Ravioli with Brown Butter, Corn & Sage

Fall coziness brought to you by way of 4-5 ingredients! I loved that this one not being too heavy since we’ve had some 70-80 degree days lately plus, fall flavors don’t have to mean pumpkin!

The Three Bite Rule - Ravioli with Brown Butter, Sage & Corn

This comes together soooo fast – the longest part is waiting for the water to boil!

Ravioli with Brown Butter, Corn & Sage
Ingredients: (for 4 servings)

6 tablespoons butter (real butter, not margarine/substitute)
24 oz package cheese ravioli, frozen
1 cup corn
4-5 sage leaves, fresh
grated parmesan

Directions:
Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large skillet or pan, melt the butter over medium low heat.
Add the ravioli into the water and cook for about 5-minutes, or as the package instructs.
When the butter bubbles and foams up, carefully keep stirring. The butter browns quickly and gives off a nutty flavor. (Don’t let it burn! Try a le creuset/pan with white inside or a white/light colored spatula to stir)
Add in the sage to the butter and be sure to remove the pan from the heat once it starts to brown. Toss the corn in too to warm.
When the ravioli begin to float, they are cooked. Scoop from the water directly into the brown butter sauce, give a sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss well.
Sprinkle with some grated parmesan.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Ravioli with Brown Butter, Sage & Corn

I loved this. The brown butter has so much flavor without looking like much. The kids liked it but for whatever reason, the kindergartener wasn’t interested in the corn. We cut from the ear and froze it back in peak farmer’s market corn season. It was about 50% thawed when I threw it in. We all like pasta and I always want the little ones to experience all the shapes pasta can take, all the sauce types, etc.

The sage leaves were whole because a little sage can be a lot to me so they were easy to pick out or whatever. Adding them to the brown butter brings some good flavor without a punch in the face. Our sage plants are flourishing so in it went.

This would be an easy one to make for a big crowd- do people see big crowds these days? It also would be great halved for a meal for 1!

Winter Comfort: Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells

This week weather may have been upper 50s & into the 60s in New England, but stuffed shells are a faster-than-lasagna winter comfort dinner. These got a slight twist with flavor of chicken parm we love. Plus, I love ricotta more than the average person, so this hit the spot. Make one big pan or 2 smaller ones with one to freeze!

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells

Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

1/2 box jumbo shells
~4 breaded chicken tenders (or ~1 cup popcorn chicken)
15 oz ricotta
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 cup mozzarella
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I use Pastene canned Kitchen Ready Tomatoes)

Directions:

Bake the chicken until cooked through and crisp, according to the package. Then chop into bite-sized pieces. Lower oven heat to 350-degrees.
Boil salted water for the jumbo shells and cook until al dente.
Mix the ricotta with 1/2 cup mozzarella, Italian seasoning, and salt.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells
Fill a ziplock bag with the ricotta. Use a tall drinking glass to hold the bag while spooning the ricotta into the bag.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. (I made 2- 9×9 pans or this would fit one 9×13). Spoon about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce onto the bottom.
Snip the bottom corner off the ziplock bag to pipe the ricotta into the shells and place the shells into the baking dish.
Add chicken on top of the ricotta.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells
Spoon tomato sauce on top.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover, top with remaining mozzarella, and return to the oven for 15 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells
Enjoy!

I loved this. Leftovers packed up really well to be lunch the next day! I love these flavors and was reminded just how easy it was to pop this together. Another fun twist is to skip the chicken, and stir in creamed spinach into the ricotta mixture for my Better Than Usual Stuffed Shells.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells

Roasted Kale Pesto

I’m not 100% on the raw kale bandwagon. I feel like my age & blog means I’m supposed to like it, but I do not enjoy it raw. I think it is a texture thing – and maybe the amount of chewing required for something that doesn’t taste like, I don’t know, bacon. I’ll finely dice and cook it into soups or whatever.

It is a great choice for a woodsy tasting pesto! It won’t make you think you’re eating peak-of-summer-basil, but it is good, and you can feeeeel good about it. I first mixed it into gnocchi then I added some with penne to pack for a work lunch.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Pesto

Roasted Kale Pesto

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale
olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons ricotta
1/4 cup toasted nuts
salt and pepper

Directions:

Roast the kale in a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Add the kale into the food processor, with the garlic, parmesan, ricotta, nuts, salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Pesto
Blend while streaming in olive oil.
Refrigerate until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale PestoEnjoy!

Toss with hot pasta or add a dollop onto chicken or pork chops, or spread onto a panini! Yum! It doesn’t get perfectly smooth like basil pesto does, but it is really good. Throw in any fresh spinach you have or arugula.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Pesto

Fall Fettuccine

Fettuccine with alfredo, sage, and butternut squash. This felt like a the dinner equivalent of warm socks and a cozy blanket on a brisk evening. I roasted the butternut squash and infused the sage into the alfredo sauce.  It was so fast, and SO addicting! Psssst. It was so fast also because I roasted the squash in advance, and used jarred alfredo sauce. Both made life easier and got dinner on the table ohh-so-fast.

The Three Bite Rule - Fall Fettuccine

Fall Fettuccine

Ingredients:

2 cups butternut squash, chopped into small cubes
2 cups alfredo sauce (use a jar, I won’t tell)
4-6 sage leaves (3 to cook in the sauce & 2-3 chopped)
1/2 pound of fettuccine pasta

Directions:

Roast the butternut squash in a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper at 400-degrees for 20 minutes, flipping once.
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot for the pasta.
Warm the alfredo sauce in a large pot over low heat and drop in 1/2 the sage leaves. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring often, then remove the wilty sage.
The Three Bite Rule - Fall Fettuccine
Cook the fettuccine to al dente.
Drain the pasta and toss in the sauce.
Mix in the remaining chopped sage and the squash.
The Three Bite Rule - Fall Fettuccine
Enjoy!

This is such a great weeknight meal. I’d totally serve this to a dinner party, my toddler, or anyone. Somehow this week was brought to you by the herb sage. I love it in small amounts but feel like it has serious flavor. Here’s a good use if you bought some for Thanksgiving and need a very different feeling meal before or after turkey day!

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

This mac and cheese is veggie packed while still delightfully cheesey. Plus, the squash adds that iconic orange pop of color! This would be the perfect fuel before trick or treating!

The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Mac & Cheese

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1/2 pound pasta
1 1/2 cup butternut squash puree (10 oz frozen, or 1/2 butternut squash, roasted)
2 tablespoons cream cheese
4 oz Velveeta mini-block
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil for the pasta. Add the pasta in and cook until al dente.
In a large pot over medium heat, mix together the squash puree, velveeta, cream cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Mac & Cheese
Stir until smooth and all combined. Spoon 1/2 – 3/4 of the sauce onto the drained al dente pasta.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Mac & Cheese
Mix well and add in more sauce, as desired.
Add in the shredded cheddar.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Mac & Cheese
Serve hot, or bake with cheese or breadcrumbs on top.

This was a good meal to feel like a treat, like true comfort food, without guilt. The little one loved it. I had some extra sauce so I froze it for a quick dinner another time to throw over some pasta.