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.

Queso Smothered Chicken

In an effort not to have the same taco-night each week, I wanted something a little bit different but still quick & easy. This fit the bill perfectly! I used queso as the sauce on some taco-spiced chicken and served it over a bed of black beans. The chicken was very hands off – just seasoned and popped into the oven. I liked the black beans as the base to make this really filling, with a slight cruch to the peppers, spiced chicken, and smooth & cheesy topping.

The Three Bite Rule - Queso Smothered Chicken

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
3 tbs taco seasoning
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/4 of a lime, squeezed for juice
lime zest
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 cup queso blanco

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
In a baking dish, sprayed with non-stick spray, lay out the chicken. Sprinkle with half the taco seasoning. Flip the chicken pieces over and sprinkle with the remaining taco seasoning.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Queso Smothered Chicken
In a medium sauce pan, warm the black beans over medium-low heat. Add a splash of water, squirt of lime juice, and a little lime zest.
Add the peppers to the black beans and stir well & often, cooking for about 5-10 minutes or until the peppers cook a bit.
Check that the chicken is cooked through. Then spoon queso over the top and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Queso Smothered Chicken
Spoon the beans onto a plate.
The Three Bite Rule - Queso Smothered Chicken
Place a piece of chicken on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Queso Smothered Chicken
Enjoy!

I loved this. It had all the flavors and textures I wanted. I have nothing against tortillas and we LOVE taco-night here but this was a really great tweak on the usual. My little one tried black beans and he approved! Have you had queso blanco? It is perfect for this.

Today is my Sis’ bday! We’re celebrating with a Mexican fiesta! Ole!

Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta

Chicken Cordon Blue is the best of all the flavors. Chicken. Yum. Ham. Yum. Swiss. Yum. I put it together as a pasta dish and loved it. The ham with the swiss are such great flavors together.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta
I used breaded chicken cutlets I had made another time and froze. Then I used a sauce packet. Having these two elements pretty ready helped this come together quickly.

Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta (serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

2 breaded chicken cutlets
8 oz rigatoni pasta
1-2 cups ham, diced
creamy garlic sauce
1 cup shredded swiss

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil.
Heat the chicken in the oven until warmed (or cooked through).
Cook the pasta until al dante.
Heat a skillet to medium heat and pan fry the ham until caramelized and golden on each side.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta
Warm the sauce through and add in the swiss over low heat. Stir well and keep warm.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta
Mix together the pasta with the sauce and the ham.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta
Slice the chicken and add it to the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta
I loved this! The swiss flavor can be strong so I went a little bit on the lighter side for that. I liked the chicken being crispy and on the top rather than mixed through. This was so fast to put together. I could have made the sauce from scratch but this was quick. I could have breaded and pan fried the chicken for this but it was a great use for some leftover.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta

Serving like this, you really only need a small amount of ham and a small amount of chicken. I made enough for a leftover serving for lunch the next day. Perfect!

Roasted Chicken Salad with Radish & Blueberries

One of the many perks of work is that we get scratch-made lunch everyday. It is family style and there’s salad. Every day! I know, so lucky! It is always a hot lunch but the other day, before the long weekend, we got some really amazing chicken salad. It was full of apples and dried cranberries. I put mine on top of my salad and was loving it. I was eating thinking,

“this is just so good.”
“I love the add-ins. I could make this.”
“I should make this.”

My sis brought over dinner of a roasted chicken with a Caesar salad kit for the perfect instant dinner. I used some leftovers for this chicken salad and it wasn’t just any chicken salad. You’re bananas if you think I would ever put celery into my chicken salad. Blech. This one gets crunch from radishes and some sweetness from dried blueberries.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Salad with Radish & Blueberries

Ingredients:

(for 1 serving)
1-2 slices of a roasted chicken, chopped
1 radish
2 tbs dried blueberries
1-2 tbs mayo
splash of milk

Directions:

Chop the radish into a fine dice
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Salad with Radish & Blueberries
In a bowl, add the chicken, radish, blueberries (and walnuts would be good!)
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Salad with Radish & Blueberries
Mix in a small amount of mayo and stir to combine. Add the splash of milk to ensure it is wet enough. Then add more mayo, if needed.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Salad with Radish & Blueberries
Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Enjoy!

I put some on a sandwich loaded with arugula. Use good mayo for his. I like The Ojai Cook’s Lemonaise. The blueberries provide a sweet chewiness. My radish was from the farmers market. Those are zesty! Radishes from the grocery store have nowhere near the same flavor. It added the perfect zip and crunch. I didn’t have any apples and was using what I had on hand. The radish was my stroke of genius for the day.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Salad with Radish & Blueberries

Bok Choy with Sesame Dressing and Teriyaki Chicken

I grabbed some baby bok choy at the farmer’s market without a plan for it. I went to trusty Pinterest and found a fun raw use for it on Culinary Hill. I tweaked the dressing by adding some stronger flavors of sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. We added some grilled teriyaki chicken for a really great speedy dinner.

The Three Bite Rule - Bok Choy with Sesame Dressing and Teriyaki Chicken
Get some chicken on the grill, shake up some dressing in a jar, and then chop up a few veggies. Poof. Instant dinner with some great flavors.

Ingredients:

adapted from Culinary Hill
2-3 chicken thighs, marinated in teriyaki
2 baby bok choy bunches
2 large radishes
2 tbs sesame seeds
3 tbs brown sugar
1-2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup almond slivers

Directions:

Grill the marinated chicken until cooked through, brushing with some teriyaki at the end.
Chop the bok choy, discarding the bottom pieces.
The Three Bite Rule - Bok Choy with Sesame Dressing and Teriyaki Chicken
Chop the radishes into a small dice.
Toast some sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Watch carefully to toast them without burning.
In a small jar, add brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar.
The Three Bite Rule - Bok Choy with Sesame Dressing and Teriyaki Chicken
Shake vigorously. Taste and adjust as necessary.
The Three Bite Rule - Bok Choy with Sesame Dressing and Teriyaki Chicken
In a large bowl, add the bok choy, radish, and toasted sesame seeds.
The Three Bite Rule - Bok Choy with Sesame Dressing and Teriyaki Chicken
Add in some dressing and toss. Sprinkle with almonds.
Top with chicken to serve. Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Bok Choy with Sesame Dressing and Teriyaki Chicken
I liked the mild flavor of the bok choy. The almonds were pre-sesaoned with salt and pepper near the croutons. I might have toasted them if they were regular almond slivers. It was such a quick dinner that felt fresh, crunchy with juicy chicken.

The dressing was great. Make it, and then you’ll have sesame oil on hand for these (most Pinterest-pinned) sesame noodles and for Asian Broccoli Slaw with Peanut Butter Chicken and your next pork & veggie spring rolls, etc. You’ll use it, it isn’t such a crazy specialty ingredient.