towel.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Add into tomato sauce in an oven-friendly skillet or pot over medium low heat for about 20 minutes if the meatballs are cold or 10 minutes if they’ve just come out of the oven.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Cook some pasta to serve the meatballs over, or warm baguette rolls for subs!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
When the meatballs are warmed, sprinkle some cheese over the top and return to the oven just to melt the cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Serve and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
These are so flavorful and fluffy. There’s some serious garlic and salty Parmesan flavors in these. The babe loves meatballs – probably because he’s still growing teeth so they’re not too tough to munch. Sometimes I add some red wine into my meatballs but for these, I really wanted the Parmesan to be front and center.